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| 1934 Book – the outside and the second page. |
One might wonder what there is to learn from an accounting book. The books account for everyday expenditures, demonstrating how carefully Donald cared for his family. In fact, reading the books, one begins to imagine his everyday life. Reading his entries provides reassurance that his family, our beloved family members, Leoine, Don, Anne, and Steve were well cared for and loved by Donald. Ruth, the child of Leoine’s second marriage, was not yet born.
The Great Depression. Donald’s books begin in a period of time when the nation was suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. What were the effects of the depression on Lakeport National Bank, the bank where Donald served as a bank manager? The banks that were most deeply affected by the Depression were those most closely associated with the risky investments of the Wall Street banking interests, which triggered the Crash. The Crash caused a run on the banks by frantic customers. Small community banks may have been protected from huge losses by pursuing more conservative investment strategies (http://www.history.com/topics/bank-run). They may have benefitted from the trust that they cultivated in the communities they served.
Donald attended Dartmouth College for two years, then worked in Boston as a clerk and sold insurance for four years. He had no accounting training when he started at Lakeport National bank. He worked four years as an assistant to his father, Wellington Woodworth. In 1935, upon his father’s death, Donald was elevated to Wellington’s position of Cashier, a banker’s title equivalent to General Manager. Donald was also named a director. The directors gifted him with a number of shares in the bank. They expected him to purchase additional shares, so that he would be as invested in the bank as the owners were. Donald’s 1935 accounting book reflects an increase in monthly income from $105.00 per month for several months to $145.00 in September 1935. Increases in Donald’s income are typically recorded in February of each year. The September increase likely reflects his promotion.
Salary Income. Donald’s income increased steadily over the years, as seen here.
Year
|
Salary
|
Total Earnings
|
Comparable Income
in 2017 Terms
|
1934
|
$1150.00
|
$1500.00
|
$26,866.00
|
1935
|
1400.00
|
$1900.00
|
$33,285.00
|
1936
|
1900.00
|
$2900.00
|
$59,073.00
|
1937-1940
|
(Missing)
|
(Missing)
|
(No Information)
|
1941
|
3500.00
|
$4075.00
|
$66,532.00
|
1942
|
$3760.00
|
$4500.00
|
$66,259.00
|
1943
|
$4078.00
|
$4700.00
|
$65,204.00
|
1944
|
$4200.00
|
$5200.00
|
$70,911.00
|
1945
|
$4300.00
|
$5200.00
|
$69,335.00
|
Bankers in small towns earned modest incomes in Donald’s time, but they held status in the community. We know Donald’s appreciation of his fiduciary responsibility. The bank held the savings of the community’s citizens, families, and businesses. He treated the community’s money as carefully as his own.
As Cashier, he managed the work of the bank, training and overseeing the tellers. He opened the big Mosler safe at 9:00 AM and closed it for the night once he had checked the ledgers at the end of the business day to arrive at a balance. He also readied the bank’s records for the periodic visits of auditors and bank regulators. (Excerpt from article on Donald on Woodworth/Hale Blogspot)
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| Lakeport National Bank: 1917, Union Avenue, Lakeport. Black and white photograph depicting the newly constructed Lakeport National Bank on the corner of Union Avenue and Clinton Street in Lakeport Square, Lakeport. The brick building has Greek-Revival style architectural elements and a small portico of the front entrance. |
Fees and commissions. As Cashier at the Bank, Donald was considered qualified as a "Person of Trust" to appraise estates for probate. Here "trust" is the role of fiduciary, one who puts the interests of the client above his own and one who acts as a knowledgeable and reasonable person. Mortgage loans were a major part of the bank’s business. Donald was responsible for recommending which mortgages should be approved by the bank’s Board of Directors. He was held to be a qualified judge of real estate values and of the trustworthiness of the applicants. In a town the size of Lakeport, most deposits and loans involved long-term residents known to the bank’s officers.
Other income came from fees he received as a Notary Public, certifying signatures on business documents. When he appraised estates or served as Executor of an estate, he received fees approved by the Judge of Probate.
