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47 H osea Calvin Poe was named after a paternal uncle but must not have liked his given name. Even though the tradition of using men’s initials , particularly in matters of business, was widely used in his day, Mr. Poe’s adherence to the custom was unusually far-reaching. He went solely by his initials, H. C., and even his tombstone is so inscribed. Born in 1881 in rural Arkansas, young Hosea and his family moved from Magnolia, Arkansas, to Eastland County, Texas, when Poe was barely a teen. He grew up on a farm with four younger siblings in a family that must have been keen on education. Of the three sons, two became teachers and the other a dentist. For Poe, teaching was a temporary career choice, followed by an elected position as county clerk and a subsequent career in banking. 1 While 1915 had proved an eye-opening year for the new president of the Temple State Bank, his dealing with Governor Ferguson in 1916 repeatedly confirmed his worst fears and suspicions. Poe realized that he had made a poor choice in accepting the position as head of the Temple bank but was committed to salvaging his relationship with James Ferguson if possible. A magazine article featuring Poe in April of 1915 had characterized the young executive as “a jolly, liberal and energetic businessman.” By late 1916, with his enthusiasm tempered, Poe labored to mask his anxiety and maintain a cheerful public persona. He continued his duties as president of the Fourth District Banker’s Association and vice-president for the state section of the American Banker’s Association. He also remained aggressive in his pursuit of new methods to promote the bank. In particular, he was active in heading programs in support of farmers and young prospective farmers. Among those endeavors was a program that loaned money to young men for the purpose of acquiring, raising, and later selling hogs, a plan meant to teach young would-be agriculturists lessons in both husbandry and finance. Another promotion aimed at youngsters included a gift of a single Chapter 5 Guilty Knowledge 48 In the Governor’s Shadow gold coin to youngsters as an incentive to open their own bank accounts. By far, Poe’s most important contribution to the growth and prosperity of the bank was the establishment of a bond department that allowed the bank to issue city, county, and precinct bonds. Apparently Poe’s efforts made him popular in the community; Temple’s leading men had assigned him, by popular vote, the considerable honor of being toastmaster at Temple’s 1916 annual Stag Party. 2 But these successes on Poe’s part did nothing to lessen Ferguson’s unauthorized involvement in the bank’s activity. On February 13, 1916, the governor wrote, in part: Dear Poe, Your favor of the 2nd in reference to Jake Reynolds’ application of a $1,200 loan is received. You acted entirely right. He has been owing me this money for two or three years and has been collecting dividends off of the stock and not paying me the interest on his note. I told him when I was in Temple that he must get busy and pay me. I never dreamed that he would undertake to unload the loan on the bank. Confidentially, I am trying to sell out the Square Drug Store so that the bank can get its money out of it. 3 Ferguson had conceived the idea for the Square Drug Store for the same purpose as the Texas Store: it paid the bank seventy-five dollars per month in rent. Ferguson and two friends, Ed Love and Jake Reynolds, had organized and incorporated the establishment, initially contributing $1,000 each toward the business’s capital. Love and Ferguson also borrowed additional start-up capital of $3,000 from the Temple State Bank, a loan that assigned equal liability to each. Ferguson later attempted to disavow any obligation under the loan, forcing Ed Love to produce, in court, the note bearing Ferguson’s signature. 4 Jake Reynolds had also borrowed his thousand-dollar investment in the Square Drug Store from the Temple State Bank, a debt he failed to repay. Even with that old debt unpaid, he approached Poe in 1916 for another loan, a request that Poe denied. Ferguson’s choice of words, “owing ME this money,” revealed an important point. Jim Ferguson had a blurred perception when it came to distinguishing bank assets...

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