Ep 50 - From Banking Mentor To Town Memory Keeper: Rick Adams On Sikeston’s Past, Present, And Future

Start with a bank basement in 1967, add a mainframe, and you get a young draftsman who learns banking by programming its guts. That’s where our guest, Rick Adams, began—and from there, his story braids into Sikeston’s story: building institutions, mentoring leaders, and treating every person across the desk like the most important voice in the room. We wanted our 50th to feel like a lens, not a lap—so we zoom in on the people who carried this town when no one was watching.

Rick walks us through the real turning points: the Bank of Sikeston’s expansion, creating a holding company, planting a flag in Cape, and designing a bank building on land that once held the highway department where he worked as a teen. He shares why a city manager model and a combined public safety department set Sikeston on a more professional path. And then the threads get wild: local ties to Caesars Palace and Circus Circus, the Hecht family’s banking impact, Boeing leadership with Sikeston roots, and how a small-town ice cream plant helped supercharge a national frozen logistics network.

We talk reinvention rather than nostalgia. Malls moved retail long before e-commerce finished it, but square footage can learn new tricks—restaurants, services, manufacturing, and training centers that anchor a modern downtown. Rick spotlights homegrown catalysts like Alan Wire and the repurposed mall, plus quiet builders who turned garage ventures into regional employers and poured those gains back into the city. Alongside that, a candid Bulldogs check-in: 10–2, two close losses, zero panic—just a plan to rebound, contest shots, and run the secondary break with purpose.

At the core is Rick’s simple standard: be fair, stand up to shake hands, listen more than you speak, and take opportunities after hard thought and honest prayer. It’s a playbook for banking and for belonging, the kind of steady leadership that helps a place outlast its buildings. If you care about small towns, local history, economic development, or just how to be useful where you live, this one will stick.

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who loves Sikeston, subscribe for future stories, and leave a review with the one local legend you want us to interview next. Go Dogs.

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Transcript

Milestone 50 And Show Origins

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Alright, Bulldog Nation, it's time to get in the dog house. This is where Sykes and Pride lives, where we tell the stories that make this town special, from the legends of the past to the faces shaping our future. Whether it's basketball, community, or just that good old Bulldog grit, we've got you covered. You're listening to the dog house, the voice of Sykes. What is up, Bulldog Nation? Coming to you on a bright and sunny Saturday morning. And I can't tell you how excited I am, how thrilled I am for this to be a milestone episode for us, Micah.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Episode 50.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

50 is a lot. That's a half a century.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

50 is a lot. When when I started this course with Richard, when we started, you know, we just kind of started as doing like a weekly kind of bulldog basketball update. Then we kind of transitioned into getting guests on here and the basketball team and the coaches and things like that. And of course, then we've kind of transitioned or pivoted, as we say, to having other guests on, and our missions kind of changed a little bit along the way, not forgetting what we've what our roots are as far as you know, hashtag we are sykston. We're not forgetting that, but uh expanding that maybe a little bit. And I I want to say every week I give a shout out, and I and I forget to say thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Oh, thank you. But yeah, let me do this.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

But absolutely. You are this is your 36th episode.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:40

And so thank you for your time. Thank you for your efforts, your energy, your thoughts, your input, all of all of the above.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

All I do is show up.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Well, still yet, though, you you are half of the team and or are well half of this team, but uh we're a smaller portion of a bigger team altogether. Right. And I just want to tell you, I I appreciate what you do for us too. I I don't say that every week, and I and I was sitting there writing stuff down and I thought, crap, I never mentioned Micah. So I've got to tell him thank you. I mean, of course.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

I enjoy it. So thank you for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Absolutely. And thank you for all you do. I appreciate it. You make it easy for me, really. I appreciate that. That's that's what I that's what I want.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

You're like Andrew on, except for you. Take on both roles on the that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

That's okay. I'm glad to do it. And

Sponsors, Community Shoutouts, And Platforms

SPEAKER_02 2:30

and I confirmed yesterday, I I said it before, but our partners have ex, you know, they're they're going to extend with us into the new year, and we couldn't be happier to have them on board with us. Greengrass guys and Mercy Phoenix, what quality individuals, quality families.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Is this the now the time of the year to kind of get to talking to the greengrass guy about getting stuff ready?

SPEAKER_02 2:54

No doubt it is. Absolutely. This is this is their time to get on their schedule to get in there and get it started early. Right. You have to do what's called pre-emerge, and I I'm not an expert, I just know what details me, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

So I know they usually get some fertilizer sprayed early, like March or they do.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

February March. Well, it's it's probably pre-emerge, which gets a lot of those weeds before when it starts kind of warming up in March, kind of catch some warm days every now and then. You kind of start seeing that that purpley hen bit and other stuff, but you get that pre-emerge out and it kills it before it comes, you know, before it comes out, so the weeds don't germinate and and grow and all that stuff. So now's a good time to call it. Absolutely, 100%. And it's always a good time to call Mercy Phoenix. I was gonna say they're always needing they're always needing help. I mean, he was just telling me they're expanding the uh he I think he said Texas and don't don't quote me on all this, but Texas and Oklahoma, I think he said. And so they're gonna be needing people. And he told me I hope I can say this. I let's just say it's lucrative. Some numbers that he told me, I was like, How much? Holy crap. I mean, he's and I said that's before taxes. No, he said, they're W-2 employees, that's after taxes. Whoa. And so listen, if you're looking for if if if that's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Can you need a social worker?

SPEAKER_02 4:24

I'm telling you, man, I don't know. Unbelievable the the amount of money that they make. And so if it's something that you're interested in or something that you need for your your business, Mercy Phoenix, give them a call. And just like you said, Greengrass guys, now's the time to get in touch with them. And we are so thrilled to have them again continue with us. We're proud of the partnership that they've had, and we're proud of what we've begun and what we're continuing to be. So again, Luke, Aaron, Justin sometimes, Tucker Cheney, all of our shout-outs. And Becky. And Becky, absolutely. She's she's a big part of this as well. I mean, she's obviously behind the scenes, just like the rest of them, but allowing you, you know, the opportunity and the time and all those things to do that, and patience, I guess, with her brother as well. Calling all the time. Sometimes that grows then. I understand. I'll just play. I get it. I totally get it.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

I'm just playing. She's she's very she I think she enjoys that I do it.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

And yeah, we gives us uh gives us something to do. And don't don't want to forget Tyler Anderson, TA Woodworking, excuse me, twisted arrow woodworking and our sign on the wall. We were very proud of that. It's a big deal for us that he that he did that.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

It's hard to believe that we were just sitting here two weeks ago. It's been almost two weeks since we recorded. I think two weeks tomorrow. Has it been two weeks now? I think it's two weeks tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because we recorded on Sunday. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yep, and it was a jolly old Santa Claus himself.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

Well, we did, no, we did one. We did one by the time. Well, we did one by ourselves earlier. Yeah. Yeah. So our our guests weren't able to make it. So we, as they say, that show biz. And we had to change on the fly. But it's no problem. No problem at all. Okay. Again, don't forget to like, follow, share the doghouse on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. We're slowly but surely, I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise. I'm trying to get this video and others uploaded. I've about got Santa Rod's done. Man,

Why Rick Adams Matters To Sikeston

SPEAKER_02 6:30

uh it it it's it's frustrating because there's some minute things that I can't do that I've got to get Tucker. And and he's busy, he's got a job, he's a soon-to-be dad, he's got a pregnant wife, you know, kind of all that stuff. And so I know this is way down his list. And so I and I matter of fact, I hadn't even called him on it yet. And I know he would help, and he would do it over the phone probably, but I'm just hesitant to call. I know they've got other more important things to than than to mess with me a lot. So I will get that done. Again, you can catch all our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, all of the different platforms where you can catch podcasts. I promise they're on like 20 of them. If you can't find it, send me a message. I'll send you a link. That's right. I do it all the time. People say, Where is it? And I'll send them a link. I'm like, which one do you want? Apple. I'll send it to them. Text it to them. Again, you can uh email us at doghouse.sygston at gmail.com, our Facebook page, uh thedghouse.budsprout.com. You can send us a message on Facebook or Instagram. You can text me, email me, come by the bank, text Micah, send Micah up. You can send on my personal page. Messenger.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Facebook messenger.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Facebook Messenger. Yeah. However, however, you need to do it. If you need to get in touch with us, or if you need to get in touch with our sponsors, you need to talk to them. You can listen, we'll get you right in touch with them. I assure you. We they've got websites and pages. Or I know Mercy Phoenix does, mercyphoenix.com. I'm getting an updated logo from D. I need to get if he's got a website, I need to get that and put that on there too. But again, I've got their numbers. They're both on Facebook, kind of all the above.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

If you need to get in touch with them, we probably need to get D on one of these days.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

He is. He is, that's right. That's a good call. We need to get probably frankly, we need to get both of them on here. I want to get them both on here and let them kind of tell their story and kind of what they're doing. They can tell it a whole lot better than I can and a whole lot more clearer, so to speak, and let them let them speak for themselves. So but we are I I I thought long and a long time, and Mike and I talked, and Aaron and I talked, and Luke and I talked, and all of us talked, and I was like, man, we want to make 50 and we want to it's it's a milestone episode for us. Who what can we do? What can we sort of talks about who we are, not just who we are, but who Sykston is. And it's kind of a mentor to you, right? He's not kinda, he is a mentor. And he's you know, it's almost like sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees kind of thing. And Aaron goes, what about Mr. Rick? I went you know, how did I miss that? Right? He he he's a banking mentor of mine from my career. I'm

Bulldogs Tournament Recap And Fixes

SPEAKER_02 9:30

incredibly honored and humbled that he asked me to be his replacement when he retired from First State Community Bank where I work now. It's interesting. We both have kind of an interesting story that, and I'll let him get into it. Kind of the same thing happened when we both came to First A Community Bank. It's kind of funny how that kind of worked out, and I'll I'll let him get into that. But no, he's definitely my mentor. He's on the board at the bank, he's my friend, he's he's an unbelievable human being, one of the nicest, smartest, gentle, caring men that you'll ever want to know. Incredibly bright, humble. You know, I I'm saying all these great things about him, and they're 100% true. He's very humble. He'll he'll laugh at him because he says that he once he retired, he he knew he and he still does, but all of the lineage, like he'll say, okay, that was so-and-so, but did you know their parent was this and their brother was this and their sister was this and her uncle was this, and that was she was so-and-so's sister, and her brother was so-and-so. He knows all the lineage and the history of Sykston, and I think that's huge. Because Aaron tells him all the time, she's like, Mr. Rick, you need to write a book. He's like, Oh, I don't know. Nobody, and and when I talk to him, he's like, Are you sure anybody want to listen to this? I'm like, Are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

The history I've already got more people saying.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

It's unbelievable. They're like, Oh my gosh, I've had people tell me I can't wait for this one. And so we are unbelievably honored and humbled that he would that he would do this for us. And he's like, You sure anybody wants to hear this? I'm like, Well, at a minimum, I know two people that do, or well, four, counting Rick and Aaron. I mean, Luke and Aaron. So, yes, and and I know his daughters have chimed in. Jennifer Hodgkiss has chimed in. I've had a bunch of other people send me messages. Hey, I can't wait for this to come out. I'm excited for it. Just to hear his history. I mean, he was, I I'm sure he'll talk about it. He went to grade school, South, I think it was called South Grade School, it's not even there anymore. That I think he was at Lee Hunter. We'll get into all that. So he he knows the history of Sykston. You know, he was I think he he's from Parma originally, and so he he'll go through all that. And so I I'm excited uh about what he has to say and just just just thrilled and honored.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Happy that it's also at the new year, really. It is, Micah. It kind of fell on a big, big, you know, I mean, new way to start the year. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

I a hundred exactly. It worked out great like that. I didn't even funny you said that. I didn't even I didn't even think of that, but it is our 50th boom, first show of the new year. How cool is that? And we're I again I couldn't think of a of a better guest to have than have Rick. So he'll be with us in just a minute. Micah and I are going to cover this week in Bulldog basketball. Bulldogs went into the St. Dominic Christmas Tournament 9-0, won the first game in convincing fashion over uh North Point. The Bulldogs were the one seed and took care of them. It was a turbo clock, as we say. It was 35 or 40. They're a newer school. They're you know, they're trying to get their bearings set, and so we we played them and and took care of business like we should have. That took us to 10-0.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Then we played I'd say underrated, but they were Well, they were already they were receiving Hope was Hope was already receiving some in class five.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

That's correct. We were three, they were essentially ten, and they beat us by two. It was it was frustrating as far as couldn't get any rhythm. No. The I I'd say the two games that w that we lost up there to the person that's not an astute observer of the Bulldogs, might say, what happened? Expose some things that we knew we've we we've got to work on, and and and Coach Hollyfield was not surprised by any of this. We we've got to rebound better. I mean, there's just no there's no two ways about it. We've got to close out better. Now, they played twelve games in 25 days, which you know what that means. There's no practice time. Literally, you're preparing for the next team, so you don't have a lot of time to dig in and work.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

And we don't even have that extra Tuesday this year. Like, I mean, like we got a game Tuesday night. Normally we don't play until Friday night after Christmas.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