Don Woodworth remembers that his father was a Hospital Trustee and later, about 1940, arranged for a $100,000 bequest to the hospital from Marianne Cogswell for whom he was an advisor for many years. Donald would take his children, Anne and Don on Sunday drives to her house on the edge of town on a hill in the woods. She was the first person whom Don saw feed the birds.
Donald and Leoine lived in the "bungalow,” a little house on the lot just uphill from his parent’s house. Donald’s father, Wellington, bought the bungalow in 1900, restored it and rented it. In 1910 Wellington deeded it to his father and mother, Wallace and Sarah. Wallace died in 1925, Sarah in 1929 and the bungalow became a rental property for a couple of years. Donald, Leoine, Don and Anne lived in the bungalow from 1932 to 1936. When the family moved to the house down the hill on Union Avenue they rented the bungalow to Mr. Gleason who made doughnuts on Saturdays. Although the bungalow still stands, the house at 921 Union Avenue was taken down in 1964 or 1965.
Don writes: This is a waiting area with a bench and the shelves for making out checks and the like. The conference room was down this corridor, with the tellers' windows on the right. A matching corridor on the other side of the room led to the Board Room and the office of the bank president.
In the picture of the whole room, the big Mosler safe is in the center facing the front door where the customers can see it and be reassured about the safety of their money. Dad was very proud of this safe, a large safe for a small bank. Its big steel door was closed and the wheel turned to push the big deadbolts into the steel framework. The walls inside were foot-thick concrete with steel rebar to prevent robbers breaking in with heavy drills. The door was on a clock and couldn't be opened until 9:00 AM. I am sure Dad was the one who closed and opened the door most days.
Another view inside Lakeport National Bank.
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| Lakeport National Bank is the small brick building under the trees to the left. |
Common features. Donald’s monthly accounting includes common features that appear every month. His entries were always dated at the top and he started each month with his income from Salary, Rent, Commissions and Fees, sales of stocks, bonds, stamps and coins, money borrowed, loans repaid to him, accounting tasks he performed for client estates, and dividends from investments.
Expenses were listed by date, purpose and amount. The money listed as “house” would have been given to Leoine at the beginning of each month. She would have managed expenses that included food and other items needed for everyday care that amounted to 45% of the income, on average. We can assume that some of the funds went to Leoine’s wardrobe since her items were rarely listed. Water, electricity, gas, telephone, and home and bungalow repairs, and car repairs were listed as separate expenses. Donald’s income at the top of the page always balanced with the total of expenses at the bottom of the page. In some months, he added the amount the family had in savings or cash-on-hand.
Two examples of his accounting are below, one earlier and one later.
November 1934
|
October 1946
|
|
Income:
Salary 95.00
Commission
5 & stamps 5 10.00
Total 105.00
Expenses
House 55.00
Oil,
fuel, haircut 1.00
Gas 2.00
Gas 1.00
Laundry 1.00
Xmas
clubs 4.00
House 10.00
Men’s
club dues 1.50
Pub
Ser. Co. 4.50
Driver’s
License 2.00
Ac
ins. 3.00
Stamps,
haircut 2.00
Red
Cross 1.00
House 10.00
L’s
birthday 6.00
Laundry 1.00
Total 105.00
|
Income:
Cash
on hand 100.00
Salary 333.00
Armstrong
Estate 200.00
Savings 50.00
Rent 30.00
Fees 2.00
Total 715.00
Expenses
House 160.00
Social
Sec w/taxes 33.00
Allowances 4.00
Hospital
dinner 2.00
Laconia
Community Chest 20.00
Bungalow
roof 138.00
Fuel
Oil, haircut 21.00
Shirts
5, taxi 1, teeth 3 9.00
Sandwich
Fair 4.00
Dinners
7, ice cream 2, fares 1 7.00
Ice
cream and fares 1.00
Movies 1.00
Boston
Trip 13.00
Gas
3, Elec 4, Sewer dug 3 10.00
Hair
& Fairs 1, Taxi, postage 1 2.00
Help 15.00
Fuel
oil 20.00
Crib 4.00
Mattress 14.00
Leoine’s
clothes 14.00
Baby’s
clothes 7.00
Don
clothes 7.00
Anne
clothes 9.00
Cash
on hand 200.00
Total 715.00
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At the end of each year Donald made an accounting of the year’s earnings and cost by category that he titled “Recapitulation.” Following is an example.
