MOUNTAIN VIEW — In 1970, Mountain View had a population of 1,866. The now-famed Ozark Folk Center had not yet opened, but the community was preparing for it through the Ozark Foothills Crafts Guild. A postage stamp cost only 6 cents, and a gallon of milk sold for an average of $1.32.
Now, many aspects of the community noticeably differ from that time. Prices are higher, faces have changed, and many residents and businesses have moved out of or into town.
Just ask Rebecca Ford and Ginny McSpadden, who are set to retire at the end of the year. The women both said working 30 to 40 years in a small-town bank has allowed them to form relationships throughout the community and witness myriad transformations in the business — and the town.
Ford and McSpadden work at a Centennial Bank branch that used to be the Bank of Mountain View. Ford, the assistant branch manager, has worked there for 32 years, and McSpadden, an administrative assistant, has worked there for 43 years. The two joined the bank around the same time, but Ford took 10 years off to stay home with her children.
Back when Ford and McSpadden started working at the bank, they said everyone began as a bookkeeper. Everything was done by hand, and it was imperative for the bookkeepers to know the families in the community.
“We would sort checks by last name, and we had to learn husbands, wives and sometimes children on the account,” McSpadden said. “We’d sit at a big table and had rows of checks that we had to put together in alphabetical order.”
Ford said she already knew a lot of people in the tight-knit community before she started working at the bank, but for her job, she had to know all of the members of families so she could post the checks to the correct accounts.
“We didn’t have account numbers when I started to work,” she said. “The ladies were signing their checks ‘Mrs. So-and-so’ rather than signing their first names. Part of my responsibility was posting the checks to the correct account, so I had to know husbands and wives together. It was quite a different thing than it is now.”
As the women got to know the families, they formed many customer relationships that continue today.
“Some of them have banked with me the entire time I’ve worked here,” Ford said. “Over the years, we’ve had people — especially older people we knew — who would come in daily just to visit with us. They had no official business, but we’d see them every day.”
McSpadden said that through the years, there have been a lot of changes concerning procedures, bank ownership and federal regulations. Technology has been a big part of those changes, and she and her co-workers have adjusted to the times like people in many industries have done. Fortunately, she said, one thing that has remained the same is that she has been able to interact with good customers and co-workers.
“I can look back and see that we always had fun,” she said. “We had fun at gatherings like Christmas parties, and we had fun at work.”
Ford started working at the bank the day she graduated from high school, and she said she feels confident she has made an impact in her workplace, and the community, ever since.
“My high school counselor told me that I wouldn’t amount to anything if I didn’t go to college,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been able to contribute a lot to the community by staying in the community and staying involved. No, I didn’t have a college education, but I got a good work education and was able to maintain ties to the community.”
A reception for Ford and McSpadden will be held at the bank from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Dec. 30, with a special presentation at 5:30. The bank is at 121 E. Main St. in Mountain View.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.