We're gonna play Monday. Monday night. Okay. Yeah. So we we will have a few days there, but you know, you need typically before, just like you said, we would go from then to like Jan almost January 10th, which is be the ninth this time. And so you'd have like a week and a half and you really dig in and work on closing out. When I say close out, I mean that's contesting a shooter, like a three three-point shooter, contesting those shots, rebounding, you work on team rebounding, uh, individual rebounding, blockout drills, just kind of all those things. And so they're again we're 10 and 2. I mean, I've had I won't say who had people, different people text me, oh my gosh, you know, the sky's falling. I'm like, we're 10 and 2. Nothing has changed. There we we won the conference tournament.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Hey, what was when we talked about preseason, we talked about having two tournament wins. Yeah. I mean we did. And that's exactly where we're exactly where we are.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

We're exactly where we are. If you go back and listen to our preview, we won two out of the three tournaments. And we won a few games that we thought maybe we wouldn't have problems with. We thought Puxico might have been a problem. We talked about Hayti. Listen, we we're gonna have Carruthersville. They are they're gonna be supremely athletic. They were really good in football, and they are they're they are talented. And we're going to their and we're going there, which it can be a challenge. It it can get it can just get, as I like to say from time to time, get wild and woolly there. And so we're gonna have our hands full Monday night to go down to Cruthersville. But we're looking forward to it, and I think the Bulldogs will rise to the challenge. They've been putting in some work. I know they practice yesterday. Coach gave them a few days off, which again, you you've played every other day, essentially, 12 out of 25 days. Gave them time off. I was at practice for a little bit, had a really good practice yesterday. They'll come back and they'll practice tomorrow and Sunday as well. Be ready for Monday, have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday to prepare for Charleston, work on a lot of things, get better, and I expect, just like we said, still want to win the conference, still want to win the district. What happened up there changes nothing toward that. It has nothing to do with like the seeding in the district. If we take care of business, we will be the one seed in district, and we will go in that thing prime to win it. I I'd say we're as we have as much as probably a better shot. How should I say that? I think we as we have as good a shot as anybody to win that.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

The probability of winning is greater. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Yeah. I think I think we are again, nothing's changed. Everybody, I mean, we lost by two to a really good team, essentially on their home floor. I mean, they they live five minutes from there. Right. Had a couple of the players played for St.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Dominic at one time or something. I thought I I thought I heard that or read that somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

A couple of Holt's players played for St. Dominic. I I don't know. I can't answer that. I don't know. I I don't recall. I do know the game, a couple games they lost, their guard was out, and man, he is a terrific player. Woo! And their 6'4 kid at 30 against us. I again, I don't think we guarded well with any rebound. Some shots weren't fallen, but a lot of again, a lot of that has to do with our competition. And then we came back on Tuesday and played in the third fourth place game, and we lost to Fort Francis Howe Central. Listen, man, they're class six school. They can play. Again, we lost by five or six or whatever it was. Everybody relax. It's okay. We're we're fine. We're fine. I don't I don't want everybody to jump off the ledge here. But we do go to Cruthersville on Monday night.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

And then get Friday's Charleston.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Friday home game against Charleston, be on Bulldog Nation Network. I

Practices, Upcoming Games, And Adjustments

SPEAKER_02 18:30

expect a big crowd. They played well at the Christmas tournament in Cape and kind of opened some eyes. They're a class two team.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

I'll be honest with you. Speaking of speaking of the Christmas tournament, both I watched a little bit of Acorp on both of them. Man, what an outstanding job.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

They Acorp is they're the premier production or media company. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

In our area.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

And it's not even close. And I that is I'm not disparaging anybody. I'm not saying that at all. And we I've talked about it we on the air on from our YouTube, from the Sexton Bulldog channel or whatever it was called. SPS TV, I think we called it. It's not a knock to Steve Bidler because Steve is top notch.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

You've done with what he could.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

That's what I mean. I mean, we're in a we're in a school-constrained budget, right? And not that they don't have budgets, I mean, but they're different. They're a private entity. They can you know they don't have to you know if Barry Acoke wants to spend money, he doesn't have well, he might have to account to Michelle. But but I mean you know what I mean. He doesn't have taxpayers' money. He's not trying to I'll be honest with you.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

I think it's probably one of the most efficient ways to get your name out there to things in the area. I mean, like if you advertise on them. Yes. I mean, like, man. And those all their commercials are excellent. Well put in there.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

They're professional done. Yep, they are. And another really good way of getting your word out there is what?

SPEAKER_00 19:54

The doghouse doghouse pockets, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

We had to slip that in there, right? But the dogs are uh 10-2. I I think we got a chance to win both games this week. And you know, all of a sudden you get you the further we get away from that, you know, 12-2. We don't have to be 30 and 0 to win a state title. I know we won one 30 and oh, but they happen every year. We don't have to win every game to win a state title, right? All we gotta do is get better.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

I mean, you know that that sits well with the 30-0 team. They had to get better.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

I mean, like they had to improve as they went along.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

And I I can tell you one thing that will happen. I can guarantee you this. I can't guarantee you we'll win every game from here out, but I can guarantee you we will get better.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

We will get better.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

A Coach Hollyfield coach team starting after Christmas, one thing that will happen is we will get better. We'll get better offensively and better defensively. You can take that to the bank and put it at first state community bank at 201 North Main.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

It's like we just got to be able to rebound the big, the big I mean, like there's other things, but I mean like that's the most obvious one.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

We we we have to be able to rebound, guard better, and then uh one other thing coach stressed, and again, I'm kind of getting down the weeds a little bit, is that we have we we have to run what's called our secondary break. That's where we push the ball hard up the floor, usually up one side or the other, try to reverse it, get the defense moving. We can get some easy buckets out of that, especially if our our our five, which would be their center essentially, sprints the floor. Typically the other guy can keep up with you for a quarter, quarter and a half, then they're kind of dragging Heine, gets up the floor, you can get a bunch of layups.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

I'll be honest with you, Holt did that to us.

SPEAKER_02 21:45

A little bit. Yep. They they they were leaking out a little bit, but I'm talking about just sprinting the floor from us going off defense to offense. If our five will sprint the floor, we'll get a bunch of easy buckets. Or if they collapse on him, kick out to some wide open threes. So anyway, we didn't we didn't do that particularly well, but again, it's just it's just reps, it's just work. It's it's just spending time doing it. It's it's not insurmountable, and we're and we're not far off. I mean, we lost by two, right? I mean, we lost by two. Come on. I mean, we win both of those games by two, we're having a totally different conversation.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah, and we wouldn't think about it being built two points.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

No, but it but it's but it's also it would regardless whether we lost or won by two, we still have those things to work on, right? Right, right. And so again, that just kind of exposes them a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

So we're about where we were at last year this time.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

Exactly. Exactly. I mean, we we we we were 28 and 4 last year, so can we say that we lost four games and it was a terrible year? Of course not. Of course not. So I would be surprised if we didn't have something very similar to that as our record. Again, I have no crystal ball. I just it's me and my red and black glasses, as I say, looking through looking through those shades. So listen, I think we've covered it, Micah. We'll we'll take a quick pause here and hang on right with us. And again, as I say, with the magic of editing, we will be right back with our our very special guest. Very special guest, thank you. That was a word I was looking for, a very special guest, and uh I can't wait to to get this out there and uh and hear his story. So just stick right with us. Hey, thanks for sticking around going through the uh this break with us, and uh, as we say all the time with the magic of editing, it was it will be about 0.2 seconds, or maybe maybe one full second, but it's a little bit longer in real life, or real time, as they say. So we're now with our guest, and without further ado, I'm going to introduce our guest and read his intro. If you've been around Sykston long enough, you start to realize something. This town doesn't rise or fall on buildings, businesses, or headlines. It rises and falls on

Introducing Rick Adams

SPEAKER_02 24:00

people. People who show up early, stay late, and quietly carry responsibility when no one's watching. People who believe that the community isn't something that you talk about, it's something you live. Episode 50 felt like the right moment to pause and reflect on that idea, not just where Sykston has been, but who helped us get there. Over the years, we've talked to coaches, educators, business owners, and leaders who've shaped this town in ways most people never fully see. And today's guest is someone who's influence stretches across generations, from classrooms to boardrooms, from bank lobbies to ball games on Friday night. Rick Adams represents a kind of leadership that's becoming rare, steady, thoughtful, values driven, and deeply invested in people over recognition. His story isn't about headlines, it's about commitment to doing things the right way, to serving without needing the spotlight, and to believing what when a community works together, it can weather anything. This conversation is about isn't about banking or boardrooms, it's about Sykston, where we've been, who helped shape us, and what it takes to make sure the next generation inherits something worth of being worth being proud of. This is episode 50 of the Dog House. Rick Adams, welcome to the doghouse.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Thank you. It's nice to be here. I'm wondering who this guy is you just read about.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

That's that's the humility that I I was telling you about.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

He is I I think I missed been telling us stories all like for the past 30 or 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 25:35

I know, and he and he says You know everything to talk about. No one wants to hear these. And I'm like, are you kidding me? This is and we and we talked about it before, right before we got on here, and and as we told you earlier, Aaron, my wife, always says, Mr. Rick, write a book. Well, this may be the second best to that.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Well just uh type this up then. Well, it transcribes.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

It will there will be a transcript of this.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Put a cover on

From Draftsman To Banker In 1967

SPEAKER_01 26:00

this and print it and bind it, and then it'll be ready to get it. That's the closest I'll get.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

Well, maybe I have no desire to write a book either. I I think that would be an interesting process, but uh my high school English teacher, Mr.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

O'Haw, would laugh at that if you thought it's wonderful lady. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

You ever watch the movie where the heart is or like the woman had the baby in the Walmart and stuff like that? Like I don't I've heard um no, I I've heard of that. Anyway, anyway, it's probably like I don't know, but supposedly there's a like the writer was originally from went to school at SEMO and didn't do very well in the English department.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

That's the way it happens. People that you don't think that and speaking of that, we we lost Mr. Sullivan this week. Yes, we did. That was that was tough. That's tough.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

You're a huge member of the church I attend.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Just a foundation of the church.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Yes. And uh another icon of this town. Yes. Just uh Mr. Pride, Mr.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Sullivan. That's so many people in this community, adults, can go back and relate some story with Murray Sullivan that they've had over the years.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

I did not have that fortune of attending classes with Murray or Joanne. They came into the high school right after I graduated. They were over at the junior high just right after I went through junior high. I got to know them as an adult in the ensuing years and just think the world up what just contribution they've given to so many students in Sykston and what they've done for the community of Sykston outside of the education side.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

Unbelievable folks. My son didn't get to have to have them in school. Obviously, they had retired before he got there, but got got to know them. He just they're very special people to us, and not just to us, to you, to the whole community. And they're they will be missed. Or excuse me, Mr. Sullivan will be missed. Yes. And I had Mrs. Sullivan, I had a great story. She she won't get into that. This isn't about me, but we I have a great story about Mrs. Sullivan, so she's she's one of a kind. But this is so Rick, tell us obviously a big part of your career or your whole career was was in banking. Tell us how you kind of got into that and kind of what started, kind of when you started, where you've been, kind of all that stuff. Well, all of that stuff. As they say, the dash is the most important thing in our life, right? That's right.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Actually, I got into banking as a happenstance. I was going to college, working at the highway department as a draftsman. I'd worked there for been there for three years while I was going to school. I commuted to SIMO in the mornings, and I had the fortunate situation with the highway department. I'd worked for them in the summers when I got out of high school, and they allowed me to stay on. I worked in the afternoons. I'd go to school at SIMO, commute home, go to the highway department, and I worked upstairs on the second floor as a draftsman in the afternoons. And then my wife, we were having a baby, a child. She came early. She ended up having to have an emergency C-section. And my health insurance at Highway Department was not in effect yet. So I had this huge medical bill. I thought it was a million dollars back then. It's probably a thousand dollars or something. Right. That's a lot of money for a student that's paying $70 a semester to go to school, you know. Right. But I had an acquaintance that worked at First National Bank here in Sykeston. They are in the process of installing a mainframe computer in the basement of their bank to process all their work. And he said, Hey, Rick, we need another computer programmer. Would you like to work at the bank? Come down here and work. I said, Well, I don't know. I don't know how to program a computer. I've never seen a computer. This is 1967, by the way. Now that was first national bank. First National Bank in Sykes and it's now Montgomery Bank. And it was on South King's Highway. That's okay. That's where I was going. And the computer department was in the basement of that building. And they said, Well, what we'll do is we'll let you take an aptitude test to see if you can think analytically and whether you could be a person that would be possible, work as a computer programmer. I took that that aptitude test, and for some reason they went ahead and hired me and so forth. But I was 20 years old. And then I was sent to programming school. They by then they sent me to programming school. I had three weeks of a crash computer programming class in Dayton, Ohio. Really? And came home and started working on systems and programming and patching systems and writing programs and keeping that system going that we had. And we we did all the checking accounts, the DDA systems, the Passbook savings, the CDs, and the installment loan systems. And it was a heck of a learning environment because when you're getting trying to program systems for all those various operational entities inside the banking unit, you had to get to know how they operated and whether they worked. So here I was as a youngster in early 20s, and I knew probably as much about the operations, what's going on inside the bank than anyone else did because I was trying to program those systems. And I'd been there four years, four and a half years, and then I got an opportunity to go to work at the bank of Sykeston, not on the computer side, but inside the bank's operations