Recapitulation for 1946
|
Income:
Salary 4000.00
Bonus 300.00
Misc.
services 220.00
M.C.
Estate 2500.00
Rent 300.00
Dividends 480.00
Total 7500.00
+Savings 600.00
Expenses:
House 1980.00
Med. And
doctors 400.00
Insurance 520.00
Fuel 235.00
Taxes 205.00
Income
tax 410.00
Social
Security Tax 30.00
Stamps 28.00
Coins 100.00
Gas,
Electric & Water 120.00
Clothing 200.00
Telephone 40.00
Taxis 35.00
Allowances 50.00
Recreation
and Dues 100.00
House
Rep & Furniture 190.00
Books,
Mags. and gifts 120.00
Donations 250.00
Bungalow
Repairs 175.00
Haircuts
and fares 40.00
Savings 2900.00
Total 8100.00
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Stocks and bonds. Starting in 1936, Donald is a regular investor in stocks and bonds. There are no investments recorded in the first two years, 1934 and 1935. In 1941, Donald bought stocks and bonds at $180.00 for the year, rising to $500.00 in 1942. In 1936, he earned interest of $144.79 from 13 investments. He showed regular earnings every year thereafter.
Stamps and coins. Growing up with a father who had been collecting for years, Donald was probably beginning his own collection early on. Perhaps his father found a good stamp in the bank’s mail or took Donald across to the Post Office to buy a new stamp when it was issued. They probably shared Wellington’s subscriptions to stamp and coin magazines. Family lore says Donald helped his father build the collection and had the collection on bequest in his father’s will. The first indication of stamp purchases was in 1934 for 15.00 for the year. In October 1936, his collection must have been substantial enough that he insured the collection at a cost of $10.00. His 1935 Recapitulation reflects no purchase for either stamps or coins. In 1936 he spent $40.00 on stamps. By 1941, the year we pick up again, he is buying both stamps and coins at $45.00 for the year. From this point on, stamps and coins appear as a regular investment.
The war effort. Donald was patriotic, volunteering in the World War II war effort. Aside from his service as an Airplane Spotter and Air Raid Warden, he invested in War Stamps and War Bonds. War bonds were purchased in Donald’s name while War Stamps were purchased by the children at school with money sent from home, probably once a week. As an example, one could purchase a War Bond for $18.00, that would mature at a certain date with a value of $25.00. If one held the bond after its maturity date, the interest would continue to accumulate. The bonds could be redeemed during the war and after. The Bank was promoting and selling these bonds for the war effort, so Donald would have felt a further obligation. In 1942 he bought War Stamps for $9.00; in 1943 he bought War Bonds for $1050.00 and War Stamps for $40.00. He paid a Victory tax of $90.00. In 1944, Donald increased his patriotic investment, purchasing War Bonds for $1125.00 and war stamps for $20.00. By 1945 he purchased War Bonds for $800.00. He also donated to the Laconia War Chest “for our boys…our allies…our own”. By 1946, the war was over; no further war investments are recorded.
Donations. Donald made regular charitable donations starting in 1936 with donations to the Red Cross and the Park Street Church for $20.00 for the year. Thereafter he increased his donations and by 1946 his donations to various organizations totaled $250.00 for the year. He donated regularly to the Dartmouth College Alumni Fund.
Social expenditures. Donald paid Men’s Club dues of between $1.00-$4.00; as well as membership dues to the Laconia Club and the YMCA.
