More than 200 customers enjoyed country music, barbecue sandwiches, door prizes, and a warm welcome from Pieper family members – the bank’s owners – as they gathered in Calhan on Aug. 12 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Farmers State Bank.John “Nap” Pieper presented a brief history of the bank. Farmers State Bank opened its doors in Peyton in 1916; two years later Albert Pieper went to work for the bank. Within 10 years, Albert Pieper owned a controlling interest in the bank, and since that time, Pieper family members have served as the president and chief executive officer of the company.When banks across the nation failed in 1929, Albert Pieper closed the doors on a Friday, traveled to Denver to assure federal banking officials the bank was solvent and was able to re-open the bank by Monday, Nap Pieper told the audience.Dorothy Pieper, Nap’s wife, said her father-in-law also came up with a plan to help ranchers during the 1930s dust bowl years. “The drought was so bad that ranchers didn’t have grass to feed their cattle, so Albert went to the Western Slope and bought hay,” she said. “He allowed the ranchers to charge the hay on a note and repay him when they sold their cattle. He also gave people money out of his own pocket when they didn’t have enough credit to borrow from the bank. Back then, everything was done on a handshake.”In 1952, Nap Pieper joined the bank. “My wife was pregnant with twins, and I made $75 a month back then,” he said. They rented a home in Calhan for $25 a month; today their old house is the VFW hall. Nap Pieper served as president of the bank from 1972 to 1986.Pieper said a third generation has now taken over, and the bank has branches in Falcon and Ellicott. His daughter, Joan Pieper Larson, who began working at the bank in 1980, is president, and his son, Randy, is CEO.Larson said the bank’s oldest customer is 105-year-old Laura Grimes, who still lives in her home in Calhan. Billie Harding, who owned Harding Nursery for many years before turning it over to his children, has been a customer for 75 years and knows the exact day he opened his account: July 18, 1931. He still has the original savings account book, showing that he opened the account with $1 and sometimes made 6 cent deposits.”While we believe it is important to keep up with the latest banking methods and technology,” Larson said, “we strive to keep a friendly atmosphere at Farmers and to know our customers’ names.”