Bank Of Sikeston, Leadership, And Growth

SPEAKER_01 32:00

on the main floor. Charlie Matthews, who I had gone was going to church with, talked to me and said, I'd like you to come to work at the bank. And I said, Well, you're putting in the computer. He says, No, we've got the computer center that does our work. I want you to come in and go to work inside the bank and be part of the next generation coming along. And that was 1971. And so I thought about it, prayed about it, and I went to work at Bank of Sykeston. And that was what year? 1971. Okay. And so I went to work there and inside the building and started out in the note window, learning how to be a note teller with Mr. Lynn Smith. And he had been at the bank probably 40 years at that time. And and it was a terrific learning experience because it was a side of banking I did not know. Because the many of the many of the functions inside the bank at that time were still manually done. And they were in the process of convert converting their bank over to the computer systems and so forth. So it gave me the other angle of how banking was done at one time, and then I'd already had the experience of being in the automated arena of banking. So it just gave me a huge, huge jump in background on what the future of banking is going to be and where banking had been previously. And then we we eventually got all the systems that bank Sykes automated and so forth, and we brought in our own computer system in later years when I was put in charge of the operations. I brought in guys like Benny Jeffery, Terry Schaefer, and some of those people. And and we really, you know, had a terrific career at the Bank of Sykes at that time. So that's you ask how I got into banking. That was that was my my jump into banking. So at an early age, I was really fortunate to be involved in in the ground floor of automation.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

So you became so you w you started there in 71 and you became president. In eighty-six. Okay. So you had okay. So you worked there, Mitt? 15, 16 years, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

I was the I was there fifteen years when I became president. I had moved up to I was Senior Vice President. Assistant cashier, what you want to call it. Then I became assistant VP, and then I became a VP. And then I got the position of senior vice president when I was twenty-seven, and then I was the senior VP until uh I was made president in 1986. Gotcha. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Now what year Charlie Matthews was president.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Charlie's the one that hired me in 71. Unfortunately, I I had three years with Charlie. Okay. Dynamic gentleman, just a super dynamic guy, and had and just drew out the whole picture where he was going to go with the Bank of Sykes and how we were going to do it, and we were going to create a holding company and so forth and expand and other locations and things. Unfortunately, Charlie had passed away in 74. Okay. And he was only 41 years old. Yeah. I mean, you know, you look back on it now, and he was such a young man at 41 years of age. But we persevered, and then I tried to carry some of those ideas that he had into force when I became president in later years.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Yeah. And then of course you were there. Then you went to you you started the first state bank and trust location here in Sykes, then you built that. I did.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

That was what That would have been in 95, is when I went to work at First State Bank and Trust Company. Yeah. Let me back up just a second because we did create a holding company for the Bank Sykes. Yes. Yeah. We created first called it Bank Psych Holding Company. Then we changed the name to Mirafirst Holding Company because we put a bank in Cape Girardeau, and that was a huge learning experience going into Cape and finding a location, negotiating the the purchase of the ground from Mr. Charles Drury and Super Guy, Superman gets getting to learn from Charles Drury. And he became eventually became a board member of our bank in Cape Girardo. And I I tell the story lots of times because some of the directors I had there go went back to like Charles Matthews and Bob Matthews, some of the folks, but having Marty Hecht and Charles Drury and Paul Eball and Harry Rust and Layman Finch, some of those gentlemen in Cape. Iconic names in Cape. Iconic names, iconic business people. I closed my mouth and opened my both ears up and I told people, I said, being around them and listening to them, it was like getting an MBA in business, you know, in business, just listen to them. And terrific, terrific time. What brought about the first state bank and trust company you talked about at a later time in 94 that I talked with the Matthews and we there were some estate tax issues, and there were some reasons that the Matthews family decided they need to sell the sell the bank. They technically people say sold the bank's likeness, they merged the bank Sykes into Mercantile Bank at that time out of St. Louis. It was a stock exchange, so they could get stock that was traded on the stock exchange and they could sell that off for tax reasons. And that was that was what happened. It was a merger as opposed to a sale, but similar differences. Yeah. But then we started. I I really wanted to stay in Sykeston. I didn't want to be with a larger holding company and at some point being transferred out of Sykeston or move around. Sykes my home. Sykeson's where I wanted to be. The people are the business people I knew. I wanted to work with them. And so I stayed with the Bank of Sykeson until the day the corporate charter was transferred to Mercantile. They called me from Jefferson City, said it's complete. So that's the day I left. And next day I'd already had an office rented and furniture in it and phones set up. So the next day I went to work for First State Bank and Trust Company as a loan

Founding New Branches And Tough Decisions

SPEAKER_01 38:00

production office. And then we were in in the process of designing the building. We built that bank building on corner of Helen Street and and uh South Maine. And I was there for about nine years.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

Yep. That was I I'd said right before on the first part, you and I have a sort of a very similar uh path as far as how we get got to where where I am now, where you were. Tell that story, kind of how our both mirrors, how we got there. Isn't it interesting how how we got there?

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Well, you know, I I have a first visit with you when I was a had was starting first date community bank. Yep. At the time I was just in the single wide modular building and just didn't have the facilities to have anybody else in. Right. I think you were at Mercantile at that time and and were going to Focus Bank. Yes, correct. That's correct. And uh I told you I'd I'd love to be working with you someday, but physically right now I just don't have any room. Right. When I'd started the other bank on South Main, we had a double wide unit and had lots of room. But when we started First State Community Bank, we could not get a double wide not without a waiting period of about six months. And so I just physically didn't have the facilities for that. And so then as fate has it, you and I came back around about eight or nine years later. Yep. And you came to work for First State Community Bank after you had gone to Dexter for a short hop.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

Well that that was what I was referring to. You you went to another bank in between First State Bank and Trust and First State Community Bank.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

I was there about two weeks. And then he came to First State Bank. It was. But they were they were wonderful people. Yes. It just the the but the opportunity and what was painted the picture for me for First State Community Bank was what I had to do. Been accustomed to and could be and could be the CEO and so forth there. And yeah, and took took took that opportunity. And you know, that's one thing I've looked back on my career. It seemed like at certain times when a certain door opens, you've got to recognize an opportunity. And I've always sat down, thought about it, prayed about it, and if it was the opportunity I thought was good for me and good for the what I could do for Sykes, and I took that opportunity. Right. And that's what that that opportunity was. Yeah. And it proved out to be a a a wonderful post postmark on my career in baking, being with first date community banking coach for nine years and so forth. And and still sitting there with you as a advisory board member now today.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Yeah. Micah, he said he's one of your mentors, right? And I was like, absolutely. We we it it our our paths were real close. I started with Mercantil in '96, just right, I guess a year after roughly that the bank sold.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

And so I crossed paths with a lot of folks that worked with you and and I knew of you through then. And I was a youngster at that point. I was 20 25 or 26, whatever it was, when I started there. And then, of course, you started first state bank and trust. But then uh we tried in 06 to get together, and it just like you like you mentioned, just wasn't at the time wasn't supposed to happen then. And then I actually took another job in Dexter for about maybe a pay period or two. And Rick contacted me at Jay's one morning and said, I I know you just left and and took another location and went to another bank, but I did the same. And I think this is an opportunity that you should you should listen to. And of course, how was I not gonna at least listen to him, right? Sage advice from someone's uh counsel that I I sought and and and and thought a lot of, and so been very been very fortunate to be a part of this organization.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Well, the terrific side of that story, Matt, is they asked me just to get the bank started. Yeah, yes. And get it off the ground and find a location, get a building built. One of the thing one of the carrots they threw out to me was the folks, the headquarters was in Farmington, and they said, We've always had an architect from St. Louis, and we've let him design the building, and then we'd oversee it, and then we would put our people in there and so forth. And they said, You're remote from us, and you've had the experience. And you go find us a location in Sykston. You negotiate that location, you get us an architect that you can work with and don't deal with St. Louis, it's too far from you. You get you an architect and design what you want in Sykston. And that made me salivate. But have that option.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

It's a beautiful building, too. People, I get, I can't tell you how many compliments I still get on it with with folks in our organization that come down for this or that and the other, and they just rave about the building. And I tell them, I I promise you I wish I could take credit for this. I wish I could say I had a hand in this, but I had zero to do with it. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

Well, they just they they they just carte blanche told me to build this building, get it started, get it up and going. Because when you're 58 years old, that's not an easy task to start a bank from scratch. I'd started two banks in my career from the ground up, and it's it's a challenge. It's a it's a huge challenge. I started the bank in Cape, the Amerifirst location, which is in front of St. Francis Hospital. It's now a U.S. bank location. And then it, as you mentioned a while ago, a first state bank and trust company. Uh I was able to start that location for the for that company. And then this one was kind of kind of my the cap to my career, as we

Building A Bank And A Building

SPEAKER_01 44:00

could say. And then I had some health issues there, kind of followed closely together for a few years, and I just decided, you know, I've always been a person that listened to advice and tried to and listened to sages, and I started I listened to myself. I said, I'm gonna listen to my body. Right. And that's when I decided it's time for me to retire. And that's when I the only person I contacted was you. I appreciate that. I found out when I was going to contact you that you had no longer with focus and you were over in Dexter. And I said, Well, I'm still gonna throw it out to Matt like it was tossed to me at one time. That's a that's and it's more than a toss. It was a it was a it was a touchdown pass. Well, you you accept you you caught you accept it. I'll give him no bigger head and he's like. Well, it's it I I I don't try to do it from uh from uh uh measuring a head size, but it's it's I'm stating facts. It's true, and it's it's it's been you know, I I built it up to I don't know, 30, 40 million, 50 million. I can't remember what it was. And now the bank is more than tripled in size through Matt's tutelage. But I I I felt that I kind of did what was placed in front of me was get the bank, get the bank started and get it up and going and and uh give an attach a name with it. And so it it was it was a different challenge for me than what I'd had before because I I was looking for a long-term career situation. But when you're 58, it's not a long-term career situation. Right. At the end you're you're beginning to put the put the brakes on, slow down a little bit. But uh it was enough of a challenge thrown out there to me to build a s build another building, start another building, and do what I did and and stay with my customers as the as the president of the bank and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 45:39

And you did that in spades, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

It it it I think it's worked out beautifully.

SPEAKER_00 45:45

So was it was there already like don't try offices down like Portageville or Malden and different places? Were those already there wh whenever whenever you started They were that was uh that was the South locations that was in Malden and Portageville and Kenneth at that time.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

Hayti. Hayti.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

We actually had one in Risco for a while.

SPEAKER_01 46:08

Well, Risco came later. Oh. That came through an acquisition of that bank. And just through safety reasons and the size of the community, they decided it what they were going to close that close that location.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

There was a there was a bank robbery there. There was a bank robbery.

SPEAKER_01 46:23

That's what that's what pres was the decision. I used to know the people that ran the bank at Risco many years ago and the ownership and so forth, and it was a wonderful bank at one time. There's a lot of risk there. I mean, especially if you don't have law enforcement. When you're in an isolated location, you've only got a couple of employees and so forth. Right. There is there is a large amount of risk situation. I mean, that's that's our societal environment right now. Sadly. Unfortunately, yes. Unfortunately. Yes. But uh the Sykeson location was the 17th location for this company. Now we've got and it's close to 60. Something like that. 58 or 59, something like that. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

I just didn't know if y'all were the first ones towards Boot Hill, but it sounds like y'all were.

SPEAKER_01 47:07

No, we weren't. We we kind of hit that plateau in between, is what we what we did.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

So there are a couple of interesting side notes I want to mention. The location that we're on in Sykston was where you worked as a youngster at the highway department.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Well, that was the location of the highway department at that time, where Walgreens and the bank is. That was that was all highway department property. Yes. And I was on the second floor of that highway department. It was a district headquarters. Yes. And uh here, I was starting to work there as a 17-year-old kid out of high school because I had drafting experience even in high school and got into got into the office as a draftsman when I was a I thought that's an interesting tie to the It is.

SPEAKER_02 47:48

To that.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

And tell uh we've talked about it. The maintenance shed, actually, or the some of the vehicles set right there where the bank sat. Is that right? That's why the foundation of the bank's sitting on so much about six feet of gravel, because it's over the years you just got pushed down and made such a solid foundation.

SPEAKER_02 48:03

Right. So the the other interesting story, you mentioned a couple of your and and Aaron, you had told this, and we were talking about it upstairs before the before we started coming up before we came on the podcast. You talked about one of your directors in Cape that was the the Hecht family.

SPEAKER_01 48:22

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

And originally from Site tell the tell the story about that, about how they were involved with the Caesars Palace and Circus Circus. It's just these things are just these are unbelievable stories that I don't think anybody knows about. Or not very many people, I should say.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

When we were trying to get the bank established, started, not established, but started in Cape before you even had the charter or even applied for a charter. I was trying to find some additional shareholders to give us a foundation in Cape Girardo. We had the Bank of Sykes and Capital and so forth, but we wanted Cape presence involved. And I got with Larry Dunger, who worked for RB

The Highway Department Land Connection

SPEAKER_01 49:00

Patashnik construction company Cape, and many people know that. I'm not going to tell you a lot of the people that were shareholders because that would give away some financial information. But some of the people we had, and it was public knowledge because they became directors of that banking tape, one of which was Marty Hecht. And I was sitting at dinner one evening with Marty Hecht and talked to him and his wife, and Don Harrison was at that dinner that night, and Mr. Ms. Lehman Finch were at that dinner. Lehman was an attorney and became chairman of the board of the location cape. And Marty's wife, Tootie, spoke up and said, She said, Well, Rick, you know I'm from Sykston. I said, No, I did know that, Ms. Ms. Mrs. Heck. She said, Well, don't call me Ms. Het, call me Tootie. Well, her mother and daddy were Mr. and Ms. Nathan Yoffey that owned People's Men's Store on Front Street in Sykeston, which later became Falcoff's and when David David Friedman purchased Falcoff's. But I had known Tootie's mother and dad for years as a little kid going in and out of that store, and Mrs. Yoffey always called me Ricky in there and so forth. And she she referred to me as Ricky when I was president of the Bank of Sykes. And so uh I I I put that connection together, wonderful connection. And another shareholder was came on was uh Sydney Pollock, who was also a sister, his wife was a sister of Tooties. But in in the issue about you talked about Las Vegas and so forth. Yeah. We had there was an association in Sykston uh many years ago of Dr. Sam Sornell, who I knew him, and he was my doctor when I lived in Morehouse as a youngster. He was the company doctor for Himmelburger Harrison. And his all in Morehouse. Is that a furniture manufacturer? No, it was a it was a lumber mill. Lumber, okay. It was a lumber mill. For many years before Himmelberger Harrison owned that, Louis Hecht out of Cape Giraud. Not I'm sorry, not Louis Heck. Louis Houck owned that. Houck Stadium has got the name on it. All right. The Hauck family was a longtime pioneer family in Cape Giraud. Louis Hauck owned it, and then he sold it to the Himmelberger Harrison firm, which Himmelberger Harrison was out of Cape Giraudo, had a business office down on Broadway and Cape, and the Harrison part of that name was part of Don Harrison's family.

