Northwestern National Bank

Did any of you have your first banking experience with the Northwestern National Bank at the corner of Fourth and Main, just south of Ray's Corner and  kitty corner from Kendall's?  Also upstairs, KBRK began operations in 1955.  Northwestern has an interesting history, and is now part of Wells-Fargo (http://blogs.wellsfargo.com/guidedbyhistory/2012/09/north-western-national-bank-14/).  When we were seniors, Sid Bostic, at that time working at the Northwestern Bank in Brookings, talked to our economics classes.  I believe he taught us how to write checks properly.  Mr. Bostic was on the 1963 SDSU national small-college championship team, and made the winning basket from half-court just as time was about to expire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_NCAA_College_Division_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournament and
http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=899943

 
One of the men who also worked at that bank was Harry Birath. He graduated from BHS 70 years ago  (http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Brookings-High-School/250549?page=12).   His son Bob was a year behind, while  Rich was two years behind us.   His other two children, Tom and Barb, were a little younger yet.  Mr. Birath was quite a talented individual in high school, as his senior photograph and caption shows.  He was a great asset to the community.  When he was older, he was active in Senior Olympics.  Sadly, he passed away recently (http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=24499&page=80). 

As the obituary indicates, Mr. Birath was an avid follower of the local athletic scene, and was a member of the BHS Hall of Fame, joining Lee Colburn and Jim Kortan of our class.  He was also a member of the South Dakota Senior Olympics Hall of fame.  I participated in Senior Olympics one year, and got to know him somewhat.  He even lent me his jump rope for that event, as mine was just a cheap one borrowed from the school.  When I was in 9th grade, one of his sons (Bob? Rich? maybe both) was a pole vaulter.  I also tried that event, so I became acquainted with him (them?) somewhat. 

Even though most of us probably did not know Mr. Birath, he was well-known in the community, as the guestbook for his obituary attests (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=80950548_HBirath).   Mr. Birath was a true Bobcat and Jackrabbit.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.