My Corner Online

Perry County Bank

My Ancestor, John F. Geile, was on the Board of Directors, a stockholder, and a banker of the Home Trust Company. He refinanced the failed banking institution which had been closed by the State during the Great Depression thereby rescuing the deposited monies of many individuals and businesses. Not only did he help to save the bank during the Great Depression, but he also helped to save his community during the Great Depression through personal donations of his time, money, experience, and skills to make this community of Perry County a better place.  There is a sense of his deep-rootedness, identity, devotion, loyalty, compassion, and commitment to the community of Perry County, Missouri. John’s son Placid would later take over John’s banking interests in the Home Trust Company, which is currently located at 100 E Sainte Marie Street, Perryville, Missouri. Today it is US Bank.

Here's a photo of the Home Trust Bank vault that I took in 2018. John would have been involved with the bank when this vault was installed, and I understand it was a big deal to order this vault from Germany at the time. This gigantic piece of man-made glory, I understand, was moved from one bank location to another new location and that there is a photo of it on a truck in the newspaper. It was quiet an ordeal. It weighs 52,000 pounds and is 22 inches thick and 9 feet high.

On the day I visited the bank, I took a photo of this map of where John F. Geile would have lived before moving to Perry County, Missouri.