Wilhelm: August Rice rose from errand boy to bank president
Dr. John Rice, his brother Robert H. Rice and their father Dr. Robert S. Rice were successful physicians and community leaders in Sandusky County in many ways. They earned a big place in history with their community spirit and leadership as well as their professional successes.
The brothers were among the founders of the Trommer Extract of Malt company in Fremont and Dr. John Rice was a pioneer surgeon who performed difficult surgeries for the military during the Civil War. It was a time of primitive equipment and dangerous procedures. After the war he was a widely known and respected lecturer and contributor to medical journals.
But a different Rice, a native of the Elmore area, was a leader in a different field in the Fremont community.
August Rice climbed the ladder of success
August E. Rice climbed the ladder from being a bank errand boy to being a bank president and nationally respected leader in the banking industry.
According to Meek’s “History of Sandusky County:”
“(H)e came to Fremont and accepted a position as errand boy in the first National Bank, which was located in a one-story building standing on the present (1909) site of the Colonial Bank Building. He there rose from errand boy to assistant cashier and in 1882 left that institution to become first cashier of the Fremont Savings Bank.”
Just six years after he became first cashier of the Savings Bank, he and J.W. Pero founded the Croghan bank and Rice became its president, serving in that position until he died more than 20 years later.
In 1904, Croghan Bank and Savings Co. bought the Brainard property at 323 Croghan St. and Meek says, “Late in life he realized one of his greatest ambitions in the erection of the new Croghan Bank building; this beautiful building, said to be the handsomest and most complete of any of its size in the country, will be a lasting monument to him and his work. That’s the site of Croghan Colonial’s main office today."
Rice led the Ohio Bankers' Assocation
He was considered one of the most prominent financiers in Ohio, playing a role in reforms brought about by the Ohio Bankers’ Association, which he served as president during the last year of his life.
He was active, writing widely published articles on business and banking. According to Meek, his “Direful Effects of a Postal Savings Bank,” which was published shortly before his death, was distributed to every U.S. senator and congressman.
He was clearly an important figure in the development of a banking institution that has been a big part of the economy of this entire area for a long time.
In 1955, the consolidation of Croghan Bank and Savings Co. with the Colonial Savings Bank was approved, forming the Croghan Colonial Bank.
Roy Wilhelm started a 40-year career at The News-Messenger in 1965 as a reporter. Now retired, he writes a column for both The News-Messenger and News Herald.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Roy Wilhelm: August Rice rose from errand boy to bank president