SPEAKER_02 51:29

Which is the Harrison

Hidden Ties: Cape Icons, Caesars, Circus Circus

SPEAKER_02 51:30

Business School in Cape.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

Okay. Harrison Business Schools named after Don and his family. Don had construction companies, D. Harrison Construction Company, Mary Construction Company, and at one time was a son-in-law to R.B. Patashnick. But back to Dr. Sam Sarno, he came to Morehouse on the train, the stories he told me, and was dropped off there in Morehouse, and he had a suitcase and a satchel with his medical instruments in it. And his office was right behind the State Bank of Morehouse, which the bank in Morehouse was owned by Himmelberger Harris. And his office was attached to that building right on the back side of the bank building. It's the only office Dr. Sarna owned his whole career. He always practiced out of that office building there in Morehouse. Okay. His entire medical career and then used the Sykeston Hospital in later years as his hospital. Right. Dr. Sarn and his brothers over the years made good investments and so forth. And they'd owned a hotel in New York and big housing development in Alaska and some other things. And he and two of his brothers and investors went to Las Vegas and they were the original incorporators of Caesars Palace casino in the early 60s in Las Vegas. That's unbelievable. Of course, Dr. Sarnal knew Marty Heck's father, who had retired to Las Vegas from Cape Girada after World War II. He turned the ladies' store over to Marty when he came home from World War II, and he and he took his son Chick and retired to Las Vegas. There's more story to that as how he got to Las Vegas, but I won't go into this long story here with you. But he decided to go to Las Vegas. And after a few years of being there, he was tired of being retired and bored, so he started another Hex store in Las Vegas and became friends with the I can't remember Bill's last name that uh that owned Sam the little small casino in downtown Las Vegas called Sam's Town. Still there. And they he and Bill's dad grew grew that casino, but Marty's dad and Bill they got together and put some other people and then started Nevada State Bank in Las Vegas, which that grew that into a multi-billion dollar institution. I didn't realize that. And sold off Nevada State Bank in later years. And Mr. Heck took his extra money and started making investments and bought land outside Las Vegas. Well, that happened to be on Las Vegas, what became Las Vegas Boulevard on the way to McCarran, the little little tiny airport out there called McCarran Airport.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Yeah, now it's McCarran International.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

Now it's McCarran International. And sold off a lot of the land along the long there to developing casinos as years went by. That was just a country road out there at one time. It's called Las Vegas Boulevard now. But the Dr. Sarno and his brothers were shareholders and managing partners of Caesars. And then unfortunately, Dr. Sarno died in the mid-60s. He was a dire by the way, Dr. Sarno was a a director of First National Bank when I went to work at First National Bank. And of course, I'd known him all my life because he had most of my life. He had been my doctor when I was a youngster in Morehouse. And that's I lived there for a few years and went and started school in Morehouse. And Dr. Sarno and Mrs. Sarno were at Caesar's Palace when he passed away at one time. Subsequent to his passing, one of his other brothers had already passed, and his younger brother was still there. And at some point in time there was a dispute dispute about the direction of Caesar's. So Neil left Caesars, took his money, sold out, took his money from the other partners, and he went down and bought the land, and he started Circus Circus Casino. But all this time in connection with the hex out of Cape Girarde also was part of it. So it's it's quite a history. You know, people don't realize that's the the intertwining of these things. But you never but you don't have anything to say though, right? I I think back earlier in our our talks, I said when I got around some of these people, I learned early and young, these businessmen, is close your mouth and open up both ears. Yes. And listen to these people. Yes. And grow with some of the things they they tell you about and talk about and so forth. And it's just wonderful history. So I mean, some of the stories I sat and listened to with Mr. Charles Drury and talk about how they started. I mean, their their dad started out plastering the inside of wells when people had wells in the ground on their farms, and then they became plasters inside the houses and became dry and plastered. They were drywall, weren't they? Plastering transferred over to drywall when they created drywall as a you know manufactured process. And the home I have here in Sykeson right now, my living living room and bathrooms are were plastered. Charles told me he plastered those when he was 18 years old with his dad, plastered those walls. Oh my gosh. And that's back in the early 50s when that house was built. And he he and I talked about that, and we just you know, it's just some some connections. He also, Charles said he remembered playing softball against my dad, who was a softball pitcher back in the late 40s and early 50s and those time periods. And of course, everybody from Kelso area and Cape Girardeau area and southeast Missouri played softball. The f fast pitch softball. Fast pitch softball. There were ball diamonds all over the area. Right. And my dad used to travel around and pitch for different teams. And his catcher was Ray Blumer. I had Bloomer's grocery store up on the north end of town because a pitcher and catcher traveled together. But so, you know, those are some interesting stories. But anyway, Charlie tell me I can remember as a youngster playing softball against your dad. Oh my gosh. And some just some wonderful, interesting, interesting stories that people I've come in content and come across. By the way, I went back and told you about Sidney Pollock, who was a a brother-in-law of Marty Hicks, and his wife, Marilyn from Sykes, and she was also a Yaffey. Their daughter married a fellow named Richard Bells from Memphis, B-E-L-Z. Is that the Bells family owns a Peabody and the Bells real estate development firms and so forth stuff.

SPEAKER_02 58:16

Sykston has some unbelievable ties and unbelievable ties. Well, that but that but that's what I'm saying. I can guarantee you my generation doesn't know these stories.

SPEAKER_01 58:28

Another story is and then we're getting way off of banking. No, listen, that's okay. The chairman of the Bank of Sexton, Bob Matthews, he just took me under his wing, just like one of his sons, like Scott or Phil Patrick, and just taught me so much and everything. But when I I happen to be the have the good fortune of being president of the Chamber of Commerce one time, we were having our annual banquet, and we usually would bring in tr some speakers from SEMO or someplace else. And Bob came down to my office one day, he says, I got a speaker for your annual chairman's banquet. I said, Well, that's good, Bob. We'd need someone. He said, a good friend of mine from high school. He's lives in Seattle, Washington. Okay, well. Well, who is he, Bob? He said, What's his he's he's T.A. Wilson? He's T T. Wilson. You know him? And I said, No, sir. Not if he went to school high school with you. I don't know him. He was the chairman of the board of Boeing Aircraft Corporation. What? And uh from Sykston. From Sykeston. And his dad was an engineer for the highway department when he was growing up in Sykeston. T.A. Wilson's the father of the Boeing 757-767 series of airplanes. And he was the chairman of Boeing Aircraft. What? And so he said, if you want him, I said, sure, if he doesn't cost anything, he said, I'll call him. Twenty minutes later, Bob called and he said, Come up to my office. I've got T.A. on the phone. So I went up and got to talk to him on the phone and invite him. I said, Well, I'm not sure we can afford you, Mr. Wilson. He said, Hey, I'll come. Back and see Bob said, Company will fly me back there. There's no charge. I'd love to come back to Sykston. Wow. So, you know, just wonderful interactions.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:09

Oh my I didn't know that. I know he this gentleman. I recall this, I believe this was from Steve Matthews who told me this. But Mr. Charles Stamp.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:20

Charles Stamp.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:21

Is from Sykston. Is he your age?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

He was a he was a few years younger. Okay. I but now his dad, I I worked with his dad, Charlie, Charles' dad a lot. Okay. And he was the general manager of Fabic Corporation here in Sykeston. Mr. Senior? Senior. Okay. And then Charlie was a couple of years younger. And of course I knew Charlie when he was younger, but not intimately like like I know him now, communicated with him and so forth. And and his brother Tim. Tim's his younger brother. Okay. And they lived up on Sykes Avenue for all those years. And knew those folks just but

Vegas, Hechts, And Nevada State Bank

SPEAKER_01 1:01:00

salty their feet.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:01

Now Charles Stamp Jr. was he I I I think I said it incorrectly one time. He was he was a president of a ag some sort of ag company that was purchased by John Deere.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:16

He was the attorney for a ballad industry gentleman, and who owned a he became an attorney for him. And they did grain bins and augers and you know on a on a large basis, big time basis up in Illinois. And that Charlie became was an attorney for him. And then he was hired by him to come into the company and turn the company over to him and and Charlie became president of that company. Then it was acquired by John Deere. So Charles Charlie came into John Deere. Yeah. He worked himself up to senior vice president and legal counsel for John Deere on the international side.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:04

This is people from here. We're we're the same people we are. I mean, essentially. That's I I'm saying they're very smart. I'm not not taking that away, but I'm we're talking about these same people that have the same that lived here before us. But this is these are the things that I think that w we we need to talk about more, we via this, the chamber, the the things that tie Sykes and that make us special.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:35

There's two two more people I can talk about. Please, no, please. I can talk about a couple of brothers from Sykes that went to school here in the early 50s, and one graduated, I think, in 51 or 52, and the other graduated in 55. Their mother worked at Sykes Porting Goods. Excuse me, worked at Sykes Sporting Goods, Mrs. Maul, and her sons, John Mall and Bill Mall. John came home after school, went to college, went to the military, came home, went to work at Malone and Hyde in Sykeston, worked his way up to where he was the general manager of the warehouse in Sykeston. Then they transferred him when they acquired a big grocery firm in Nashville, went to Nashville, grew there, and then became president of Malone and Hyde. And he was worked, his good friend was Pitt Hyde, who was Mr. Hyde's son, who was the Malone Hyde side. They started AutoZone as a division of Malone and Hyde. Malone and Hyde was acquired by a venture capital firm. Fleming. And they spun off AutoZone. They did one AutoZone, so John and Pitt kept AutoZone, which is on the public trading. What? And now AutoZone is the largest auto park supplier in the United States. They're from Sykston? And John Maul was from Sykston. Pitt's from Memphis. What? But uh and so they they started from scratch, AutoZones. And yeah, that's the headquarters is in Memphis. In Memphis. Yep. That's AutoZone Park and all that stuff down there. That that was all that was started by Malone and Hyde as a division of Malone and Hyde. What? I didn't know that. And uh I had no earthly idea. That John was president of that. John's younger brother, Bill Maul, was a graduate in 55, and Bill was in radio stations and did TV and things like that. Bill worked himself up to be president of public broadcasting system at one time. What? And then he was he was in he was in Cincinnati at one time before he wanted to be president of PBS. And one of his best friends in Cincinnati was Jerry Grunfelder, who you should know through U.S.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

Bank. CEO or chairman. First star. First star. And then now U.S. bank. The other Grunhofer, the other brother was one of them was at first star, one of them was at U.S. Bank, and now they're U.S. Bank. Jerry was at First Star in Cincinnati.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:59

Yes. And his brother was U.S. bank in Minneapolis. Right. Jerry. I wasn't connected then, but there's but that was Bill Maul's good friend. But Bill Maul went up left and went Cincinnati and went on to be president of the public broadcasting system. And now he's retired and lives in San Antonio. And his wife, Marilyn Lewis Maul, the Lewis Furniture Company in Sykes. That's her? That's Marilyn. Marilyn Maul. Marilyn Lewis. Her family had all had the Lewis furniture and Kingsway furniture in Sykes. Still. Still. Yes. Still to this day, yes. And her brother Marilyn's brother, David, I went to school with David. He was a minister and missionary and so forth. Taught school at Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana. David became ill, passed away, and now his wife is still a missionary in Africa. And her dad was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Sykston, Ed Watson. And then his son, her brother Jim Watson, was a class behind me in school here in Sykston. So, you know, Marilyn, I just saw a photo of Marilyn on Facebook the other day, and she's in Africa. She still spends all of her time in Africa as a missionary.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:11

How old of a lady does she have to be?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:13

Marilyn would be 80. Holy moly. And she's still doing mission work? Yes, sir. That's her that's her life. Wow. She's quite a lady.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:23

I boy, what are you talking about? Holy cow. And her husband David was a prince of a fellow. I've heard.

