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FIRST NATIONAL BANK WILMETTE 115 0 WILMETTE ILLINOIS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT AVENUE Opening Saturday, December 15 First National Bank Opens Door of New Home Tomorrow MOVE TO WIMETTE AVE. BIG MARK IN PROGRESS Banking Institution Now Has Pretentious Home Which Ia Great Credit to Village View of First National From a Distance E. B. KNUDTSON DOTES ON BANKING BUSINESS First National President Seta His Coal and Proceeds Through Years to Achieve It Edwin B. Knucltson is listed in WilTomorrow morning at 8 o'clock the rr.ette's Who's \!Vho of business as a big iron wrought gate within the veshanker. He is the president of the tibule of a handsome building on \\' il First National Bank which just now mette avenue, half a bloc k north of comes into the "big news" with the openCentral avenue, will swing open, tlH' ing of the fine new banking institution o fficer s and employe s will march in on \Vilmette avenue. Mr. Knudtson and a new and memorable chapter in has distinguished himself in Wilmette the history of the Firs t Kational Rank financial circles, but 'the story of how of \Vilmettc will be written. It will he reached his present high positiqn is be a chapter dealing with the great progress of a banking in stitution which he~t told it, a narratiYe which tells how from a small beginning ha s grown and lw made his start. gTmYn until today it h:)lds a hi~h and Edwin Bertinus Knudtson might have rm·iahle place in the world of financr. been a farmer, or a· hardware ~erchant The opening of the door s of the or a lumber magnate, but he dtscovered hank's new home marks a new mil eearly in life that his inclinations and stone in the history of the organizatalents weren't for any of these ramification. The new home had to come. tions of business. Perhaps the hard\Yith the progress of \Vilm ette and the \vare was too hard and the saplings too natnral increase of bu siness, that had wugh, which .accounts for th~ fact that to happen because the First Xational ··E. B." took a plunge whtch landed long · ago found that conducting its him lock, stock and barrel in banking. business in space 0+ store size \\'a n 't Hu Banking lntuitivneas . The picture was taken from the corner of ~ilmette a~1d Centr~t avenues adeqt~ate. · And neither was it proEdwin Knudtson has been a bankmg and shows a fin~ structure which helps to beauttfy the busmess section of the figure in Wilmette for only two years, gresstve. village. Progressive Bank Officers but in this brief period he has by But the First National and its offienergy, foresightedness and that qualcers and stockholders couldn't h~ ity known as banking intuitiyeness made called unprogressive. They not only 0 a· mark for himself in the- business con:'a\\' that their old quarter s 011 Central . duct of the village. . a \·enue far from met the needs of a It was in \Visconsin, on a farm near g-rO\Ying house of final ce. hut they alsn the . town of Blair that "E. B." was With the opening of the new ho~11.e of horn and it probably was first imprespeered into t'he future, a ··future which The transforming of the 'old Village rarrieq with _ it expansion of business Theater .b.uildiug i1,1to a mod~rn hank - the .F~r~t N.ational .bank .tomOt:row, an sions. that convinced him that he wouldn't He attended the and an ·1ncr.eased- p.e'rSotinel; . ing institution makes · an . interesti_t~~ invitation is extended· to all' residents become a farmer. Therefor~ _many months ago they story, _which Jobn H. Davtes of \Vti- of .W iln.l ette . ~nd th~ .north shore . .to . public .schoct>l ncar Blair, then went to \Yere looking for ·a new ·.home ·for.!the mette could tell better than atiyone el"e make an inspection visit. All depart- Black River Falls college. Then came First National. It wasn't' easv to for Mr.. Dal'ies held . the contract for ments will ha.ve been placed completely a course at a husii1ess ·college in Lafind it. But as all. problems see-1~1 to all the masonrv work: under the. scrutinizing ·gaze. The bank ·Crosse. . ~olve themselves, thts one solved 1tself . will -be'opep. tomgoq.ow.from .8 o'clock The· education<~tl business completed, tt for the Bank. The Villaj.!e Theater · But laymg conc;ete was Ot~ly a part \\'hich for fourteen vears had occunied of the contractor=' t~sk. Ftrst ca.me in the inor.ning until-10 at night. Every- was time for him to step out for a · . r . . career. His · first job wasn't so far rethe building on Wilmett e avenue fi;letl- the business of \\Teckmg the old butld- body. welcomt:t. moved from the banking business for Jy erased to function. 