[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2128-E2130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               BOB OWEN: THE LAST OF THE COUNTRY BANKERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, the McKenzie Banner's Chuck Ross tells the 
story of Bob Owen and what Bob has meant to the town of Gleason as well 
as anyone could.
  I have known Bob Owen since the late 1970's when I served in the 
Tennessee General Assembly. Bob is the Bank of Gleason without question 
and his service to the community is what makes Gleason and the 
surrounding communities such good places to raise a family.
  As we celebrate Bob Owen Day in Gleason, I want to add my thanks and 
appreciation to Bob for everything he has done to improve the quality 
of life for those who live and work in and around Gleason.
  Printed below is a copy of a story published in The McKenzie Banner 
on October 7th, and written by Chuck Ross.

               Bob Owen: The Last of The Country Bankers

                            (By Chuck Ross)

       It has been said many times that a trip of a thousand miles 
     begins with a single step. In this instance, a distinguished 
     banking career began by default. The wartime army called him 
     for induction, yet turned him down on three occasions. As a 
     young high school graduate, shortly after the great 
     depression and right in the middle of a world war, he could 
     not find employment. Then a helpful uncle got him a job as 
     the lowest man on a small banking staff, the first step in a 
     career that has spanned 54 years.
       Robert Hiron ``Bob'' Owen was born on February 19, 1927, in 
     the Old Union Community in Henry County Tennessee, the third 
     of

[[Page E2129]]