Boeing, Deere, AutoZone: Sikeston Roots

SPEAKER_02 1:06:31

We go to Tanner Street, which is a huge Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:34

He grew up in that church.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:35

Yes, a huge The Lewis family has so much to do with that church. And I mean, well, we have the it's the Stafford Center, but it was Pearl Lewis Lewis Stafford.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:47

She became Stafford after Mr. O. C. Lewis passed away. Yes. She lived around the corner from where I live right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:54

Yes. Yes. So the that that family has huge ties to to our church. That's wow. I I did not realize that.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:02

At one time my dad had a furniture store in Sykeston when I was younger, and he actually sold his furniture store to Mr. O. C. Lewis. Really? Sure. Certainly did. Yeah. I did not realize that. We came to Sykeston because my dad got into the furniture business with national furniture and then opened up his own store later on, and then Mr. O. C. Lewis acquired my dad's store.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:25

Am I correct? I talked about this on the first part of our podcast. You are from Parma originally, correct? I was born in Parma. Born in Parma, okay. There we go. Yes. There we go. So you've you ventured up north to the big city, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:36

Well, I ventured as far from Parma to Trailback Plantation. At Trailback. Oh, okay. And then from Trailback to Moorhouse. And then after Morehouse, we went to lived in Cape Drada for a eight months or nine months.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:56

And then we left Cape Draudda when my dad came to Sykston to be assistant manager of the National Furniture Store, which was on Front Street next door to JC Penney's. Okay. And it was owned by Mr. Jimmy Moore. And so dad was there until he opened up his own furniture store.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:12

Okay. Okay. So that's how you got Sykston.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:15

Yeah. That's how I made the road to Sykston.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:18

So there and there there's there's just so many there's so much history of Sykston that that I don't know about. A lot of times when we're talking, we're talking about other things and not necessarily talking about this, but these are these are interesting. These are unbelievable stories that that I don't have anything to do with. But if I can help preserve that history, I feel like that you telling this preserves this, and now we have a record of this is because I I I guarantee the chamber doesn't know this stuff. And and I'm not knocking Marcy, I'm not knocking what they do, but I bet you they don't know these things.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:12

Now these are these are tidbits.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:15

Well, that's okay. It's it's it's a part of who we are, though. I mean it's part of people from Sykston.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:20

Well, I would have to say one thing that helped me, Matt. Uh my dad being in business, my mother being the she had a beauty salon in Sykston, and being in now that salon around adult people all the time, and I'd have to go over there and fill my mother's shampoo bottles up and take the towels and go to the laundromat and do those, fold them and wash them, fold them, take them back. Just being in out, being around people. I learned at an early age to learn to communicate and converse with adults, not stand back in the corner, just be like they were and talk and and and visit. Right. You know, when we were young, I guess part of the reason I know a few things about Sykston. I maybe I don't know any more than anybody else does for my age. It's just I recall them. I read they registered with me. You know, we didn't when I was a youngster originally we didn't have a TV TV until Cape Girardo got a TV station. So we listened to radio. I remember listening to Roy Rogers, and I remember Lone Ranger on the radio, but my iPad was my bicycle. And as kids, we'd get on our bicycles. You have to remember now. We lived in a safer time. Oh, sure. We could get on our bicycles and go all over town. Rick, we did the same. And at one time I knew every alley in this town. Oh, I knew where everybody lived. You know, we didn't have half the streets in town were paved. We I I was ten years old before Agnes Street ever got a gravel, got a paved street off the gravel. My my friends Mike and T Collins, their grandparents, lived on Broadway, and I can remember Broadway was just graveling sand down through there and so forth. But, you know, we just get on those bicycles, and that was our freedom. Yes. If we wanted to learn something, we didn't look it up on an on the phone or iPad. We went and discovered it. We went to find out for ourselves. Right. And I just was all over this community as a kid. And then I worked at the supermarket for seven years and saw people in and out of there and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:22

So what my dad, and I'm I can't recall this, and I need to, and I want it for this purpose too. And and I think you know this story too, or know part of it. There was a car dealership here in town, Goza Goza Harper? Goza Harper. But was there two brothers, two Goza brothers? Was there a Hudson Goza? Hudson was a farmer. Okay. Hudson farmed over around Great uh Great Ridge. So my parents side of Grey Ridge. Right. My parents were from there. Great Ridge.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:51

That was Kelly Goza's brother.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:52

Kelly was the other one. Wasn't one of them in World War II and involved in Kelly was involved in U.S.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:01

Army Air Forces. He was on another plane that he was able to observe the bombing of Nagasaki. There we go. Yeah. Yeah. He was on a port window and and saw the mushroom cloud. Yeah. That was totally no one else in the Air Force except for a handful of people, close closely guarded secret. It was the Manhattan Project, right? Well, the Manhattan Project developed the bomb. Right. The first bombing was Hiroshima. The Enola Gay, right? That was the Enola Gay. The second bombing, Nagasaki was not the target. They had another target, and they had to veer off of that because of cloud cover. And the secondary target was Nagasaki. What just so happened, they his plane, Kelly's plane, had been on a bombing run in that area because all the other planes were supposed to be now the primary bombing area, which they didn't get to drop the bomb on. And Kelly told me this story one time. So we told my dad we were on our way back to gosh, I forgot where he said they took off from. Sorry, I'm No, no, it's not midway or somewhere, but you know, they'd captured those islands as their as their trek up to Japan at that time. And everybody thinks it's such a terrible thing, but it saved probably a million lives of U.S. soldiers if they try to invade Japan. But he saw he he saw the plume and everything from the explosion at Nagasaki.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:28

Yeah. That's again, that's and he didn't even know what was going to be happening. Right. Right. Right. It's such a guarded secret thing. I couldn't recall. And I knew it was Mr. Goza, because my dad, being in the HVAC business, did work for Kelly and Husband.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:46

If I'm not mistaken, Kelly I think he was a navigator on that plane.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:49

I think that's what I understood. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:52

But that second bombing brought about the immediate end of World War. Yes. Because Germany had already surrendered back in May of 45, and this is August of 45. So that brought about finally the second bombing, the immediate surrender of Japan.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:06

Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So to have again talking about are they from are they Seiksten original, the Gozas, or did they come, or do you know? Not that it matters, but they they lived here.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:21

I can't quantitatively tell you that. I know Mr. Hudson farmed right there on the south of Grey Ridge. Yeah. And Kelly, maybe he came to Sykeston after the war or something. Yeah. I don't know. I can't give you that information.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:33

Yeah. No, I just that was an interesting story. And then this is probably a little bit more well known, but the Sykston Airport trained more pilots during World War II than anywhere in the country.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:49

6,000 pilots.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:50

Six thousand pilots. Right out here. Really? Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:55

Park Park Park Training Center. Yes. Harvey Parks. Harvey Parks. And there was

Schools, Stadiums, And Campus Shifts

SPEAKER_01 1:15:00

another parks was up in East, just south of East St. Louis, was a parks air airfield, and that was owned by the same parks, Harvey Parks. They had those never had a contract with the U.S. government to train the train them. Military people here training them, but he had the contract for the airport and so forth that provided that. I wasn't aware. I didn't know. And two things Sykes had to do to get that facility here and training facility. We had to have a hospital. And they built a hospital on Gladys Street, which is now a church facility. For many years it was Welsh funeral home. Oh yeah. That's right. That was built as a hospital for Sykeson. Had to have a hospital if we're going to have those suitors here. And they also had to have a place for the officers and the men to be entertained, and they built what is now the Sykes and Country Club, which was just east of where the training facility is. Yes. And they built that central section there as a WPA project. Yep. And then since then it's been expanded onto. But that was actually belonged to the Parks Airfield, and it was given to the city of Sikkson after World War II. And that was you said the officers lounge or whatever. Well, it had to have a place for downtime and so forth and that. And then they had some a few sand fairways and sand greens. They didn't have green grass. They didn't have grass. They had sand greens. Yes. Yes. And for a long time, even as a country club, it was sand green. Yes. Yes. And after you put your golf ball off the green up what would be a called a green, it'd leave a little trail and you had to go back and rake it and so forth. Oh my gosh. But uh that that was a WPA project for the training facility.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:42

This is stuff that I I think we ha I think we need to know these things. We ha I think it's just it's that important that we know these things.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:50

It's kind of fitting now that that's like kind of the not there, but in that area is where the memorial, like for the veterans memorial.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:00

Well, the the veterans memorial is there because that's where all the barracks were located, what was the airport school. Okay. Those were the barrack, that's right. Well, there were two things. They were the front four were barracks, and the latter one latter two were classrooms, and then one of them was a little gym where they had some stuff set up, and then the last one was the administrative building, and that was down next to they had three hangars at the airport at that time. And those three hangers were there when I was a youngster. There's only one of the original hangers still there now.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:30

The Quonset Huts. Quant.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:33

But there were three of them identical at one time there. But I wish we would have preserved one of those barracks as a museum for Sykston and had that as part of the veterans part.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:44

That's where I I went to school in one of the Quonset huts there, or our kindergarten there. Kindergarten. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:50

You went in probably one of the barriers closer to the road out front and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:54

Yes. Now the the the column or the brick.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:58

That's the that's original to the to the training facility. Yes. That's there. That's there. Yes. And the fence and so forth. Of course the fence had been replaced over time, but the I had no clue. Brick columns. It says Harvey Harvey L. Parks. Airport or something. I went to junior high school there. Oh I went seventh, eighth, and half the ninth grade there at airport. And then you went to high school on Tanner Street. I went to ninth grade one semester on Tanner Street as a part of the junior. We were the first ninth grade class to be part of the junior high school. Oh. In 1960 and 61. And at Christmas we transferred over because the high school transitioned to, quote, the new high school out on out behind where the football stadium was already built there in 1958. Where the football stadium is now was 58. And it played the played there in 59. And then they built the high school there, and it opened in January of 61. Oh, okay. Ralph Boyer built that school. Okay. A lot smaller than what you see in the footprint now. Sure, sure, sure. But it's that's where some some of us still refer to the new high school. But I only went on Tanner Street for one semester as a ninth grader.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:08

Okay. So that was So that was about being going away as a high school then. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:16

The high school. The high school was there until Christmas vacation of 60. Okay. And then when they left there, they came back after Christmas vacation, went to the new campus, and the kids from Airport School came in and moved to that campus on Tanner Street. Okay. And it became junior high school then.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:33

Yep. I w I went to sixth and seventh grade there. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Sure did. That the big building there, and then there was a Bailey the Bailey building we talked about. Of course, at at eleven and twelve years old, whatever, it seemed like it was four miles back to that building. It probably wasn't near that far, but it seemed like four miles.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:51

I've been a hundred and twenty yards.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:53

Right. But in the in in the driving snow or the rain, and then there was a covered walk, but it it still felt Like it was a hundred miles out there. See, as a youngster, we had a football field in between there.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:05

That was the high school field, right? That was the high school field right behind the high school at the time, which became the junior high, and then behind the stuff the bleachers of the football field is where the Bailey elementary school was.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:17

Oh, I didn't realize there was an elementary school there.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:19

Bailey Bailey Elementary was there.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:21

So that building was an elementary school? Is that what you're saying?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:24

Bailey was an element was built to be an elementary school. Oh, because it was three levels or it was a second elementary

City Management, Public Safety, And Malls

SPEAKER_01 1:20:30

school in Sykes and the original elementary school was the South Grade School. Right. Where you went. I went to elementary there. South grade had two buildings and they were attached with a walkway in between. One side was a high school and one side was the elementary school. Oh. And then when they built the high school on Tanner, the high school moved out of what became South Grade Elementary, and it became one elementary school. And it was the only elementary school in Sykeson until they built the Bailey Bill Bailey School.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:58

And that was on School Street? On school in Malone. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:05

That was part of that building was built in 1904. Oh, geez. I remember the dates on that building.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:13

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:17

I wasn't born then, but that's I remember the dates.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:21

No, I I understand. So we we've talked a lot about Sykeson history. Is there are there any moments in our history that that I guess somebody my age or even younger are there things that we don't fully appreciate? What's like what's happened in Sykes and what's been done, the things that have happened?

SPEAKER_01 1:21:42

I think administratively in Sykes, I think one of the best things that happened in Sykes and I was still in school was when Sykes created a city manager form of government and it became a managed situation. Prior to that, we had a council mayor. Mayor ran for office, and the mayor managed the city himself. And then periodically new terms, new mayor came in, and then had all changed over. We went to a professional management situation. Sykes hired the first city manager, Mr. Raymond Miller, and he was here for 20 years. They couldn't have hired a better person. He was an engineer out of Columbia, Missouri. I think it was I think it was Columbia, and came down to Sykes. And an excellent manager, excellent person, good communicator. And I I think that was when it really put Sykston on an up professionally run. And that then later on we we changed over and went from a police department Sykeston and a volunteer fire department Sykston, and we created the public safety department Sykston, which was a combination of both of those. Yep. And everybody was cross-trained and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:53

And they still are today.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:54

Still are still are today. I think that's some of the uh more vibrant, vibrant directions the community took and put us on a professional management ship situation for the for the uh governmental entity. And about what year was that, did you say 58, something like that. I'm guessing. I'm trying to think. I was in I was in junior high school. So yeah, would be 58 or 59, somewhere along in there. Okay. I don't know the exact time frame of there, but those were that I I I I couldn't tell you that was a a great thing for Sykes when I was in junior high school. No, sure. I came to appreciate that in later years. Of course. When I was in business and got to know Mr. Raymond Miller real well and so forth. And you know, I just think that put Sykes on a very professional direction. You know, I can still remember Matt as a youngster going to the old City Hall, which was where the telephone company is now. Oh, that was the city hall there? Well, there was a two-story building there that was the city hall, and right to the side of that was a little lean-to carport thing, and then Sykes had their one fire truck in there. It's that's different. But that was the city hall, and that's where the police department was, and that's where the fire department's truck was, because it was a volunteer fire force back then. We had a we had a fire chief, and everybody else was volunteer firemen.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:16

So you've obviously seen the town from I won't say infancy, because it was started before you, but you much before me. Yeah, but you I mean you've seen it evolve into obviously today. What how would you describe that? Is it I I have my opinions on things as far as where we are, but what how how would you describe that? Or what what's your take on that, I guess I should say? Aaron Ross Powell Of the evolution of the community.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:44

