Banking on Tradition

By MARY RAINWATER
The Palestine Herald

OAKWOOD May 05, 2008 02:18 am

— As president of Oakwood State Bank, Oakwood native Roddy R. Wiley Jr. did not imagine his work moving beyond deposits, credits and the day-to-day chats with customers.
But Wiley recently has added public relations to his list of duties, as television media outlets have sought information about the famous financial institution, known as the smallest bank in the America and as one of the oldest in the state.
“We were on Texas Country Reporter in March and on CBS Evening News April 25,“ Wiley said in a recent interview. “Since then, I have received calls from people in San Antonio, West Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi and New York, some of them offering to buy the bank.”
But Wiley doesn’t plan to sell anytime soon, neither does he plan to retire and leave the life he has known for so long.
“I spend most of my time here, doing everything but window work,” he said. “Being here gives me something to do.
“But I’m sure they’ll find me here one day,” he added. “I like that quote from the French president Charles de Gaulle, ’Have no fear; I shall not fail to die.’”
Wiley has worked on and off at Oakwood State Bank since the age of five — first counting pennies in a syrup bucket for the cashier. By 15, he had worked as a teller and did bookkeeping during summer vacations.
“I remember that syrup bucket not being completely clean, so I had to wash the pennies after I counted them,” he said. “I learned not to volunteer for anything after that.”
Banking never really was part of Wiley’s plan, he said, so after high school he attended the University of Texas and earned a degree in electrical engineering in 1945 and a law degree in 1949.
“My first job after law school was working at the National Bank of Commerce in Houston,” Wiley said. “After two years, I left there and did some ‘doodle-bugging’ (oil exploration work).
“I also worked as a mathematician and was a contract negotiator for Texas Instruments,” he added. “I took a one-year leave of absence from TI to run the bank when my father became ill and took over permanently in 1960 after he died.”
Oakwood State Bank has been family owned and operated since its founding as a private bank in 1900 by Wiley’s father’s half-brother and a friend. Wiley’s father was asked to run the bank in 1923, one year before Wiley was born.
“My mom worked here during the war and later my sister,” he said. “My wife, Marjorie, worked at the bank as a cashier and my daughter, Margaret, also worked here while she was going to school.”
More than just its longevity and size, Oakwood State Bank also is unique in its traditional operation, still using equipment that most would now consider antiques.
“We know our customers by name, not their account number,” Wiley said. “And we still send out checks with the customer’s hand typed statement.”
The bank is not totally devoid of modern technology, though, as a recent newscast proclaimed. A single computer is used to communicate with the Federal Reserve.
“We have no complaints from customers about the way we do things,” he said. “I like it. It’s part of being in a small town.”
Wiley and his late wife Marjorie, were married for 46 years. The couple had three children — daughter, Margaret, who lives in Conroe; and another daughter and son, who are deceased. Wiley also has two grandchildren.
Except for an annual family vacation to his home away from home in Estes Park, Colo., Wiley can be found at the bank or at home working in the yard.
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Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com

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