Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 27, 2016 Page: 3 of 16
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Mineola Monitor • Wednesday, January 27,2016 3A
Holmes may be retiring from banking, but not the community
By DORIS NEWMAN
The Monitor Staff
In a couple of days the
friendly face and easy
smile of Diane Holmes
will be leaving the build-
ing at City National
Bank.
If the face and smile
aren't well-known
enough at the bank, an
image of Holmes and
the bank president, Ryan
James, is festooned on a
billboard at the main in-
tersection in downtown
Mineola. But anyone
who spends a little time
at her desk knows that
the folks who go in and
out of the bank know her
well.
Not long ago there was
an extensive renovation
project to give the bank
a thorough historic pre-
sentation. One's percep-
tion that the length of the
project was "a stretch" is
not far off; Diane says it
was, with stress on ev-
ery word, "exactly one
year."
Anyone who strolled
through their sawdust-
covered, plastic cor-
doned lobby had to won-
der at the time how the
employees were able to
continue working in that
environment. With the
project complete and the
building sparking and
historic, Holmes smiles
at the memory and what
it produced.
"This has been so
nice," she said of the ren-
ovation. "The building
has been around here for
a long time. It's just nice
that we were able to have
the renovations done
and that it still has that
old timey feel of the bank
that started out here so
many years ago."
Holmes remembers a
wall of plastic that was
hung from the ceiling
to divide the lobby. "It
was just kind of a make-
shift teller line so that
they could work on the
teller line where it is to-
day. That was just crazy.
I'll never forget people
would walk in and they'd
see this barrier of plastic
separating the bank."
"Ill also never forget
my office, I had a tem-
porary desk out here in
the lobby, and it was a
cold day because I re-
Merry Merchants
of Mineola
to host event
The Merry Merchants
of Mineola will host a
Fat Tuesday event on
Feb. 9.
There will be free Mar-
di Gras Beads and a par-
ty atmosphere including
downtown Mardi Gras
music according to event
planners.
The teller line is where Diane Holmes started at the former First National Bank of Mineola. She walked
in with only a little experience in a very small community bank in Ohio and has remained at the Mineola
bank through many changes and many years. (Monitor photo by Doris Newman)
member I had a coat on
and even gloves on. And
they were doing some of
the finish on the wood
trim. Just horrible smell.
And so they had to keep
the doors open. And I
just remember I had pa-
pers on my desk and the
doors were open and I
had a customer on the
other side of my desk
and the wind came and
just blew papers every-
where. I just remember
that day thinking 'I can-
not believe we're having
to do this. If we have to
go through one more
day of this I'm going to
scream.'"
She said the smells of
the products used were
terrible, but the staff
thought if the workers
could stand it, so could
they.
"But it's like, here we
are, enjoying this beauti-
ful building. So it was all
certainly worth it," she
said chuckling.
It's not like it's time
for her to hang up her
banking shoes. Holmes
has only worked there
32 years. It is hard to be-
lieve, and one of her co-
workers, Warren Brown,
pops in to interject, "She
started when she was 12
years old."
Holmes started out on
the teller line and served
in that capacity for sev-
eral years. She worked
in the drive through for
a while and back when
First National Bank did
all of their own work in-
house, she ran proof for
a little while "but found
out that was not exactly
my cup of tea." So she re-
turned to the teller line.
There was a separate
loan window and she
worked in that window
for a number of years and
eventually she came out
into the lobby and that
is when she was made
a loan officer. "That's
probably been about 15
years ago."
In recent years, in ad-
dition to upheaval of the
complete renovation,
the one bank in Mine-
ola that had never been
sold or changed its name
was sold. She said when
Ralph Hoseck sold the
bank he needed to retire
and was ready to retire.
"That was quite an or-
deal and a huge change
for this bank," she said.
"We were used to oper-
ating solely on our own.
And like I said every-
thing that was done in
this bank was done by
the people who worked
here. Then the City Na-
tional people bought us
in 2011. It was quite an
ordeal, but we were so
thankful that Mr. Hoseck
was able to sell the bank
to another local bank. We
certainly wanted to keep
that small-town commu-
nity bank and City Na-
tional Bank has allowed
us to do that because
their other branches are
the same way."