     four children born to the union of Robert Owen and Katie 
     Highfill Owen. Both parents had migrated to this area from 
     North Carolina.
       The first of the children was James Flemming, who died as 
     an infant. The second was Mary Elizabeth Owen Travillian who 
     lives in Gleason. Bob's younger brother Oscar lives in 
     McKenzie.
       Owen said his middle name is unusual, and not many people 
     refer to it when using his name. His mother said she once saw 
     the name in a book, and liked the sound of it. Only his 
     sister still calls him Bob Hiron--when she is mad at him.
       Bob's father worked a small farm of 67 acres. The family's 
     property consisted of three or four old cows, a team of 
     mules, and the farm on which they lived. The elder Owen died 
     in 1939 when Bob was only 12 years old, leaving his mother to 
     do odd jobs in order to raise the children.
       Few jobs were available for women in those days, so she 
     worked as a seamstress, and took in washing and ironing in 
     order to provide for her young family. The only material 
     possession the family had was the small farm, but they made a 
     go of it because, as Bob said, ``Mom worked hard and provided 
     plenty of love.''
       When work was caught up on their farm, he remembers that 
     the family worked on the farms of neighbors for fifty cents a 
     day, carrying their lunches to the filed in a tin bucket.
       He started school at four and one half years of age, in the 
     Liberty Four area in Henry County's New York Community, 
     beginning early because retention of teachers at that time 
     depended upon having a minimum number of pupils in the 
     classes.
       His first years of school were spent in a one-room facility 
     which housed all eight grades of elementary school, with a 
     single teacher for all grades.
       After completion of the elementary grades, he began high 
     school at Henry Station, but changed schools after two weeks. 
     At that time, a school bus route began which transported 
     students from his area to Cottage Grove. He graduate from 
     Cottage Grove High School in 1944.
       When he graduated high school, he had very little success 
     in finding work. With World War II in full swing, all young 
     men who were of draft age could expect to receive a summons 
     from Uncle Sam to join in the defense of our country, and 
     nobody wanted to hire a man who would probably be absent from 
     the job within a matter of weeks.
       He knew there was very little change that he could enroll 
     in college, because his family did not have the means to pay 
     the costs, and there were no loans and grants available at 
     that time.
       Bob tried to get a job at Wolf Creek Arsenal (now Milan 
     Arsenal) but they were not interested because of his draft 
     status. He wound up doing odd jobs he could find until he 
     indeed received his invitation from the Army.
       He was registered in Henry County, and was sent to Fort 
     Oglethorpe Georgia for induction. As part of his physical 
     examination, it was determined he was not qualified because 
     of a hearing problem, and his draft classification was 
     changed to 4F and he was sent back home. Subsequently, he was 
     recalled on two other occasions, and was rejected both times 
     because of his hearing.
       Mr. Owen said that, although he had not originally 
     volunteered, it was embarrassing not to be in service. Every 
     able-bodied man of his age was off fighting the war, and he 
     was forced to stay at home.
       Then along came the Korean Conflict, and despite being 
     married and within six months of being too old for military 
     service, he received another call from his government. This 
     time, he boarded a bus along with 52 other younger inductees, 
     bound for the Veterans Hospital in Memphis. This time, he was 
     one of the few to pass the physical examination.
       In 1952, he was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for 16 
     weeks of basic and infantry training, and was assigned to 
     army finance. He served for a time at Fort Jackson, and later 
     in Japan, Okinawa, and Formosa, converting money and making 
     sure the troops were paid. Having served a two year hitch, he 
     came home based on an accumulation of service points.
       After high school and prior to military service, Bob had 
     spent quite a lot of time in trying to locate employment. 
     Finally he had been able to find a company that would hire 
     him. Irish Gates, who ran a sawmill near the Como Community, 
     agreed to give him a job.
       His mother did not like the idea of him working at the 
     sawmill because it was somewhat dangerous, and just plain 
     hard work, but he was determined to have a job and that was 
     the only one available. In expressing her concern regarding 
     this job, his mother told him it would be hard work, and 
     informed him that the new guys got the toughest and dirtiest 
     jobs. But she also informed him that ``We didn't raise any 
     quitters!''
       He worked carrying slabs cut off the logs as lumber was 
     processed. After two months, the sawmill closed down, and he 
     again found himself unemployed, but not too sorry because he 
     indeed found it to be hard work.
       On August 13, 1944, Bob got a break which proved to be a 
     turning point in his life. His uncle, Bennie Oliver, found 
     that the Bank of Gleason was going to hire somebody to work 
     in the bank, and helped him get an interview. He was signed 
     on as the lowest of the three employees at the bank--for a 
     trial period of six months. Those six months turned out to be 
     more than 54 years.
       He had grown up in Henry County and didn't know anybody in 
     Gleason, and didn't even know how much he would be paid until 
     he received his first paycheck after 30 days, when he found 
     he would receive a whopping 50 dollars a month. He didn't 
     really like the job, but was afraid to quit because nothing 
     else was available, so he continued to work six days a week 
     from 8 o'clock until 4 o'clock, including sweeping the floor, 
     building a coal fire in the stove every morning, and doing 
     all the tasks assigned to the junior employee.
       After a while the Gleason community began to ``grow on 
     him,'' and the job turned out to be better than he thought, 
     As he proved himself to his employer regarding his ability, 
     he began to move up in the bank. Owen then established a 
     self-imposed objective of becoming a bank officer by the time 
     he was 21 years old.
       He was appointed Assistant Cashier, which afforded him 
     officer status, in January 1947, just a month before his 20th 
     birthday. In 1950, he received his appointment as Cashier, 
     and became Vice President in 1951. In 1954, he was appointed 
     Executive Vice President and was elected to the bank's board 
     of directors. He was elected President and Chief Executive 
     Officer of the Bank of Gleason in 1965; and was advanced to 
     his current position as Chairman of the Board in 1993.
       When he returned from his tour of duty with the Army, he 
     attended Bethel College for a while, not pursuing a degree, 
     but working on courses that would help him do a better job in 
     the banking business. He is also a graduate of the Tennessee 
     School of Banking at Vanderbilt University.
       When asked, he agreed that people in the community refer to 
     him as ``the last of the country bankers.'' He went on to 
     explain that there is a great deal of difference between 
     country and city banks. People in the country are very loyal 
     to the bank with which they do business.
       Owen said, ``We're in the retail money business. We work 
     hard to give people the service they're so entitled to. We 
     never lose sight that service to our customers is really what 
     it's all about.'' He continued, ``Over the years the 
     community could not have been nicer to me, what with me being 
     an outsider!''
       The greatest changes he has noted in 54 years in the 
     banking business are ``air-conditioning and computers--in 
     that order!''
       He noted that he began working at the bank when it had 
     three employees. They now have 28 employees between the main 
     bank in Gleason and the satellite facility in McKenzie. When 
     he started, the total assets of the bank were about one half 
     million dollars. Today, their assets total 82 million 
     dollars.
       In 1947, Bob Owen married Darreen Shaw, from the Tumbling 
     Creek Community. At that time, she worked at Salant and 
     Salant, a shirt factory in Paris. After they married, she 
     went to work at Martin Manufacturing Company, which 
     manufactured army shirts.
       Prior to his entry into military service, the Owen family 
     started an insurance agency, the Owen Insurance Company, 
     which was pretty much a ``moonlighting'' operation necessary 
     to let them make enough to support the family. While he was 
     in the Army, Darreen operated the business, and continued to 
     do so until, as he so aptly put it, ``we got in the boy 
     business.''
       Their first son, Robert Shaw Owen, was born in 1955; Alan 
     came along in 1958; and Eric was born in 1960. Robert 
     received a degree in agriculture from the University of 
     Tennessee. Martin, and Eric completed a double-major degree 
     in chemistry and math at Bethel College. Robert and Eric now 
     have a farming partnership in the county, farming more than 
     2,000 acres.
       Alan Owen completed a business administration degree at 
     Bethel College. He worked part-time at the Bank of Gleason 
     during his college years, and is now a Senior Vice President 
     of the bank.
       Their sons gave Bob and Darreen seven wonderful 
     grandchildren; Robert Blaine; Kody; Megan; Ericka; Ellen; 
     Samuel; and James. Darreen passed away in November 1989.
       Robert Hiron Owen has served his community for many years. 
     He served as Mayor of Gleason, is past Commander of the 
     Gleason American Legion Post #166, is a 32nd degree mason and 
     a shriner--having received his 50 year pin as a mason 
     recently, is a member of the First Baptist Church in Gleason, 
     and is a charter member and past president of the Gleason 
     Rotary Club.
       He also served as President of the Tennessee Bankers 
     Association in 1992-93; presently serves as a Director on the 
     State and Federal Legislative Committee, has served on the 
     Board of the West Tennessee Public Utility District for 
     Benton, Carroll, Weakley, and part of Henry County since 
     1957--and currently is chair of the Utility District.
       Bob has served as a member of the Weakley County Jury 
     Commission for the past 25 years, has been a partner in 
     Finch-Owen Insurance Agency since 1957, and is a former 
     partner of the Gleason Lumber Company. He is presently a 
     partner with Travillian-Owen Farms.
       And his community service has been appreciated. He has 
     garnered a list of honors which is much too long to print in 
     this article. A partial list includes the following.
       He was appointed Aide-de-Camp on the Governor's Staff by 
     both former Governors Lamar Alexander and Ned McWherter; was

