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of all he surveyed from eight or ten feet above floor
level. Whew! What a feeling! Kaplon's also had merchandise-lined walls, as did Nathan Ephraim in his clothing store, and probably others. Werntz' grocery, the A&P, and other stores used a long pole with a clamp or hook at the end. A squeeze at the handle end operated a long wire or metal strap that claused the clamp to close around and hold securely the can of food that was thus bro~ght to arm level. S - Dutch Burns W-MMM
THE BANK OF BRUNSWICK On April 15, 1915, the Bank of Brunswick filed Articles of Incorporation in Circuit Court of Frederick County Maryland. Capital was set at $25,000 and was raised by the sale of 500 shares of stock with a par value of $50. The stock was to be sold at $60 per share with $50 going into Capital Stock and $10 into Surplus. The incorporators were W. B. Washington and J. D. Brown of Lovettsville, Va., Frank L. Spitzer and J. P. Kam ofBrunswick, Md., and J. Lee Simmons of Adamstown, Md. On June 29, 1915, approval was received from the State Bank Commissioner to operate a state chartered commercial bank in Brunswick. The bank operated in the Red Men's Hall until 1920, when it purchased a two-story brick structure that had been built in 1900 at North Maple Avenue and West Potomac Street to house the Brunswick Savings Bank, then defunct. There was a large room on the second floor that had been occupied by Brunswick Lodge No. 191, A.F.& AM. since 1901.In 1922, a two-story addition was built on the rear of the building. Over the years several different businesses were housed on the first floor of that addition and the local telephone exchange was on the second floor. On March 6, 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a banking holiday to halt massive withdrawals and to allow time for passage of emergency bank legislation by Congress, the Bank of Brunswick was one of those allowed to reopen after that seven-day holiday. Over the years, the bank continued to grow and by 1956 the Bank of Brunswick needed more space. The old building was demolished and a new building was constructed in two sections so that banking services could be continued during construction.
Employees worked in the front section of the old building while the first section of the new building was being constructed in the rear; when that was completed, they moved into the new unit while the front was being completed. The formal opening of the new bank building was held on Saturday June 29, 1957. In 1965 the bank purchased a residential property adjacent to the side of the bank along Maple Avenue and also the "Brick" House (owner's name) dwelling and a two-story family home on Petersville Road. These buildings were razed and the area was blacktopped for bank customer parking. In 1969 a small addition was made to the building and a drive-in window was installed.In 1985 the bank had once again outgrown its facility, and added a second floor to its building to accommodate a computer room, bookkeeping department, directors room, conference room and a storage area. Late in 1989 the bank began remodeling the lobby in keeping with the restoration program of downtown Brunswick. Bank of Brunswick purchased the old Jefferson Elementary School building in 1980 and on that site built a branch bank which opened in 1982.In 1989, Bank of Brunswick continued its expansion program and opened a second branch office in Point of Rocks. S - W. Carlos Myers W -BLC
THE PEOPLE'S NATIONAL BANK The People's National Bank of Brunswick was organized in the early part of 1906 by some of Brunswick's leading citizens. It opened for business in June of that year with the following persons composing its Board of Directors: Hamilton W. Shafer, G. H. Hogan, Christian Smith, Howard M. Jones, Thomas Fitzgerald, Peter S. Hemp, C. R. Gregory, L. E. McBride, John T. Martin, Samuel W. George, William F. Stonebraker and H. S. Hedges. The bank prospered from the very beginning and all during the money panic that started in the fall of 1907 and continued for over a year. The bank not only held its own in meeting all demands of ready currency, but increased its business during that trying period. People's National Bank merged with Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Frederick, Maryland, in 1963, and has continued banking operations at 115 West Potomac Street in Brunswick. A branch office at North Maple Avenue and Souder
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