SOUTH WAYNE - A long-standing bank in South Wayne is closing its doors on April 30.
"It's the end of an era," said Tina Riechers, Citizens Bank branch manager assistant in South Wayne.
Riechers said Citizens Bank bought the bank around 2002 from F&M, who bought it from the Bank of South Wayne in 1998. The original independent bank was once owned by the Meythaler family of South Wayne.
Citizens Bank customers, some whose families have banked for generations at the same location, received notices last week that their accounts will be kept at the next closest branch in Darlington.
Mary McKnight said her 90-year-old mother received the letter. The announcement came as a surprise to the women.
"The bank is the last thing here," McKnight said. "The township still banks at Citizens. I'm not sure about the village."
McKnight said her family has banked in South Wayne since the 1820s.
Riechers said about half of the town's 484 people bank at Citizens. She said customers' accounts will stay intact. They will only need to visit their historical bank one last time if they have anything left in a safe deposit box.
Randy J. Peterson, chief commercial banker with Citizens in Green Bay, said the move was a consolidation. Also, the building, built in 1904, is becoming too hard to maintain, he said.
Riechers said The Citizens Republic Banking Corporation of Michigan will sell the building, and one person has inquired about it.
The company "contemplated for a long time" and decided they could "provide better services and better relationships through the Darlington office," Peterson said.
"We've actually been using people out of Darlington to staff," he said.
The South Wayne branch has been fully-staffed with three to four employees, two at a time on rotating basis. One of those is Riechers, who has been with Citizens for 10 years.
Darlington is 18 miles from South Wayne, and Peterson said he realizes the extra distance is an issue. But for McKnight and her mother, distance is a huge issue.
McKnight, who used to teach economics at Texas A&M, said the bank didn't consider "the elasticity of demand." She lives outside town, and Darlington is a 25-mile trip, a bit too far, especially in bad weather.
McKnight is seriously considering her demands for banking services.
Woodford State Bank still has a branch office in South Wayne, and McKnight said it is staffed with people they know, some who went to Black Hawk Schools.
"We can switch to Woodford," McKnight said. "Nothing wrong with them. They're nice kids."
"It's the end of an era," said Tina Riechers, Citizens Bank branch manager assistant in South Wayne.
Riechers said Citizens Bank bought the bank around 2002 from F&M, who bought it from the Bank of South Wayne in 1998. The original independent bank was once owned by the Meythaler family of South Wayne.
Citizens Bank customers, some whose families have banked for generations at the same location, received notices last week that their accounts will be kept at the next closest branch in Darlington.
Mary McKnight said her 90-year-old mother received the letter. The announcement came as a surprise to the women.
"The bank is the last thing here," McKnight said. "The township still banks at Citizens. I'm not sure about the village."
McKnight said her family has banked in South Wayne since the 1820s.
Riechers said about half of the town's 484 people bank at Citizens. She said customers' accounts will stay intact. They will only need to visit their historical bank one last time if they have anything left in a safe deposit box.
Randy J. Peterson, chief commercial banker with Citizens in Green Bay, said the move was a consolidation. Also, the building, built in 1904, is becoming too hard to maintain, he said.
Riechers said The Citizens Republic Banking Corporation of Michigan will sell the building, and one person has inquired about it.
The company "contemplated for a long time" and decided they could "provide better services and better relationships through the Darlington office," Peterson said.
"We've actually been using people out of Darlington to staff," he said.
The South Wayne branch has been fully-staffed with three to four employees, two at a time on rotating basis. One of those is Riechers, who has been with Citizens for 10 years.
Darlington is 18 miles from South Wayne, and Peterson said he realizes the extra distance is an issue. But for McKnight and her mother, distance is a huge issue.
McKnight, who used to teach economics at Texas A&M, said the bank didn't consider "the elasticity of demand." She lives outside town, and Darlington is a 25-mile trip, a bit too far, especially in bad weather.
McKnight is seriously considering her demands for banking services.
Woodford State Bank still has a branch office in South Wayne, and McKnight said it is staffed with people they know, some who went to Black Hawk Schools.
"We can switch to Woodford," McKnight said. "Nothing wrong with them. They're nice kids."