USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 32
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Many people miss that familiar figure at his desk behind the counter in "The Old Stone Bank," for LeBaron Bradford had been there "on the job " for more than sixty-four years. Others will miss his generous gifts of flowers, the growing of which, especially tulips and chrysan- themums, he was an expert. Trinity Church, which he helped to found in Bristol more than forty years ago, has lost a staunch and ardent supporter. His friends, relatives, neighbors and acquaint- ances have all lost something with the passing of the man who said many times: "I have enjoyed living, and I have enjoyed everything that life offered." The same can be said of LeBaron Bradford as was written at the death of Thomas Poynton Ives, first president of the savings bank which they both served with eminent distinction: "To the community with which he was so long identified, he leaves an example of unblemished honor and of faithful service for the good of others."
From Portrait in Oil by Ogden Pleissner WILSON GORDON WING, PRESIDENT, PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS, MARCH . 24, 1922-FEBRUARY 3, 1944.
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WILSON GORDON WING 1881-1944
H ISTORY is a narrative of all that has gone on before, up to this very moment. The study of history is attrac- tive both to the young and old, to the unreflecting and philosophical mind. It combines amusement of the deepest interest; the exercise and improvement of the best faculties of man; and the acquisi- tion of the most important species of knowledge. A higher use of history is to improve the understanding and strengthen the judgment. By some, the higher use of history has been styled philosophy teaching by examples, or moral philos- ophy exemplified by the lives and actions of men. It adds to our own experience an immense treasure of the experience of others, and thereby enables us to enter upon the business of life with the advan- tage of being, in a manner, acquainted with it. Furthermore, through knowledge of the past, we may come to understand human nature, to judge, perhaps better, how men will act in given circumstances, and to trace the connection between cause and effect. History teaches us to admire what is praiseworthy, wherever it may be found.
Subscribing to this fundamental evalu- ation of history, and recognizing that no state in the Union offered a richer source of historical material than does Rhode Island, the late President of the Provi- dence Institution for Savings, Wilson Gordon Wing, in the year 1927, gave his approval to an unique means of stimulat- ing popular interest in local history. At a time when radio was still in its infancy, "The Rhode Island Historian of the Old Stone Bank" was first presented on the air, destined to become the oldest broad- casting feature in the history of radio. Thus, through this program, unchanged in character and in original purpose, after many years of continued presentation, Mr. Wing, who headed the savings bank sponsor of this program until his passing, on February 3, 1944, became a pioneer in commercial radio broadcasting, not only
among executives of financial institutions, but among all who have made use of this modern means of communication since its inception.
The last to seek praise for himself in life, and among the first to deserve such, it is now only right that others should speak of Mr. Wing against the back- ground of the past, the revelation of which he was largely instrumental in providing in what has proved to be a manner both entertaining and enlight- ening.
Wilson Gordon Wing was born in Val- paraiso, Chile, August 1, 1881, the son of Wilson Dorr Wing and Sarah Flint Wing, whose home residence was at Bangor, Maine. He was educated at Hotchkiss School, from which he graduated in 1899, and he completed his higher education at Yale University, graduating with the Class of 1903. After engaging in agri- cultural activities for three years in California, and for four years in Texas, he came to Providence and became secretary to the late United States Senator Jesse H. Metcalf. He acted as financial secretary to Mr. Metcalf until his election to the presidency of the Providence Institution for Savings on March 24, 1922, the active duties of which he assumed one week later.
Throughout his career, Mr. Wing held high offices of trust, in addition to assum- ing burdensome responsibilities in behalf of the public welfare. Among his business connections, he was a director of the Providence National Bank, the Title Guarantee Company of Rhode Island, the Merchants' Insurance Company, the Rhode Island Insurance Company, the Old Colony Railroad and the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. For one term he served as President of the National Asso- ciation of Mutual Savings Banks, and was later elected chairman of the Association's committee on Federal legislation. He numbered among his public activities, service from 1935 to 1937 as a member of
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the State Parole Board, and in October, 1943, he was named a member of the executive committee of the board of trustees of the Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council.
In 1941, he was appointed by the Sec- retary of the Treasury as Rhode Island chairman for savings banks in the war financing program, and the results of the combined efforts of the mutual savings banks in support of the Fourth War Loan attest to his energy and qualities of leader- ship. More than 8,000 individuals pur- chased War Bonds from the several Rhode Island Mutual Savings banks during the campaign, and the combined total of these purchases in addition to the pur- chases by the savings bank corporations in Rhode Island amounted to more than $28,000,000.
