The twenty-third day of November, is one that we shall not forget,
when the Commerce opened a new branch at Souris, the very best one yet;
the old one on the corner, had stood for some three score,
for the Merchants Bank had failed here, about ninteen hundred and four.

The staff have grown with passing years, from a first of two or three,
until now with almost twenty, all as busy as the bee;
and now this modern building, will serve for years to come,
as money passes both ways, and typewriters sweetly hum.

When first this branch was opened, in horse and buggy days,
few cars were then in Souris, gas tanks, or paved highways;
the blacksmith shops, and old horse sheds, for shelter in a storm,
no heated cars with aerial wires, or blast of motor horn.

For then the steel on red clay roads, today we ride on air,
and call a service station, if we find it is not all there;
there was no inspection sticker, or insurance on your van,
but still the boys all got there, and the girls all" got their man.

There were squabbles on the corner, and bottles on the hip,
no Mounties then to stop you, you could drive and have a sip;
the pony always brought you home, thro dark as Egypts night,
no white line to stay beyond, no laws to dim your light.

The silken hats and high laced boots, and mustache cups and cane,
no cigaretts or paper match, or sight of passing plane;
the maids then with bust and buzzle, and skirts down to the heel,
now in contrast is the mini, and what it can reveal.

But still the gracious nylon, is attractive to the eye,
for Grandma showed a home knit sock, and it went not too high;
no radio or picture tube, or switch along the wall,
but coal-oil light and wood fires bright, and home cooked meals for all.

But now we have fast changing times, and buy most all canned food,
the buildings all are brick and steel, without the use of wood;
we buy our entertainment, and travel far away,
and go from here across the seas, in just about a day.

It is jets along our skyways, here cars and buses hum,
and snowmobiles sail o'er our fields, to add to winters fun;
the corner where the old Bank stood, is now a parking space,
but the memory of those bygone times, we cannot soon erase.

But now a future vision, of the thousands that will pass,
along the sidewalks of this Town, and through those doors of glass;
the generations yet unborn, who will someday walk therein,
and hundreds from across the land, who will come to work within.

Now some will leave their greenbacks, and others want a loan,
but if you want to borrow, it is best not come alone;
but the money that you pay back, looks larger than your loan,
and the interest that you give them, they always call their own.

But in closing out this story, I wish to add this line,
If I could deposit money, then the interest would be mine;
we like to take a flash-back look, to days now long gone by,
when pollution was an unknown word, and we had a clear blue sky.

The food we used was all produced, from the land and from the sea,
and we did not need much money, for a weekly shopping spree;
and now we pause a moment, as our mind will wander back,
to the many hundred thousand, who were served by this same Bank.

The value of the dollar, has passed away with time,
inflation has us in its grip, this is the jet-age line;
our farms are folding one by one, and our pulp all cut away,
and what the farmer has to sell, gives very little pay.

While we await our old age pension, and use our medicare,
we try to labour like the rest, to provide our bill-of-fare;
we work out for a season, and then we hope to get,
enough of coupons or of stamps, for an unemployment cheque...

Souris Branch Managers 1895 - James J. Hughes 1899- W. R. McKie 1900 - G. W. Sutherland 1909 - James H. McQuaid 1912- C. F. Worrell 1913 - J. D. Burpee 1915 - Erskine P. Stavert 1919 - F. I. Tanner 1921 - S. Drake 1926- C. N. Roop 1937 - W. T. Parker 1939 - M. L. West 1945 - V. L. Curry 1947 - J. H. M. Dalziel 1952 - Ralph E. Morse 1954 - James N. Innes 1961 - Milton B. Fitzpatrick 1965 - Derrell B. MacClure 1974 - Irvine H. R. Fowler 1977 - Derrell B. MacClure 1983 - Willard H. MacKinnon 1994 - Lorraine H. Hennessey 1995 - Lorne F. Baldin 1997 - David A. MacLeod 2006 - Beverly A. Perry Souris' CIBC Branch in 2008