Yeah, of just the community in general. Aaron Powell I think what I've I've seen has been a positive. I mean, we we're sitting here in the community now with two different colleges here in Sykes and have college representation where our our youngsters, even while they're in high school, can get college credits and so forth. I think that's a tremendous positive for our community. We don't have as strong of a retail front that we had up, you know, when I was I say younger because we had all the stores in downtown Sykes and other things. But the world has changed this and it's not just Sykes and the world. You know, everything's a lot of things are online now. You know, we at one time people think that Walmart hurt our downtown. What got to our downtown was when we built a mall out on the south end of town, and that pulled a lot of retail trade down there. But same thing's happened to Kevin. When was the mall built? It opened in 1970. Okay. Because our we was talking about that. In this I think in the summer of 70, if I'm not mistaken.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:44

We was talking to Kevin, which is our Tiffany's husband. Yeah. And he remembers coming from Jackson to Sykston to go to the mall before the mall was built in Cape. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:56

Oh, yeah. Before the mall was built in Cape, before the shop mall was built in Paducah, before anything was built in this whole area. This was a focal point of retail trade that was coming to Sykston. And then just a few years after that, Paducah built a mall. Cape came back and built their mall. And now you look at it, Cape's mall is in it in kind of its second phase of its of a rebirth and regeneration. And hopefully that that works for them to be semi-mall, semi-strip center, or something up there. It's just an evolution. But really what's what's affected all these businesses, in my opinion, is the technology of online business and online activity that we have in generations that have grown up with access to computer systems and so forth. There's no hesitancy about getting online and ordering your basic necessities. I mean get online buy your groceries and have them shipped in from Amazon if you want to. Well heck, Rick, Walmart delivers now. Right. They deliver. Amazon's going to start delivering and so forth. Amazon now is working. I know in Tampa because I got a friend's daughter

Reinventing Downtown And Local Industry

SPEAKER_01 1:27:00

that's working there. They're going to start doing their online pharmacy and so forth through Amazon and order your pharmacy. Now, if you're in a pharmacy business, that would bother me because I've seen what's happened to the retail industry through Amazon and so forth.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:14

I kind of like the mama, like being able to go to a local pharmacy myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:18

I liked going to a local mom and pop clothing store. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:27

So do you have any like ideals of what can be done for like downtown areas like what we have?

SPEAKER_02 1:27:33

I mean we're we're tr that we're trying to rebuild our downtown. I love it, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:38

I think you've got to reinvent it and find what purposes need to be down there. Like what we're doing. We're we're it's it's it's a it's a slow rediscovery of the cell.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:51

So you've got to get out of the retail mind of it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:53

I mean I I think you've got to vacate that. We have parts of downtown on Center Street that have some nice little retail trades. We have a little bit on Front Street with some jewelry trades. Sam is doing a great job over there and so forth. But it has to be reinvented and a new purpose for downtown. And you know, half of downtown's gone from what it was when I was youngster because the whole thing is the West Wing physically is is gone with the JCPenney's where national furniture was, and on the other street was Lair Furniture Store and all those places. Right. Those were destroyed by fire. But we just have to, you know, we've got some nice restaurants downtown. We've got some other businesses. And it's I think it's going to be a cast where it's permanently rein reinventing and finding uses for these facilities and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:43

It's going to be something that you can't go order online.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:46

You know what I mean? Well, we're very fortunate in our old malls, not sitting here vacant. Yes. It's been perfectly repurposed out there through you know with Larry DeWitt Company and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:58

Larry's done you know. That's a it I've I've had the That's a worldwide company. I was just gonna say I've I've I I've been fortunate to International Company.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:08

Not worldwide, but international.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:10

Yeah. I I've been fortunate to to be able to tour that facility and just you kind of think, all right, what was here? You know, was this like pennies or was this uh Chris's Young World or the arcade? You know, you kind of staying there and you try to place yourself in the mother had a store next door to Chris's Young World. Really?

SPEAKER_01 1:29:27

Right to the east of it. It was a close closet.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:30

No kidding.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:31

Yeah, I did not realize she had her beauty salon on the backside of that and with an outside entrance and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:36

I did not realize that.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:38

She opened there in the 1970s. Oh, okay. Okay. It's you know, I I I've been there and watched them all and grow and then I used to love going around Christmas.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:52

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:53

It's just, you know, it's just remember the general lee coming?

SPEAKER_02 1:29:57

I I remember I I I'm I met I think I met Robin there. Was that Burt Ward? Maybe was there, or maybe Homestead. I can't remember I remember him being being Robin at one time. Yeah. I I met I met him somewhere, maybe there.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:14

I just But you know, the mall transition from being what it was. The same thing happened with our downtown area one time. Yes, what we called the downtown. We've got to constantly reinvent these places. And we've been fortunate that someone like Larry DeWitt stepped in and Well, and I was gonna mention another one, uh Mr.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:32

Alan Keenan to have the homegrown industry. Yes. Well, and yeah, not just what he does is with his company is outstanding. If no if if if you don't take anything from this as well as I mean you need to research that company, not it's just uh it's uh unbelievable what they do there with Alan Wire. But I was even talking about Mr. Allen and and his resource resources that he gives to the not gives to the downtown, but uh invest downtown.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:08

Well, his investments downtown and then what he's putting back in the community through training centers and so forth with his people and the availability of what he's doing. Yes. You know, that company started over on Murray Lane by his father, and Alan has taken that company since that time and just it's a tremendous resource for the city of Sykes. Oh my gosh. And it's it's they're building over there. And also, as we said, on an international scale with their product and their product line, and it's all right here in Sykston, Missouri.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:37

Yes. Yes. We have the the heritage of our town is is is quite fascinating. And that that's that's some of the things that you know, like we talked about that we wanted to get to get from here. What so let's let's kind of go back into banking just a little bit as far as what do you think how do you think that banks, schools, community leaders always been a thing? Because I I think now me being part of the school board and part of the business community and the hospital as well, but I think those three entities, the city, the business community, the schools, the hospital, the public safety, I think they the chamber now, they've sort of reinvented themselves a few years ago if you recall. They they've now entered into the economic development as well, as far as the chamber are helping with that. Has that always been the case or how how how have those kind of helped tie together and help advance Sykston?

SPEAKER_01 1:32:52

I think they all work together. You know, to invite industry in the community, you've got to have a good education system.

Power Plant, Lamberts, And Jobs

SPEAKER_01 1:33:00

Because if an industry is going to come to Syksten or any community and bring their senior people here as a management, and then they hire the local workers and so forth, they want to know what benefits there people are going to have when they come to community. Education is going to be at the top of the list. Healthcare is going to be up there. Then someplace they can socialize and relax and enjoy themselves. Those are always on the top of their list and so forth. I think Siksten has been at the forefront of development for many years. I can go back to younger days when Mr. Jim Beard, who started Security Federal Savings and Loan as a manager, he came to Sykston as a Chamber of Commerce manager. He was brought to Sykeston to do that originally. And for many years, Sykes the Chamber of Commerce was charged with taking care of the business community and also trying to invite industry to come into Sykeston. When I was young in Sykeston, the the biggest industry was the shoe factory that was at Maine and Malone intersection. And then we had the Toy Anchor Toy Company, which was out on East Malone, out by the airport.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:10

That came in while I was that where that building is now that was like a wire company a couple times.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:16

It was a wire company. That was the old Anchor Toy. Okay. Transigram Toy Company is what that was. And then sometime while I was probably in junior high school, Potlatch came to Sykston. It was now TetraPack. That was the three really primary industrial base. And then we had the offshoot of creating and growing Malone Hide in Sykston as a as a warehouse food service industry.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:43

When did uh the ice cream plant come?

SPEAKER_01 1:34:45

The ice cream, Goldbond ice cream company came about 1979 or 80. Okay. Something like that. Mr. Lutze was the owner of Go Bond Ice Cream, 100% owner of Gold Bond, came from Green Bay, Wisconsin, came down and was invited down here and like Sykston and built the factory out right off of the Highway 60. They call it South Plant now, but it's right off Highway 60. There's something new in there, isn't there?

SPEAKER_00 1:35:16

Like is it they're making bourbon or something in it?

SPEAKER_01 1:35:19

The city has done something with that. Yeah, the city city received that from Unilever. They may make some kind of list.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:27

Yeah, uh that may be is that Joe Heckemeyer and or could be.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:31

Yeah, I'm not sure. Yeah. Yeah. I think I think you're right, Michael. Mr. Lutzey, I I met him when he came to Sykston. I was working to bike Sykeston and Mr. Matthews, Edward Matthews, and I sat down and talked to him and and uh to get his building built, he wanted to issue issue some bonds, and so he was talking to us about buying some of their bonds. And offshooter, Mr. Mr. Lutzey, he went out and hired a guy from Dielstadt to haul some ice cream for him. His name was Jerry and Jim Poulin. And they started hauling some ice cream for him because they were between Sykes and Green Bay, and then Goldbond got the contract to do the Mickey Mouse ears ice cream things for Disney World, and so they had to truck all that to how they ended up with a place down in Lakeland for it? He ended up with a with a facility and and a plant in Lakeland, Florida, and then later he built one in in Baltimore. And he Mr. Lutzy really liked Jerry and Jim. And he contracted and gave them all of his frozen food service and stuff. That's what grew pulling trucking into an international national trucking company because they were specializing in frozen foods, and they were carried to the not only Disney World and the East Coast, but then they started carrying to the West Coast, and then they would backhaul other stuff from from the West Coast back here and so forth. That's what grew pulling trucking into from a six-truck operation in Dielstadt into what we had in Sykston. Oh my gosh, I did not know that. Through Mr. Lutz that owned Gold Bond ice cream. And then it was Goldbond was later purchased by Baskin Robbins. And then Baskin Robbins was acquired by Unilever.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:10

Yeah, it was it was it had several names. It was Goldbond. It just had another name change. It changed to Magnum recently.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:17

Yeah, it was Magnum is one of the brands they developed.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:21

But I think they're the ones that own it's called change called Magnum now. Are they calling it Magnum now?

SPEAKER_02 1:37:26

It was Goldbond, wasn't it? Go bond, Unilever. I thought there was another one in Mr. Good Humor Briars. Good humor Briars. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:37

Yeah. That's who Mr. Litzia, I think. So too was Good Humor Briars.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:40

Okay. Yeah. That's again, th this history is things that it just fascinates.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:48

And like I said, an offshoot of the of the Go Bond was what it did for the trucking industry. Right. Poland's not the only big trucking company who grew up around Sykes. It just became a center. You know, look at what the Bob Hale started with the farm equipment used farm equipment business with his auction and how that was an offshoot with all the farm implement dealers that grew up around Sykes and another thing that grew up from the result of that was the tr the small utility trailer business. It started here because guys needed to be able to haul a plow or a disc or something,

Unsung Leaders And Civic Service

SPEAKER_01 1:38:30

something small back home after they bought it, and they'd go buy one of those $300 trailers and carry it home. And then they were just going out here all the time. But Jim Brewer was going down to Texas and was bringing them back here, and he decided, well, heck, I'll just build them here. And then at one time we had 28 different locations building utility trailers around Sykes to build. It was a cottage industry. Yes. You had some of the bigger ones, but then you had guys building them in their garage and contracting with the bigger guys and so forth.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:59

Now we got some bigger companies making bigger trailers now.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:02

I mean have construction trailer equipment and so forth and building tube companies doing those. Armor light and then construct construction trailer specialists out in the industrial place. CSP or something like that. Yeah. CTS. CTS.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:17

Yeah. Yep. So when you think about kind of through the years of Sykston and kind of the growth and things like that, are there what you would call unsung heroes kind of that have done things behind the scenes that you could think of that, you know, we've talked about a lot of the names and that they're great. But is there anybody out there that maybe you you you're like, you know what, this person or these group of people or these people did a lot of things and didn't didn't really get a lot of recognition from. Is there anybody in general that you could think of?