During the past two decades there have been but few endeavors designed for the public benefit in which Wilson G. Wing did not take a leading and active part. Like all truly busy men, he always seemed to find the time to do his share, and more, in helping others, when and where help was most needed - long have the needy and the deserving in Rhode Island been aided through his benevolence, volun- tarily expressed in effective participation in public appeals, in his business-like direction and guidance of charitable and other public projects, and in his own per- sonal generosity. As a trustee and mem- ber of the organization committee of the Rhode Island Hospital, Mr. Wing main- tained a long and active, and punctilious interest in the manifold problems of this important community institution. Scores of the destitute ill in our midst have al- ways found the doors of the Rhode Island Hospital opened to them because of Mr. Wing and many others like him, who have long expressed their sympathies and understandings, practically and gen- erously.
During the early months of World War II, Mr. Wing, foreseeing the im- portance of aviation to America, volun- teered his services to the directing heads of the Providence School Department, in whatever plans might be adopted for the stimulation of interest in aviation among the youth of this community. Those early
conferences presided over by Mr. Wing, unquestionably gave impetus to the pro- gram which placed Providence at the lead among American cities which provided splendid preliminary training for young students destined for air service in the armed forces of their country.
For nearly a quarter century, Mr. Wing served as President of the Providence In- stitution for Savings, founded in 1819. Great, but safe and sound, were the strides forward in the career of "The Old Stone Bank" during the tenure of office of its late President. When he assumed the office in 1922, 51,000 depositors had approximately $37,000,000 in savings in the safe-keeping of this mutual savings bank. At the time of his passing, nearly 82,000 depositors have entrusted more than $78,000,000 in savings to this safe place of deposit, more than double the total amount of deposits from 1922 to 1944.
In 1925, a branch office was opened at 186 Washington Street, which so well justified its establishment that, four years later, a modern banking building was erected on Empire and Aborn Streets be- tween Westminster and Washington Streets, where more and more depositors find it convenient to go, as most of them say, "to The Old Stone Bank." In 1927, a second branch office was established in the busy business center of Olneyville, affording the citizens of that industrious and progressive locality mutual savings bank facilities and conveniences. The modern banking building at 1917 West- minster Street has long since come to be known as well by thousands of young and old as "The Old Stone Bank."
In addition to many other progressive changes and expansions during Mr. Wing's tenure of office came one wise and fair practice on the part of this savings institution, - the payment of interest on savings accounts from the day of deposit to the day of withdrawal, an innovation which has greatly accrued to the benefit of all who make use of this safe place for the savings of the people.
The annual meeting of the Corporation of the Providence Institution for Savings is held on the first Monday in October, in the main offices at 86 South Main Street.
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Attended by the officers, the trustees and the members of the Corporation, the business transacted at these annual meet- ings has long been highlighted by the report of the President. Departing in more recent years from formal reviews of the institution's financial experience, dur- ing the previous twelve months' period, Mr. Wing, to the delight and instruction of those present, covered a wide range of pertinent subjects in his periodic mes- sages to those assembled. Aware of the hazard of assuming the role of a prophet, nevertheless, he often accurately scanned events that have since come to pass. He found it possible to offer cheer in the reflection that trials and tribulations have been overcome and they have faded into history without leaving scars. May he have been right when he observed, not so long ago, "that the agonies of the present must somehow lead to a purification of the evils and errors which led to these un- happy times."
Upon occasion, Mr. Wing would open up the past in discussing early characters and quaint practices in the days when "The Old Stone Bank" was open for business only from 12:30 to 2:00 P.M., and, in other years he would trace the evolu- tion of American money, the stock and trade of a bank, or he would depict in word pictures life and times in Providence a century or more ago.
Perhaps the most significant statement to be found in the records of Mr. Wing's many scholarly and authoritative annual reports to his corporation was this, with which he concluded his remarks on October 7, 1940 - "The present mutual savings banks' system of today substan- tiates an ideal of 125 years ago. Despite the present difficulties of barren and un- productive investment opportunities, in the face of compulsory diversion of individual earnings into paternal govern- mental jurisdiction, experience establishes a basis for the conviction that the ideals of mutuality and cooperation as exem- plified by institutions of this type shall continue to serve those for whom they were organized."
The State of Rhode Island has lost a leading citizen, one who was cultured, enthusiastic, public-spirited, benevolent and sympathetic. The ten employees who were associated with "The Old Stone Bank" before Mr. Wing became its President, and who remain to survive him, and all of the officers, trustees, mem- bers of the Corporation, and employees of this mutual savings bank have lost an inspiring leader and kindly associate. All who knew Wilson Gordon Wing, who served as President of the Providence Institution for Savings for twenty-two years and a vast number who did not know him, have lost a good friend.
