At 100, Gate City Bank seeks to 'live the dream' with a cookie on top

Jul. 26—FARGO — For any of us who grew up in the region over the past 50 years or so, it was part of the soundtrack of our lives.

"When you come to Gate City, Gate City, Savings and Loan, you're saving for a better way of life!"

You might be hearing people downtown humming the popular jingle again as Gate City Bank celebrates its 100th anniversary. After a couple of years of planning, including a new book about its history, the bank is celebrating with a look at the past and how that past continues to affect the way they do business today.

"We learned a lot about our roots, triumphs and challenges. We're ready for this 100th anniversary," said Amy Durbin, an executive vice president at the bank.

In 1923, the state of North Dakota was just over 30 years old. And its largest city, Fargo, had a population of just 22,000 people. Unlike many urban areas of the nation which were thriving in the early part of the roaring '20s, North Dakota, because of its reliance on agriculture, struggled after years of low rainfall and wheat output.

Enter William D. Gillespie and seven others who decided if they started a building and loan association they might be able to help working-class families become homeowners. They called their new business, located in the old Graver Hotel, Gate City Building and Loan. The origin of the name came from the railroad nicknaming Fargo as the "Gateway to the West" in 1872.

The business, which was chartered on July 2, 1923, grew fast with one million dollars in assets by 1930 (the equivalent of $17 million in 2022). Gillespie and his staff had helped thousands become homeowners.

Durbin said the goal of Gillespie and the others, more than anything, was giving back for the public good.

"I think that really set the stage for even who we are today. Because they could have easily sold out and gotten gobbled up by a larger bank and they said 'no, we're here to help people.' So we will help people through and through, and we believe in that today," Durbin said.

However, it certainly got tougher to help people as the '30s rolled along and The Great Depression and drought took hold. Assets dropped and customers fought to keep their homes, farms and businesses.

Albert Bergeson, who joined the board of directors in 1930 and served for 40 years is quoted in Gate City's new history book, "For a Better Way of Life — Celebrating 100 years."

"I don't think anybody anticipated that it would be as long as it was or as tough. But we always had some sense of optimism," he said.

"I think that they made it because they stuck to their roots," Durbin said. "There were challenging times. And there will always be challenging times. But I feel like if you stick to the core of who you are, and you take care of your people, you take care of your customers, your communities, you'll get through it."

Times were much better in postwar North Dakota as Gate City continued to grow.

"Back in the '50s and '60s, I think that they were wanting to establish more branches and more bank locations because they wanted to serve more people. We have 44 locations now and we're in 23 communities," Durbin said.

And one of the highlights in 1956 was the construction of a new state-of-the-art headquarters on Fifth Street and Second Avenue in Fargo, where Gate City still stands today. Through the construction project, The Forum wrote full-page spreads about the features in the state-of-the-art new building.

"Some of the language in the stories said it was 'the finest in the northwest,' Durbin said. " It had air conditioning, modern elevators and a beautiful staircase. Over 20,000 people toured the building when it was done.

Over the past century, a lot has changed in terms of technology and even products and services offered, in part because of Gate City's change from Gate City Savings and Loan to Gate City Bank. For example, Savings and Loans were not allowed to offer checking accounts.

"We weren't able to offer a checking account until the early 80s," Durbin said. "That's when our Rainbow Checking became a thing. And probably around 1990, we launched Totally Free Checking, which was a very unusual idea."

But Durbin said so much more has remained the same. It has always been a mutual bank, meaning they have no shareholders and aren't owned by any single entity. She said that leaves the focus on helping the community. Just like William Gillespie did 100 years ago.

She recalls the start of the Better Life Student Loan when former president and CEO Steve Swiontek wanted to provide a low-interest loan for new graduates to stay in the community to build homes and start lives here.

"The regulators came back to us and said 'Is this true?' Because it's not a money maker for us. And they challenged what we were doing and we said 'No, this is our giving back," Durbin said.

Durbin said it's been a busy time preparing for this 100th-anniversary summer of celebration, which includes a special week from August 14 to 18th. It features deals for customers and potential customers and even a special limited edition chocolate-covered potato chip cookie, which is a shoutout to the cookies that have become synonymous with their lobby.

But it's the words of founder William Gillespie that sticks with those at Gate City.

"I trust that in the coming years, we shall all look back at these pioneer days with great satisfaction in realizing that we had a part in the inception of an institution which is growing to large proportions, and in the coming years shall contribute to the comforts and happiness of a great number of citizens of our state." — William D. Gillespie, founder and first president of Gate City Bank

"We are living his dream. We are living his dream," said Durbin. "When they opened their doors, it was to provide mortgages for customers. And we're the No. 1 mortgage lender, and we have a significant market share in North Dakota. And I think how proud he would be of where we're at today. It warms my heart to think about that."

To further highlight its 100-year milestone, Gate City Bank is holding a special celebration the week of August 14, including loan, CD and checking account promotions, giveaways and samples of the bank's new limited edition cookie. Visit

www.GateCity.Bank/100

for further details.