SPEAKER_01 1:39:49

I could think of a fellow I'll mention. I mean, there's uh there's several others out there, but right off the bat, one that took a garage business that was in a garage. Bought it and took it into huge business in Cycles with a hundred and something employees. Bill Birch he bought a vending business that was run out of a garage on Vernon Street. Bought that, built it into the Birch Food Services and had truck routes all over Southeast Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Western Missouri, Northeast Arkansas, and had facility in Newburn, Tennessee, and so forth. And just and then not only just the business, but what a philanthropic individual he came became for Sykeston. Yes. And became a mayor of Sexton and the time and energy that people like Bill Birch put into the community. You talk about school board a while ago, and you're yourself being on school board, you know, that's a non-paid position. People don't appreciate the time that a city council member or a school board member will put into it. It's not just going to a one-hour meeting once a month. Right. It's the five hours of work sessions you have and the massive amounts of correspondence and paper packets that you get that you've got to read and digest on education so that you can understand and vote on issues. Casey Birch, Bill Birch, was councilman, then ran for mayor and was mayor and the things he did for the community. So many things he did that people don't even realize what he put back into the city.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:33

But his son, Stephen, Stephen, I I thought had been tr a transform transformative mayor in the recent past and was it ten years ago or less? I think he has been a huge part of what's helped I I feel like a revitalization of Sykeston.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:51

Well I think Stephen was a tremendous revitalation person, Sykeston. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:56

Chip off the block. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:00

And now Stephen, due to the change in the industry and so forth, his business has been acquired and he didn't have anyone to hand the business down to like Bill did with Stephen. I think Stephen's sons oversees and lives in Czech Slovakia or something. Right. Right, right. And so his interest was there instead of taking over the business. So Stephen took his other other alternative and and but Stephen's done tremendous. And some of the people that worked with Stephen and around Stephen, you mentioned Alan Keene a while ago and the industrial development and the BMU and the, you know, the mayor of Sexton was a protege and worked with Stephen and so forth. And I mean it's just a lot of young men that are invited in and became, you know, strong, strong people for community.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:50

You know what it's funny you mentioned that and I you mentioned the BMU, but I think this all gets overlooked by so many people in our area. That power plant was transformative to our history as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:05

Back in the 1980s, when that was dreamed of, people almost laughed about it. And you had people with the perseverance to see that through. And look what it's carried us for almost almost pushing 50 years, 45 years. Yep. And without that, we'd have been buying power from somewhere. But without that, we wouldn't have had gold bond or unilever that could provide the kind of power they need for the freezers and so forth and manufacturing facilities. Right. We sell it too, don't we? We s we sell, we sell a majority of the power. Yes. But we have it there that we can offer industry that would come in to this community. Right. And you know, you talk about leaders. I think back of uh a Norman Lambert. People don't realize how much he gave back in the community when he was getting Lamberts to grow

Mentorship, Family, And Legacy

SPEAKER_01 1:44:00

at one time. That was well, ten employees in a little restaurant on South Main. Right. And to me, Lamberts, I was out there New Year's Day. That's an industry. That's true. It's one of the Sykston industries. It's an icon. All the employees, and it's for put Sykston on the national map. No question. And I I think, you know, I don't want to overlook that one either. That's a great idea.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:23

That's a great point, Rick.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:25

I went out there the other morning at 1045. They opened at 10.30, and I went to sneak in and buy some, you know, hog jawel for New Year's Day. And I pulled out there and the parking lot was full at 1045 and got inside and both sides of the restaurant were already packed. I thought, you know, what a blessing for the community this is. For sure. Now say Sykes and Sykes and Minor combined, because it's in Minor. Right. But what a blessing for us. And look at all the jobs that provides. Yes. And the good jobs. Good jobs, food service, you know, so forth.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:57

Yep. When when you were obviously you had a lot of leadership roles, and we talked a little bit about it. You were on, of course, the board of your bank, but you were on school board. You told me yesterday or the other day when you were at the bank, you were on the Cotton Bowl Council for Girl Scouts at one time.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:18

I was.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:19

What what other what other civic organizations did you lead as well? I'm sure you're involved in the chamber at some point.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:24

I was Chamber, I was president of the Chamber one time. Oh wow. JC's, you were a vital part of that. I was a president of the JC's, treasurer of the Rodeo Corporation, regional vice president for the Missouri JC's. I've been on gosh, Matt, there are several of them back to the public safety advisory board. You know, when I was coming up through the line, I don't have a list in five. That's okay. I mean to put your spot. I've got a sheet of paper at home. Interesting you asked that question sitting on my dining room table. Then my daughter asked me a few months ago, said, Dad, write down the things you had. We may need it for your obituary something.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:06

Boy, thanks, Sarah. I was sitting there thinking of when you were doing that.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:09

I was like, Yeah, I said, you know, and then I was asked by a board that I'm on recently that we need to provide a bio because I'm on the I'm on the the board of the Christian Academy and we're getting ready to go through our accreditation program and they need a bio. And I'm also on the board of Mission Missouri. Yep. And they need a bio. So I sat down and put that together. And Sarah said, Well, Daddy, you get something wrong with you, you got something getting really happy to you. I said, You told me to put this together. But I said, No, I did this because I had to put this bio together. She said, Well, I'm glad you did because I never didn't do things, some of the things you were involved in. That's what I mean. And, you know, I I I never sat and wrote those things down or anything, or never never really thought about it or something to go back on it. But I only did it giving back I was asked to do it by these other organizations. You're you're doing it because you're giving back. I try to I think I think it it's incumbent for all of us that want to see a vibrant future for the community we grew up in. Yes. And some of them are people that didn't grow up here in there. They live in here now. Yes. And this is their home. So they're putting back. You don't have to grow up here to be involved in these things. Correct. Correct. I want to see I like to look back and think that it's a better place than what it was when I was there growing up. And leave something behind us, not for any recognition factors. No, no, no. But just because it's a better place for my grandchildren to be raised. And who knows, hopefully someday I'll have some great-grandchildren from the grandchildren are here now. I've got great-grandchildren, but they're making Florida their home because my granddaughter's husband's in the Navy. He's a he flies for the Navy. And but I think it should be incumbent on us. That's don't get me wrong, I'm not going to get sappy here, but I look back on the history of our country. And everybody that took this little country and made it the greatest country in the world because they put back and you know the sacrifices, if you ever read history, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, how those men ended up, most of them ended up poor. They never they loaned money to the government to fight the war. They never got their money back and things like this. But they wanted to make it a better place for the future for their families and make it a country. You know, we took it from 13 colonies to where it's it is what it is now. And I just think it's incumbent on us to leave the trail behind us wider and cleaner than it was when we came down that trail.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:50

I love that. Yeah. I I agree with you. Just to think where we came in 250 years from America. This is our anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:58

Yes, it is. And I I I read a lot of history. I really enjoy it. I read a lot of the World War II history.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:06

That's my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:06

And I think I do that because my dad was involved in World War II. Yeah. And I I read a lot of Vietnam history because I had so many friends involved in the Trevor Burrus.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:14

My dad and Micah's dad was in Vietnam as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:18

But it's just I I just think, as I said, I don't want to repeat myself. I think it's incumbent on us not to just uh use up the resources and do anything. We've got to be givers. I couldn't agree more with that. And that's when someone's asked me to do something or an organization's asked me to do something, I've picked up and done it. And just in the last year and a half. I I I didn't go out looking for anything. I thought I was retired. You know, I mean the younger generation, all of a sudden Mike Jensen knocks on my door and says, Oh, I I need a director at the Christian Academy. Okay, you want me to try to get somebody for you? I'll use it. Okay, Mike. And then the same thing happened with Jenny Pfeffercorn at the Mission, Missouri, and study what they're doing. I love what they're doing. You that's a resource that people don't even know about in our community. And it's been here 30 years. Right. Right. Mission, Missouri is wonderful for that we've got that as a resource for the folks who have had issues and problems and so forth. And so I I'm willing to devote my time and go in there and I've done continuing education credits now to get more up to speed on what they're doing and so forth. So we just do it from, you know, with I think out of the love of our community.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:41

And of course, Mike is uh not not a native Sextonian, but we've we've I say we. My sister's got his got her claws in him pretty good. And she's she's about converted him to the good old red and black. Or say not. But yeah, we've we've about got all that.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:55

He's red and black, I can tell.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:56

Oh, for sure. We've about got all that blue chased out of him, best we can anyway. Sometimes it still it still crops up every once in a while. So when when you look back over your time, and as you said, it's really not over. Your your leadership is still involved in uh some leadership capacities. What what do you hope people say about Rick Adams looking back? And I'm not talking about writing your obituary, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:20

I'm just guessing that'd just be the banner. We'll leave that to Sarah. That he was fair. That's just that'd be that'd be enough that he was just a just fair. Yeah. I was I I kind of viewed myself as being a people person. And I always try to treat anybody I came in contact with as if they were the most important person in the world when I was talking to them. I just wanted to treat people fair and see what they needed and see how I could help. Wow. That's powerful.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:57

What do you did you have any mentors growing up, Rick? Or or not growing up, but as you kind of went through your career, I I Micah asked me, he goes, Would you, is he sort of your mentor? And I said, No, he's not sort of my mentor. He is my mentor.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:13

Gosh, I guess the strongest one when I started to work at 13 years of age, I delivered, used to live, you know, in the days before they put advertising in newspaper for grocery stores, they had handbills. Uh-huh. And I used to go around and put handbills nearby, screen door handles when I was 13 years old. And I have to credit that to the grocery store manager, is a man named Kenneth Story. And he managed the Liberty Supermarket downtown. And I worked under him until I was 20 and went to work at the bank. I was working still working Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays at the supermarket when I was working at the highway department also. And I told Kenneth I was going to have to quit because I was going to go to work at the bank and I might have to work weekends with the computer department.

Lightning Round And Closing

SPEAKER_01 1:53:00

And he he's not only my mentor, he's a friend all these years. And he Ms. You still I still go consult with Kenneth and talk to him. I was I was in his office two months ago. He lives he's in Cape Girardeau. Kenneth went from being a manager store to where he grew a bought a store, bought a store, bought interest store with some men, then became owner, and then kept adding to it to where he had multiple, I'm talking about over a hundred supermarkets. In multiple states. In multiple states. And through his generosity, he didn't take that company and just sell it to a big giant corporation. He created an Aesop and let the employees buy the company at a much reduced price of what he could have gotten on the open market for that. And I th I mean that kind of generosity.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:50

And I would say he was. Aesop is called employee stock ownership. Yes, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:54

No, no, no, that's okay. Employee stock ownership where they owned the company. Yeah. And he could have gotten probably twice the price on the open ownership of his chain. And also a gentleman that I when I was 15 and 16, 14, 15, I to buy school clothes. I worked in the cherry orchards in northern Michigan. And the gentleman owned those orchards was a advertising, owned an advertising firm in Chicago, and that's what he did in this cherry orchards in northern Michigan with his hobby situation, kind of like hobby farms around here that some pe had people had. And then he put a little restaurant in that community and so forth. And, you know, working under him when I was a youngster and satisfying him. When I was 15, I went there because I went with my grandfather, and he worked over some of the orchards and he taught me what he knew when I was 14 years old. When I was 15, they put me in charge of an orchard with the workers. I had 35 workers working for me when I was 15 years old. Holy cow. I guess that was my first management position. And uh so I did that in the summer. So that's the way I got bought my school clothes and so forth. And who who was that? Who was that gentleman? Mr. Mr. Johnson. I I I I always called him Mr. Johnson. I can't tell you his first time. Yeah, no, I understand. But he was out he was out of Chicago. Wow. And back in 2002, I drove back to northern Michigan just to see where I'd been when I was a 13-year-old, 14, 15-year-old. Really? Working up there. And of course, the people I always knew were deceased. It was north of Traver City, out from a little town called Elk Rapids. I was down by QA. Way up north. I was about 80 or 90 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:47

I was just gonna say, I I've been in that area and up in toward Potoski and Shorterboard and up that way.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:53

Yeah, you're not far from Canada at all. No, I'm just a hop, skip, and a swim. And so um true. But um I went back up there and and uh uh delightfully I went to one of the orchards that I worked at. The last place I lived. Really? I managed down there. I lived in the basement of a dairy barn, and this house was sitting there, and uh it was where Bill Morgan and his wife lived. They owned this little orchard, and that was part of what I'd looked over. And I thought, gosh, I wonder if that's the Morgan's family. The son might live there. It's got a had one of those aluminum strips on the storm door and had an M in the middle of it. So I went out and knocked on the door to see if this was their son or child or grandchild living there. And I'll be darn mad if Mrs. Morgan didn't come to the door. What? This little white-haired lady came to the door and I said, Mrs. Morgan? She said, Yes, son. I said, What what do you need? She thought I was selling something. I told her who I was, and she said, You're Ricky? She remembered that from 1962. Oh my goodness. And I mean, this was 2002, 40 years later. 40 years later. 40 years later. And she remembered me, and we were talking about my granddad. So went ahead and sat down in her living room for a while, and she gave me a glass of ice water and so forth, and we talked talked and everything. And uh her husband, Bill, had passed away. But you know, I thought to myself, I didn't know I left an impression on her. Wow. But I was just a teenager, right? And she's but she means that you're Ricky. And I just thought, man, I felt good after I left there. Absolutely. Uh there's a reason I went to Michigan.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:44

Yeah, for sure. Went back up there. For sure. I didn't I didn't realize you did that. I did. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:49

I did that because I couldn't get enough full-time work other than passing out handbills at the supermarket when I was 13.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:55

Yeah, that's great. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:58

But you know, you you ask about that mentors, Bob Matthews. Great mentor, great benevolent gentleman. You know, he had lots of assets and things, but he treated me like I was somebody and told me that I had a future there after Charlie Matthews had passed away. Stay with us, Rick. And I was fortunate enough I at the bank section, I became the first non-family member to be president of that bank.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:26

So Charlie and Bob were second cousins. Okay. Okay, okay. And now Bob is Scott's dad, correct?

SPEAKER_01 1:58:37

Scott's Scott and Beth and Patrick's dad. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:42

Okay. Okay. This is an interesting question. I and I sent all these to Rick, and Rick was like, man, these are great questions. I'm like, Rick, not that smart. You know that. I had to chat GPT, these you know better than.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:54

Well, I had to get back on chat GPT to find some answers.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:59

So the interesting one. So if if someone listens to this episode 20 years from now, what do you what do you hope they understand about Syksten and the people here? What do you what do you what do you hope they glean from something like this? Or even if they listen to this next week or tomorrow or this week, what do you hope people understand about you and and Syksten?

SPEAKER_01 1:59:21

It was a great place to live when you're young. It was a great place to live when I was an adolescent, and there's a great place as a father to raise children. And then also to be a businessman in this community. I agree with you. And uh that we want to leave to be the great place for the next generation. Love that. I think there's three primary areas in the boot hill economically, that'd be Cape, Papa Bluff, and Sykston. And I hope Sykston stays just as viable and be there along with Cape and Papa Bluff over the next several generations.