AN ALUMNUS OF MOWRY & GOFF'S
"THE Providence Institution for Savings, or, as it is more popularly known, "The Old Stone Bank," has chosen a successor to the late Wilson G. Wing who served as the president of this mutual savings bank from 1922 until his death on February 3, 1944. Mr. Arthur Living- ston Kelley is now President of the "Old Stone Bank," having assumed the duties of that office on March 20, 1944. Against the background of his experience, his attainments, and the esteem in which he is held by all who know him in the State of Rhode Island, Mr. Kelley becomes a most worthy successor to Mr. Wing and
to all who have held the office since the first president of this savings institution was elected in 1819.
Born in Providence in 1888, Mr. Kelley's life-long interests and activities have been largely confined within the bor- ders of his native state. Proudly, as do many others among our leading citizens, he lists "Mowry & Goff's" as the first stepping stone of his education, followed by attendance at Hope High School, graduation from St. George's School in Newport, and the receiving of a degree from Williams College with the class of 1910. Now the father of four children and
A. LIVINGSTON KELLEY, ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS, MARCH 17, 1944.
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several grandchildren, he entered the service of his country in the First World War as a Private, later receiving his com- mission as a Second Lieutenant serving overseas with the 116th Engineers, Amer- ican Expeditionary Forces. Numbered among the many industrial enterprises with which he has served in high executive capacities are the Rhode Island Textile Company, Lloyd Manufacturing Com- pany, and the United States Finishing Company. But, Mr. Kelley's abilities and energies have not been devoted entirely to private interests, for like many of our active industrial, commercial and educa- tional leaders, he has found the time to lend his support and leadership to worthy causes, designed for the public benefit. Sometimes as a directing head, at other times a willing worker, the name of A. Livingston Kelley has rarely been missing when there have been funds to raise, a charitable or social service agency to sup- port. General Chairman of the Provi- dence Community Fund Drive in 1935, he has long served as the Treasurer of one of the important agencies aided by the Fund - the Providence Lying-In Hospi- tal. He was also Treasurer of St. Mary's Home for Children, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of State Colleges in Rhode Island, Treasurer of his prepara- tory school Alma Mater, St. George's in Newport, and other institutions and com- munity endeavors receive the benefit of his business experience, financial acumen, his public spirit and enthusiasm.
Thus, it is evident that Mr. Kelley is particularly well qualified for the high office of trust which he has accepted. He undertakes the duties of that office with the full confidence and well wishes of all who know him, and he will merit the esteem, in like measure, of all who will now come to know him.
Mr. Kelley was a "Mowry & Goffer" like many another now prominent Rhode Island banker, preacher, lawyer, doctor, merchant and manufacturer, but it may be that many of the present generation know little or nothing about the signifi- cance of the "tintinnabulation of the tinkling, tinkling bells," the "Deanery," E. Tudorus Grossus, Frederickus Ar- noldus, and other nostalgic references,
oft quoted in these parts. So, it might be well to record something of the first stepping-stone in the educational career of the "Old Stone Bank's " new president. Through the kindly assistance of the well- known Providence attorney, Mr. Fred A. Otis, Secretary and Treasurer of the Alumni Association of the English and Classical School, more popularly and affectionately known as Mowry & Goff's, the following brief outline has been pre- pared for the benefit of those who did not happen to live during the days of what someone has termed the brightest spot in Rhode Island's history of education.
Some of our best private preparatory schools, especially in the South, were es- tablished immediately following the close of the Civil War. Many of these institu- tions, particularly the military academies below the Mason-Dixon line, were founded by Confederate officers who turned to teaching for want of a means of liveli- hood during the dark days of what has been termed the Reconstruction Period. Whereas many once comfortably-situ- ated, land-owning Southerners were forced to turn to education after the war, certain public school teachers and princi- pals in the North, before the war ended, were forced to abandon their profession for more lucrative fields. One of these in Providence was William A. Mowry, who was serving as principal of the Boys' Eng- lish High School following a period of service with the Union Army. Just as firemen, police officers, teachers and others found it difficult to make both ends meet under war-time conditions and turned to shipbuilding, tool-making and such trades, Mr. Mowry, back in 1864, found it impossible to get along, as we say, on what the city paid him for head- ing its high school. He looked around for something else, something he had dreamed of for long, a private school for boys. Backed by several influential citi- zens and promised the cooperation of John J. Ladd, principal of the Boys' Classical High School, a plan was per- fected, and a public announcement made. On February 22, 1864, Washington's birthday, the English and Classical School received its first applicants in what was long a famous land-mark, the
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Lyceum Building, on the present site of the Providence National Bank. The school opened its doors to about fifty ap- plicants. During the summer Mr. Ladd retired to become paymaster in the Army, so Mr. Mowry induced his friend, Charles B. Goff, principal of the Fall River High School, to join him and thus began an association which was destined to make Rhode Island history.