Strictly Suit and Tie in Bank by Viki Walsh Souris - When Ralph Morse first worked at the Bank of Commerce in Souris in 1934, the dress was strictly suit and tie, and the pay was $75 a month plus room and board, for the acting accountant. Mr. Morse will be one of a several special guests at the 100th anniversary of the branch on Sept. 21, 1983. Mr. Morse came to the Souris branch in 1934, when the total staff at the branch was four people. "I lived right in the building, in rooms above the bank. Part of the job was to keep the coal furnace stoked, and the water pumped," he said. He recalled many a cold night, returning from an evening out, to find the furnace cold and the bank and residence colder. "You'd go down there and build up a great fire, but it sure would be cold at first," he said. In the mornings a house-keeper came in and part of her duty was to start the fire. In those early days it was normal to do the bookkeeping and other work at night. "We had to balance the books to the cent. Sometimes we would spend days looking for five cents," he said. Mr. Morse said the banks later changed their policy when they found out how much it was costing to have staff work long hours to find a few pennies. In those early days there was no overtime. The tellers then were "caged;" their office was a barred area that was kept locked at all times. "The teller was entirely responsible for the cash. If your cash was short, you paid for it yourself," he said. Tellers and managers kept a loaded revolver under the counter at all times. The bullets for the revolvers were part of the annual inventory order that was a big event. "We ordered everything right down to soap and toilet paper, once a year". "The bullets were part of that order ...we used to do target practice in the basement, but we always had to be sure there were bullets left for the revolvers," he said. Mr, Morse said the idea of a robbery "never entered my head" and in fact there never was one in Souris. The staff in those early days was mainly men. Even the men could not marry unless they had bank permission. There were reasons for that, he said. First, a man could not support a family on the salary. Then there was the ever-present concern about a transfer . Bank employees were expected to take a transfer to any other branch, often on a day's notice. "Sometimes you could go in in the morning, and be on the train by the afternoon," he said. It made for some difficult times then, but now has some advantages. "We can go right across Canada, and know some people in almost any city," he said. By the same token, a bank employee could return to a branch to find all his friends transferred. Mr. Morse was transferred to several different locations including Halifax and Toronto, and he returned to the Souris branch in 1952 and was manager here until 1954. Now he and his wife, Lynn en]oy thelr retirement cottage in Chepstow, and they spend the winters in Florida. from the Charlottetown Guardian, September 1983 In an article published in the Eastern Graphic, Mr. Morse recollected "It was a slow time, during the depression," he said. "People didn't do much borrowing, because they didn't have much money." At that time, the young male enployees lived in rooms over the bank, and went out for theIr meals. "I used to get my meals at the Cox Hotel," Mr. Morse said. "They ware real good meels, too." There were a lot of spare houts for a young banker, and Mr. Morse filled his time with various hobbies, including photography. "I can't say I worked very hard when I waa a Junior as I did when I was a manager" ha said. "I had a lot of responsibility. And I had to be careful with I talked about in the evenings, too." he noted.

The CIBC in Souris celebrated their 125th. Anniversary with a donation of $6,000 for new equipment for the Harbourview Training Centre in Souris. Harbourview offers a wide range of programs and services for intellectually challenged individuals.

CIBC in Souris has also been a supporter of other community organizations, including Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Souris Hospital, Eastern Kings Sportsplex, Eastern Kings Fitness, MacIntyre House, Silver Threads Seniors Club and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

In a press release branch manager Beverly Perry stated "CIBC believes in giving back to the communities where we live and work. We are proud of the role played by our compaany and our employees in supporting important community organizations in Souris."

Then	and now . . . www.flickr.com ekpei.ca's 125th Anniversary of the CIBC in Souris photoset

Thank you to the late Susan C. Joyce, Mrs. Ardyce Leard, the late J. Russell Leard, the late Olga J. Leard, Waldron Leard, Louise MacClure, the late Hon. Charles R. McQuaid, the late Ralph Morse, Bev Perry, Lloyd Soloman and Fulton Underhay who supplied the historical research for this celebration.

www.flickr.com ekpei.ca's Run For the Cure Fundraiser - 2008 photoset

www.flickr.com ekpei.ca's CIBC Run For The Cure Week - 2008 photoset

www.flickr.com ekpei.ca's Eastern Kings at the 2008 Run for the Cure photoset

Copyright
Waldron H. Leard