Bird City Times – December 12, 1996
Bird City Banker to Celebrate His
90th Birthday on Tuesday
By Debbie Miller
Edgar Robertson will be celebrating his 90th birthday with an open house from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on December 17th. The event is hosted by the Security State Bank in Bird City.
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He has been working at the bank since the bank's opening day on November 1, 1929. His first day on the job, he remembers to having to pull the crank on a Burrough posting machine as there was not an electric machine in the house at that time.
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Known to all by his first name, Edgar, he was one of seven children. His brothers and sisters included Mabel, John, Earl, Helen, Paul and Ralph. Mabel, John and Earl are deceased.
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Born in Bourbon, Mo., on December 17, 1906, he attended Matlock country school, Steelville High School and attended College Branch of University of Missouri at Rolla.
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Before Mr. Robertson came to northwest Kansas, he taught school a couple of years and then he was offered a position at the Security State Bank by E. L. Bacon, bank president and also his cousin.
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Through his 67 years of banking Mr. Robertson has seen many changes in the industry. He remembers the early days it seemed simpler as there were just checks, deposits and loans (most of them unsecured). Banking laws and regulations were very few.
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A day that Mr. Robertson remembers well is June 29, 1931 -the robbery. He and the other bank employees were tied up and placed into the vault at gunpoint. The robber and his accomplice were arrested later that day and none of the employees were harmed.
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He is still committed to putting in a full day at his office. Farming, golf and bridge are what he enjoys doing during his off hours. Although if approached about banking, he is more than happy to engage in the conversation.
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He and Mabel Wright were married June 1934. They lived in a couple of houses in Bird City before building where Mr. Robertson presently lives. Mrs. Robertson died in December, 1980 of a cerebral brain tumor. "We fought it with the best medical science had to offer but it was a lost cause," said Mr. Robertson.
Looking back over his career in banking and attaining the age status that he has reached, he remarks "I had no ideas or thoughts as to what I might be doing at ninety."
The philosophy he subscribes to now is "I play quite a bit of golf and don't do too much work," said Mr. Robertson.
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So stop by the bank on Dec. 17 and join in the birthday open house.