[[Page E2130]]

     appointed to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation by 
     Governor McWherter in 1988, and continues to serve in that 
     capacity; he was Grand Marshal of Tatertown Festival in 1978 
     and 1990; he was named a ``Paul Harris Fellow'' by the Rotary 
     Club; he received the outstanding citizenship award in 1959, 
     and was named ``Boss of the Year'' by the local Jaycee 
     Chapter in 1978.
       He was honored by local townspeople with a ``Bob Owen Day'' 
     in his honor. At that time, an annual ``Bob Owen College 
     Scholarship'' was set up by the Bank of Gleason, to be 
     awarded to a high school senior, based upon their overcoming 
     financial and hardship difficulties.
       The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a resolution 
     in his honor, he was made an honorary staff member of the 
     77th Legislative District of the Tennessee House of 
     Representatives by then State Representative John Tanner.
       The Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society presented 
     him an Honor Plaque for Outstanding Citizenship, and he was 
     named Rotarian of the Year by the Rotary club in 1978 and 
     1979.
       In keeping with his humble nature, Bob Owen, said, ``I'm in 
     the banking business by default, because I couldn't find 
     anything else to do.''
       Regarding his life, he continued, ``It's been a great ride, 
     I came from a humble background. My Mom had to be something 
     out of this world. My father died when she was only 47 years 
     old, and she raised three children with the sweat of her 
     brow, and a lot of love.''
       It may be accurate for the community to refer to him as the 
     last of the country bankers, but Bob Owen is a world-class 
     citizen, who cares deeply for his community and the people he 
     serves.
       As was so appropriate by stated by the late Billy O. 
     Williams, Associate Poet Laureate of the State of Tennessee, 
     during a presentation on Bob Owen Day in Gleason:

     ``He must have done some things just right,
     as he walked down life's highway,
     `Cause folks have come from all around,
     on this his special day.

     Being fair, being honest and being kind,
     has been his life's ongoing.
     May the good `Lord' bless, years of happiness,
     for Robert H. `Bob' Owen.''

     

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