Unusual expenses. At times Donald’s entries reflect unusual expenses, unusual from our perspective, but not unusual for Donald’s times. Examples are the purchase of 8 tons of coal for heating the house, regular repairs on the soles of shoes, ceiling whitening, and poll taxes. The purchase of hair tonic, such as Oleaqua and Kreml, suggests a grooming feature uncommon among men today. An Oleaqua hair tonic bottle is pictured below. Kreml, apparently, is also good for men’s hair as seen in the advertisement below!
Family life. Donald’s accounting tells a story of the family’s everyday life, and Donald’s care for his family. As Don and Anne grew, he lists purchases of clothing, school and camp costs, allowances and savings accounts for both. From 1942 Donald enters piano lessons and the childrens’ allowances every month. Donald took Leoine to the movies a couple times a month and the family to the carnival when it was in town. He recorded trips to Boston with Don and, at one point, he recorded a trip to Boston he and Leoine took for their anniversary. He documents clothing purchases for the children, such as, “Anne’s coat, etc. & pants for Don $4.00”.
A few months after Steve is born, Donald documents typical baby purchases, such as clothing, a crib and mattress. He notes a new hat, coat, or dress for Leoine periodically. Every once in a while alcohol and cigarettes appear as expenditures. He purchased annual magazine subscriptions to Reader’s Digest, Consumer Union Report, and Deed’s Abstract. Every month, in the later years, he brought home flowers. Carnivals, fairs, concerts and church suppers appear as summertime events. Birthdays and Valentine’s Day gifts were noted, as well as, the babysitter, Gertrude, who was paid regularly. Don explains that “Gertrude Huse lived down the street and was the babysitter of choice. She was not young, not pretty, not under 40, not favored by money, but sweet and trustworthy.” Donald notes birthday gifts for Edith, his mother, Leoine, Don, and Anne every year. Donald made regular payments of $37.50 into a Christmas Club that he labeled X.C. The Christmas Club is a savings plan that Lakeport National Bank offered to make saving for Christmas easier. By November of 1941 and 1942 Donald received a check of $250.00 from the “X.C. club” for Christmas.
Every summer Donald notes payments to camps, such as, August 1941 Camp Acadia for Anne and July 1941 Camp Moccasin for Don. Don remembers,
Camp Moccasin was about 10 miles from Laconia in the town of Winnisquam, and on a lake. The Scouts probably owned the property, and rented it to people who ran a Camp for kids about 7 to 12 -- my estimate. Anne may have gone in the girl's section, the $50 covering both of us for a period of two weeks. We went on a bus and stayed the day. Crafts and swimming. When each kid got a title from the counselors, at the end, mine was ‘the boy who wouldn't get out of the water’. Yes, the memories of the camp are all good.As one reads the first two books, reflecting as they do several years of the family’s life, one becomes vested in the lives of this family. When I reached December of 1946, I realized that Donald would pass away in just over a month. A close reading of Donald’s financial records causes one to be so vested in the lives of Donald, Leoine, Don, Anne and little Stevie, that it is truly sad to know what he could not have known at that time – that he would soon be gone.
The final book contains Donald’s recordings in January and the beginning of February 1947. The rest of February and some of March reflects a different handwriting – Leoine’s. Donald was admitted to Laconia Hospital in early February and passed away on February 11, 1947.
Donald’s life insurance sustained the family for a while after his passing. According to Don, “Mom got something, perhaps $25,000, good for those days, but she soon got jobs, as a clerk at the Water Company three blocks north of the house, and she sold Stanley Products at parties.” Don was almost 15, Anne 13, and Steve, born the previous May, only 8 months old. One can only imagine how huge the loss of Donald was and how difficult these times were for the whole family.
Tamber Woodworth
February 2017
We are indebted to Steven Hale Woodworth for the loan of Donald Merwin Woodworth’s accounting book. Thank you for sharing a beautiful family story!
Thank you to Don Wellington Woodworth for sharing charming and humorous family stories.
For editing assistance, I thank Don Wellington Woodworth and Mark Morrow Ravlin.
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