1 he movies har\ ing to such extent that the plans of the he became identified with a farm loan · · · architect ior the new bank could he bern found unst1ccssfut.-.') t: ·: : · · · .. .. . . . ·.. · :i! Skylight al) . . .e. · .to and insurance. agen~y at LaCrosse. The disconti'l:uance of pictures p1 ~arrted . out. . . . . :;· . . Illuminate Bank Interior Rut progress wasn't rapid enough and \\' ilmette was · ~nfortunate. It m'eant ·Among other thmgs thts \\'reckJn~, before a vca'r ·had . roiled around young the loss of at( entertainment institu- nroct·ss . made h ncce~ssary to tea: out An .i riter'esttt1g feature of the new tion which had existed so long that it oart oi the old .roof so that a htgh~r bank is the lighting system. All the Knudtson -launched forth to try his hand "eemed a part of the vitlage. But if one could be hmlt. A hole was c~t 1n light prodded by a huge ·skylight in another line. He had learned how t<;> t!,e lO'>'i of the theater was a misfor- the old conca\'e roof for the skylt~ht. which is not much smaller that the punch a typewriter and became stenogtt1ne it couldn't he called unfortunate Then the floor too. presented a hkr dimensions of the banking floor pro- rapher for a wholesale hardware comf~r t'he First National. It tossed some- job for it had to he _r.em?~·ed. the old per. There are no side windows to pany. Stitt iu La Cross.e. . He }vasn't moving fast enough in the · hardware ·· thitii·"ri'ice· 'i'i1 'the Bank's iap. · theater having had a slopmg floor as furnish light. business so in a year he made another J\cquh·e Wilmette Avenue Building ic; the rule in all theaters. The new But even on clouclv or dark <laYs . The Directors of the First National floor, of course. had to b.e level and there .is no danger o( the hank heii1v. move and this found him as office manlost 110 time in getting together. \Vhat this meant some ronstntctJYe concrete without adequate light for in the sky- ager of a wholesale lumber company. Starts Bank io Coon Valley hannened at that meeting which was work: . . light there is a center "well" In this For three years. he remained with that held manv month'S. ago doesn't require It ts mtercsttng to .note · that th.e con- well are several high voltag·e electrk an\' writing here.' Suffice is to say, crete ~hie~ compl~tely wall:" m th.~ tamps which will ill-uminate the build- job but was constantly looking to the that the First National steoped out ag- va~lt ts etghteen mches. thtck. :r'.hb ing· by the simple process of turniJH! fut~re. and finally . made the leap which ~:rressively and acquired the propertv tl11e·kness also \\·as used Ill the ce1ltng landed him in thr ~wk ing husin\'ss- to a switch. which had housed th<' theater and to - ancl the floor . stay: Eighteen miles from LaCrosse in Chester Joht1son of Chicago handkd a little town of 300 inhabitants called morrow the big ambition of the Bank -------the job of wiring the well, as ·welt a~ Coon Valley there was no hank. "E. B." is to be realized with the onening of a Two Fine S"-o!'S OcC'l!>V an' the other electrical work in t1w thought they needed one and supplied the han king house that would he a credit Soace in Bank BuildinJl bank building. demand by organizing such an enterto any city in the country. d 1d 1 The new home is the third the First Two shops completely remo e e anr prise. That was his start in banking WOMEN'S LOUNGE National has occupied since its or- decorated help to enhance the heautv and, oddly enough, he still ow11s that For the accommodation of women rranization twelve vears avo. It was of the hank building. To the left of hank. Coon. Valley .now has a populatiCin . fir-st organized in . 1916 and the first the entrance is the haberdashery of natrons-; ·eommodious spaC'e in the bank of 400. : ' nresid~nt was the late F. T. · Baker. Paul McNamee, white to the right ic: building is given over to a rest room. That being his first hanking venture · The Bank carriect on its business in a the Chocolate Shop of John Pappq- This is tastefully decorated and easily (Continued on page 69) ·tccessihle from the main banking floor . (Continued on page 68) jahn. J h. H D · H n · avteS as Job of Transforming T he[Jte,r. Into Bank Villagers Invited d "W II"