SPEAKER_00 1:59:59

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:00

I've seen some communities kind of dwindle on the vines. We all have. And that's part of it is the agricultural community has changed and the mechanization changed that where it wasn't so much labor and so forth. And I've seen some changes in some of those communities because you ask a question a while ago talking about school boards. When you consolidate school systems, lose some identity for sure. You lose that or you lose the bank and s in the community. A bank's uh key economically to a community. Yes. And when you lose your school system, your identity of your school is rolled into a consolidated situation, and your community just loses heart.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:43

Mm-hmm. Yeah, Micah, it'd be hard to be the Mississippi County Cuckleburr. That's what he keeps talking about. He's he's mentioned that about, or I guess I mentioned it this time, but he said it need to be the cuckleburs.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:58

I I won't mention any communities, but I know you in the sure in this area that that's happened to it. Yes. You just lose your identity. Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:01:05

No, I I agree with you. Mentioning this, are you it when you when you said something that made me think about this? Mention your family, if you don't mind. Brothers, sisters, your your your children.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:18

We we came from a I came from a good-sized family. I have a five sisters and I have a brother. My parents taught all of us how to how to work. Not forced us to work, but taught us how to work. I worked with my grandfather on his farm even. But we all pitched in and learned how to work. We all work together as seven members of family, even though there's some spreading years between the seven of us. We're all still extremely close. Talked to my Thanksgiving. I went by my sister's house in St. Louis, where they had a little bit of a celebration. I was at my daughter's house, but I wanted to go see them. And my niece, who had gotten married a year ago, we were talking about our family. And she said when she sat down and did her invitations, that the sprout from my mother and dad, and then the family members, of course, there's son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws in there, and now there's granddaughter children and great-grandchildren. There's a hundred and two in our family. Oh my. That came from my mother and dad. And that does include son-in-laws and daughters. Sure. Oh. But that's direct direction from children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in there also. But 102 is probably off of their but we're all close. And we all still, the seven of siblings, still got together for Christmas up until COVID. And then when COVID happened, we kind of branched off and did it with our own children and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 2:02:57

List your family in order, if you don't mind, your siblings. My siblings.

SPEAKER_01 2:03:01

I have a sister, Shirley. She's two years older than me, and she lives in New Jersey. And I have a brother, Mark, who's six and a half years younger, lives in Columbia, Missouri. He's a surgeon up there. I have a sister, Susie, in Sykston, Susie Brinkman, who lives here. Then a sister, Carla, who lives in Creve Corps, St. Louis. She's retired. I have a sister, Lana, who lives in Nashville. And then I have a sister, Dana, who was retired, but she just went back to work because a bank called her and said they need a CFO. And she's gone back. It's a newly chartered bank, and they asked her to come back to work until they could hire a permanent CFO. So she came out of retirement and went back to work. Where now where does she work? She works in St. Louis for a newly chartered bank. Wow. I didn't realize that. They need the CFO. So she had she had retired from her her company about six months ago. That was short-lived. It was short-lived. She said it's not long-term. Right. She told them it wouldn't be long-term. Okay. And then that and now your children? I have three daughters. I have a daughter in Dordan Prairie. It's up by St. L in St. Charles County. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:22

I was just there this past week.

SPEAKER_01 2:04:25

I have a daughter in Peachtree City, Georgia. And now who and St. Louis is. No, no. I'm sorry. My daughter in St. Charles area is Laura. She's just recently retired from she was a preschool director of a preschool. She had been an elementary elementary teacher for many years, and then went in and took over a preschool program and retired from that last year. My daughter, Leslie, lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, and she's the director of sales of a lifestyles senior citizen center of, I think over a little over 200 units or something like that. And then I have a daughter, Sarah, is in Sykston. And she has two sons. My daughter, Leslie, in Peachtree City has two children, a son and a daughter. And my daughter in St. Charles area, she has two daughters. One daughter is moving to Rogers, Arkansas. Her husband just got a promotion his company, and they're situating him in that little golden triangle down there. And then she has a daughter that's a occupational therapy doctor of occupational therapy in Jefferson City. Okay. Okay. So that's cute. I have my one granddaughter, I mentioned her a while ago. I've with her, I have four great-grandchildren. She has two sets of twins. Yes. Five-year-olds and two-year-olds. And were the five-year-olds one that had problems at first or one of the five-year-olds. Okay. He had to have open heart surgery. Is that Cash? Cash had open heart surgery when he was two months old. Yeah. And he's doing really well now. He's a bouncing, climbing five-year-old. And those two little five-year-olds are kind of symptomatic of Adams. They look after their little two-year-old siblings and they play with him, work with them. And Madison says you go in a room and watch the little kids while they're playing so I can do some stuff. And those little boys will go in there and watch over them and take care of them and so forth.

SPEAKER_02 2:06:27

So and she's had two sets of twins. Is she planning on having more? No.

SPEAKER_01 2:06:34

I was gonna say hey, God bless her if she does. Well, it's kind of incumbent on her. That's tough. Her husband, I said, was a naval naval aviator, and he's stationed his permanent duty station is Jacksonville, Florida. Oh, okay. So they have a home just closer to St. Augustine as her address. Okay. Okay. And so he's getting ready to be deployed again in April. He was every time you come home from deployment, you go off for six months. Then when you come home, you have one year that you know you won't be deployed again. And so now his year is up in April, so he's going to be deployed again. So he'll be he'll be gone six months. So what does he fly? Subchasers. Oh. He he's a he's a he's the uh navigator. No, no, it's a large plane that has all the radar array on it. And I can't tell you everything about it because I'm not supposed to. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. But I can just tell you they follow other country submarines around either the Atlantic or the Pacific or the Mediterranean or something like that. They when they are over one, they stay with it until they get a relief plane, and that plane stays with it and for a while. But he'll be deployed in April. He can he he can't tell where he's going.

SPEAKER_02 2:07:56

Yeah, no, no, no. I understand. No, I I I'm sorry. I I was thinking he might have been uh flying F-18 or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:02

He's not the pilot. I see he's uh he's a navigator.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:05

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:06

Wow. And he's a he's a career, career guy.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:09

I was gonna say, sounds like he's in in a forest. He's a career.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:12

He's I think he's got twelve years now. Something like that.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:16

So he's about half done, or a little over half done.

SPEAKER_01 2:08:18

If he depends on how long he's gonna be able to do it. Depends on what he wants to do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:21

Depends on how long he stays. Is that an officer level?

SPEAKER_01 2:08:23

Well, actually he's a Chief Warrant Officer III. Okay. And uh there's other little grades within CW three, but I think CW3 may be as far as he goes unless he gets a master chief position. Yeah. But it's a it's a it's not a bar on your shoulder officer. Yeah. It's a special emblem of what warrant officers get. It's I'm sorry, it's not a warrant officer. That's Army is warrant officer. He's he's it's not a chief petty officer. But anyway, it's it's in a different category. Yeah. Because they fly. Yeah. And it's not an enlisted person. Right. They're kind of in their world of their own sitting out there. Gotcha. But the warrant officer's that status is in army and marine. Yeah. And I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 2:09:16

No, it's okay. That's okay. That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:09:19

I get confused on all that, and I come from that line. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:09:22

Well, you could tell me then. Maybe he may be. I don't know. I really he may be a C chief petty officer three or something like that, but by being that or something, but it's in that line. But he's he's a subject. There may be sub officers. Maybe a chief petty officer. I get confused on the Navy.

SPEAKER_02 2:09:35

I get confused on the Navy SEALs have I thought they had warrant officers. I have an uncle that can tell you that he's in Maine. There's a warrant officer. Yeah, a Navy warrant officer. That's what he is. Yeah, you have a chief warrant officer.

SPEAKER_01 2:09:54

He's a CW3. Yeah. Certain certain grade of CW3. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:10:01

Well, we've uh we've we haven't gone very long like you thought. What what will we go? 20 minutes? Hour and 48 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 2:10:09

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_02 2:10:10

I'm dead serious, and we're almost done. Rick was like, are you sure we're gonna go very long? I'm like, Rick, I will be sure. We'll be done in 15 minutes. We'll be shocked if we don't go an hour. You drain me of all knowledge.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:23

I doubt that. I've got an hour and 48 minutes worth of facts in my head, then, Matt. That's it. That's all. I'm done. I'm done.

SPEAKER_02 2:10:31

Tapped out. He he slammed on the table. I do I do have I'm three I'm three pounds lighter. We've expended energy. So I do have, I didn't send you these on purpose. And these are these are light and fun, but we call these a lightning round, and it's sort of like a a this or that kind of thing. So coffee or sweet tea.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:54

Coffee. I don't drink sweet tea. I know when you go down south, if you don't drink sweet tea, you're in trouble. Something's wrong. I don't do sweet tea.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:02

Early mornings or late nights? Early mornings. Okay. One word to describe Sykston. That's two. The best advice you've ever received.

SPEAKER_01 2:11:20

Take the opportunity. I love it. Always when you shake hands with somebody, stand up.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:31

I love that. I that's one one one thing I I I've taught my son. If you're gonna shake someone's hand, you're gonna stand up and do it. I agree with you. One person you'd love to sit down again with for a conversation.

SPEAKER_01 2:11:47

My dad.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:48

Boy, that hits different, doesn't it, Micah? Yeah. 100%. I agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 2:11:54

Didn't didn't have enough conversations. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:57

Could we ever? No.

SPEAKER_01 2:11:59

Yeah. Could we ever I could be within 24-7 and still not have enough conversations?

SPEAKER_02 2:12:04

Exactly. Could we ever? Right. And last one here, what does community mean to you? What does that word mean to you? Bond.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:15

Cohesiveness. And friends. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:22

I agree. I love it. I love it. And the the last question we just started asking in the past little bit who are three people you would suggest to come on our podcast? Varying reasons.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:36

Do you have Steven Burch? You mentioned him a while ago. I have not, but I that's a good one. Alan McKeenan. Alan's got a lot of history of sex. Oh man. Alan Alan's a good friend of my brother's. They grew up together, and he could tell you a lot of stories on my brother, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 2:12:52

His wife is my favorite teacher. Oh, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 2:12:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:12:56

Bob Buchanan. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:06

Thank you. Those are terrific names, all three of them. Thank you. You're terrific people. Of course. Yes, they are. Well, Rick, we've exceeded everyone's expectations, including yours, as far as the time that we've That's why I told you. We just this is just conversation. This is just talking.

SPEAKER_01 2:13:25

Is this Sunday morning? Is it time to go to church?

SPEAKER_02 2:13:27

We've gone all the way. We've gone through the night now, and now it's Sunday morning.

SPEAKER_01 2:13:36

I haven't studied my lesson yet.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:39

Right. Well, you're gonna have to go home and change, then go home and shower and change clothes, Rick.

SPEAKER_01 2:13:43

Rick, you're right.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:44

Well, Rick, I can't tell you. We talked about this before, how honored we're had we are to have you on here to talk about your history, your family's history, the history of Sykston, and how it's changed and what what we can do to keep pushing it forward. We are just we're humbled to have you here and and thank you for spending two hours with us.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:10

Thank you for the invitation. I had no idea I could sit for two hours and talk about it. You've been very informative. I don't know when you weigh it all out, if there's anything there to Oh, there's there's a lot of information there.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:24

Believe me. And there's a lot of stuff that you know we could we could get into, but you know, we we maybe have to come back and do it. That's what I told Blake. We were we were teasing you before. Of course, Blake's on the board with Rick, and we we had Blake on here and it was like two and a half hours.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:38

Bank that's bankboard.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:39

Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, the bankboard, correct. And we're like, Blake, you're gonna have to come back and do part two. He's like, Man, I could go another two or three hours. I'm like, well, we're gonna have to come back and do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:14:48

We didn't even touch cunt hunting.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:49

Yeah, we ain't even got the hunting and fishing yet.

SPEAKER_03 2:14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:52

My life's a lot more limited. It is it has been an honor. Rick, thank you for spending part of your Saturday with us. And we certainly look forward to uh to this and and getting our our our loyal listeners and getting their feedback. And and I know your daughters are going to listen. They've already commented and liked and shared and all that stuff, and I know they're going to be you may need to call them in for the edit.

SPEAKER_00 2:15:20

We may have a hundred and two hundred and two people listening to the biggest thing. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:24

That's right, right off the bat.

SPEAKER_01 2:15:25

Thank Matt, thank you. It's it's it was an honor and a privilege to be invited to sit in on your 50th podcast.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:32

That's this is this is a big number for us.

SPEAKER_01 2:15:34

I feel really honored to be here.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:37

Thank you. We we we wanted this to be something special.

SPEAKER_01 2:15:40

I've never been asked to be interviewed before.

SPEAKER_02 2:15:43

Now you have. Now you have. You you've been interviewed. It's just you and I have been it's just been more conversational. And this is what we want this to. We want it to be conversational, not not uh stand there with a sharp light in your eye and me reading questions to you like an interrogation for sure. We want it to be conversational.

SPEAKER_01 2:15:58

That's what not cheap not chat GPT questions.

SPEAKER_02 2:16:03

Exactly. There there were some well, we'll just say there were there were some interesting conversations at our last board meeting. We'll just leave it at that. So you'll have to ask us off the air. Yeah, that's right. Rick gave the the end to that. They'll have to ask us off the air about this one. So anyway, well, we end all of our episodes here. We say go dogs. And so, Rick, thanks for being on episode 50 of the doghouse. Go dogs. That's gonna do it for this episode of the doghouse. Thanks for hanging with us and showing love to SlideState. Bulldog grit never quits. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this with any woman who bleeds red and black. From the heart of the 573, this has been the doghouse. Always have a home.