She said the people of
City National were very
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Middle Sicho.oli Student of the Week
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The Mineola M.S. staff picks Isabella Tresca as this week’s Student of the Week.
This week's Student of the Week, 13-year-old
Isabella Tresca, is a eighth grader at Mineola
Middle School and the daughter of Mike and
Sarah Tresca. She has one brother, 15-year-old
Anthony. Isabella is a student who remains on
the A Honor Roll. She is involved in FCA, United
Nations, Robotics and Mineola Junior Historians.
Isabella also is the cheer mascot, a member of
the MMS Band and is a member of the A team
in both volleyball and basketball. During her
free time she enjoys playing select softball with
American Freedom Arkansas. MMS Coach Laura Dennis said, "Isabella
always puts forth her best effort and is always working to improve in
everything she does." After graduation Isabella plans to attend college
for physical therapy in sports medicine.
1
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helpful with the Mineola
staff in getting them on
board with them, "and
they still are to this day."
"I have nothing but
good things to say about
City National Bank, re-
ally," she said, continu-
ing, "as much as I loved
working with First Na-
tional Bank." At this
point the interview hits
pause as Holmes ac-
knowledges, waves and
smiles a customer in the
lobby. It happens more
than once. And at one
point, she apologized
but said, "I just have to
go hug this person" as
she went to speak with
a customer. Seems many
may already be saying
their goodbyes.
With her bright out-
look, one wonders what
prompted the timing of
her exit. Holmes said she
is retiring "for a couple
of reasons." First and
foremost, she said, is that
she wants to spend more
time with her husband
Raymond, their dogs
and " visit family and
just be able to have some
times to do some things I
really want to do."
And, she said mort-
gage lending, which
has been her main focus
over the last 15 years has
changed a great deal.
"And as I get older it gets
a little bit harder to keep
up withal the rules and
regulations, the so many
changes. And while
mortgage lending has
always been something I
have truly," she said em-
phasizing the last word,
"enjoyed doing, I have
met so many wonderful
people, and I think it's
always been such a sat-
isfactory feeling know-
ing that you're able to
put people, especially
in their first home. That
is always so exciting. So
I will miss that. But just
with all the regulatory
changes, it's a little hard
on this old lady," she
said and laughs heartily.
"So I guess I want to go
while I still know what
I'm doing."
But, she said, it is most-
ly to be able to spend
time with her husband
and her family.
During her decades
at the bank, many faces
have come and gone. She
said when she started
at the bank in 1984 sev-
eral people started at the
same time that year. And
there were already a few
who had been there for a
number of years.
"To this day this group
of about 10 of us still
get together and visit
with each other and go
on trips. So we have
remained really close
friends over the years."
From that group of
women, she is the only
one who is still at the
bank.
She admits she enjoyed
working with a couple
of the other long-time
employees who, when
City National took over,
were moved to the drive
through. "Again, she
said, it's just another
change."
Holmes said that she
will miss her co-workers;
they're all dog lovers
who enjoy sharing sto-
ries and anecdotes about
their pets. She will also
miss her customers.
In addition to spending
time with her husband,
(who plans a "to-do
list" for her) family and
friends, Diane has an-
other clear-cut position
that will be occupying
some of her newfound
free time. Starting this
July she will begin serv-
ing as the president of
the Mineola Pilot Club,
for her second time.
She also enjoys tak-
ing photographs at her
and her husband's love-
ly country home that's
nestled in woods with a
beautiful pond in front
of it. Now she'll have
time to get some of those
photos framed and hung.
There's also a newly-
created garden plot that
she's looking forward
to cultivating and shell
have more time to spend
enjoying her azaleas, day
lilies and roses.
But Holmes is also def-
inite about what she will
not be doing. That in-
cludes spending time on
a golf course, in a rock-
ing chair, or knitting.
RETIREMENT
CELEBRATION
for
DIANE HOLMES
January 27th - Bank Lobby
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
SSE
CITY NATIONAL BANK
City National Bank - Mineola
Member 200 N. Pacific vv
f Mineola I 1
(903) 569-6161
; U.H.L HJU5IHG
LENDER
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Newman, Doris. Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 27, 2016, newspaper, January 27, 2016; Mineola, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth900031/m1/3/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Mineola Memorial Library.