Eighty-seven students registered for the Fall term, and by the next July, larger quarters were leased to accom- modate nearly 200 "Mowry & Goffers" as they came to be known. About this time Howard M. Rice, principal of the Woonsocket High School, joined the group of successful educators, and there he remained for the rest of his life. The faculty expanded rapidly, attracting many distinguished teachers, while the student body comprised more and more of the prominent young hopefuls, some of whom wore the old school tie because it was high time for serious preparation for what lay ahead in institutions of higher learning, while others found themselves struggling with Vergil, sines and cosines and the etiquette of a gentleman, simply because it was the correct thing to do in Providence. But Mowry & Goff's was not peculiar in this respect.
Richard W. Smith, who became a part- ner in the school enterprise at the retire- ment of Mr. Mowry, came into the pic- ture in 1871, two years after the school moved into much more commodious quar- ters in the Fletcher building at the corner of Westminster & Eddy Streets. These accommodations served until 1875 when the school at Mowry & Goff's acquired its own building, still standing at 63 Snow Street, once occupied by Billing's Toy Store. The public library occupied the first floor and the school the two upper floors. The second floor was given over to recitation rooms and a chapel, while the drill hall took most of the top floor. - Probably most of the living alumni date their recollections of dear old school days at Mowry & Goff's back to the Snow Street location, a landmark if there ever was one during a quarter century of Providence history. To complete the history of the institution - the failure of
Mr. Smith's health, the death of Mr. Goff in 1898, and the steady improvement of the local high schools, finally 'led to the dissolution of the project. The University Grammar School founded in 1764, on College Hill, was merged with Mowry & Goff's under the direction of Mr. Rice, and, in 1904, another merger with the Friend's School, now Moses Brown School, brought to a close the brilliant career of a school whose influence had so much to do with the advancement of edu- cational practices throughout the State. We all know many of the graduates, many of them have become our leaders of today, and although the school is no more, and has been gone for long, mem- ories thereof do not grow dimmer with the passing of years and of decades.
Reunions of Mowry & Goffers abound with happy recollections of days spent under Mrs. Harriet A. Dean, whose Preparatory Department was affection- ately dubbed "The Deanery"; of that grand old lady, Mrs. Harriet M. Miller, the elocution teacher and the favorite line of hers about "the tintinnabulation of the tinkling, tinkling bells"; Miss Isabel C. French, the ambidextrous teacher of arithmetic and geography, who could write equally well with either hand; the late Walter J. Towne; the late Clarence H. Manchester, beloved principal of Technical High, who gave the names of all the boys a Latin twist; and so on. Not forgetting the military side of the school, that was most important, espe- cially on Fridays, when the parents and, of course, the young ladies were invited
to witness dress parade. The military organization was one of the school's most popular features. It helped maintain dis- cipline and gave color to all school activi- ties. The occasional street parades will never be forgotten by the participants. Real Springfield rifles lined the racks in the drill hall and all pupils, regardless of size, took part in regular drills several times a week. Outstanding among the instructors, none will ever forget General Charles R. Dennis whose insistence on military precision was rigorous, to say the least. In later years the uniform equip- ment was brought up to army regulations and a high standard of close order pre-
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cision followed which brought generous applause whenever a public drill was held in Infantry or Music Hall. This school was one of the first to introduce gymnas- tic training and a session in the gym was part of the daily routine. Pupils of Mowry & Goff's enjoyed the great bene- fits of individual instruction. Mr. Mowry contended that ten scholars to a teacher was enough and the number never ex- ceeded fifteen. Thus it was possible to really understand the pupils and give to each the help that would accomplish the most for him. Here, also, we have the secret of the affection which the scholars developed for their masters, who were always on the most intimate terms with the boys. Teachers were selected for their special fitness and numberless inno- vations in teaching practice, now in com-
mon use, originated in Mowry & Goff's classrooms. We would like to touch up on some of the side-lights of life at this interesting school, such as the surrepti- tious visits to Handy's Museum on Mon- days and Thursdays; the forbidden deli- cacies smuggled in from Remington & Sessions' and Rausch's Bakery, etc .; and upon the time when Arthurus Livingston Kelley, as he was probably called by Professor Manchester, came to drill with a real, regulation Army poncho manu- factured in his father's mill, but such pleasant and amusing memories are re- served for those who cherish intimate associations with Mowry & Goff's. As far as the past is concerned, the school made history by producing men who have made and will make Rhode Island history.
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