Dickison’s Market founder lost money when Farmers NB failed
By Mark Putnam
Staff Writer
Recent news of possible bank failures and government support measures for faltering financial institutions causes many older residents to recall the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s. For one former Houlton man, the current economic downturn reminds him of a local bank that closed its doors in 1933 and never reopened them.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
BANK HOLIDAY — John Dickison of Lexington, Mass. visited the site of the former Farmers National Bank of Houlton while in town last month. Holding a facsimile of rare $5 bank note (his original was back home in a safe), the 1960 Houlton High School graduate poses for a photograph in front of The Vault Restaurant, a business now occupying the original bank headquarters on Main Street.
John G. Dickison of Lexington, Mass. was in Houlton last month to visit with friends and family. While in the area, the 1960 Houlton High School graduate also showed off his collection of rare bank notes, several of which have close ties to the Shiretown.
One note in particular, a $5 oversized plain back issued by Farmers National Bank of Houlton in 1910, held particular significance for the retired freight distributor. “My father lost a considerable amount of money when the bank failed in 1933. This note, valued between $10,000 and $15,000, more than makes up for Dad’s loss,” Dickison said.
It was the elder Dickison — John K. — who deposited his life’s savings into Farmers National shortly after moving to Houlton. The nest egg represented 25 shares of New England Telephone and Telegraph stock, earned by John K. while he had worked his way up from lineman to foreman in the communications field. His parents, who lived in Kirkland, N.B., had convinced him to move closer to them.
Pioneer Times photo/Mark Putnam
EXTREMELY LOCAL CURRENCY — This $5 bill, dating back to the early 1930s, features the sponsoring bank name, Farmers National Bank of Houlton; its charter number, 4252; and its officers, President Llewellyn H. Powers and Cashier Russell H. Britton. The practice of minting locally endorsed currency was discontinued after the Great Depression of the early 1930s. It is one of many bank notes in the extensive collection of Houlton native John Dickison of Lexington, Mass.
To make matters worse, Dickison and his wife Grace were planning on using the money to buy a storefront on Main Street, near where Jean’s Serendipity is located today. “He lost his money and F.W. Woolworth ended up with the property … it was real sad,” said John G.
With a strong will and plenty of personality, John K. overcame the financial setback and operated a successful grocery business on Court Street — Dickison’s Market — for 41 years. However, the Farmers National experience was not lost on the younger Dickison.
“Dad didn’t dwell on it but he used the experience as a teaching moment in our home,” said John K. Perhaps it was this early introduction to banking and the daily exposure to retail trade that helped spark the younger Dickison’s interest in collecting currency — coins, bills and, later, rare Maine and Massachusetts bank notes.
“It also helped that Dad let me ‘cherry pick’ for coins in his cash register,” John G. said. He also credited his sixth-grade teacher Earl Fox, tax assessor McIntosh, Malcolm York and Bernie Maher for helping him with his collection during his formative days in Houlton.
While in town this summer with his wife Carol, John K. brought copies of his collection to share with local numismatists Galen Wilde, Dean and Lynn York, and banker Rob Faulkner. He also checked out the building, built in 1929, where Farmers National once proudly stood. Today the site is home to The Vault Restaurant.
Dickison noted that Faulkner’s employer, Key Bank, has roots in First National Bank of Houlton, one of a very few banks to survived the Great Depression era. “It is a testament to the founders of Houlton,” he said.
He said Faulkner had told him First National’s James Pierce had actually displayed money in the bank’s windows in 1933 to convince account holders the institution was sound and solid.
John K. retired in 1974 and sold Dickison’s Market in 1974 to Robert Harrigan, who operated the popular downtown site known from the beginning for plenty of penny candy, fresh meat and produce, and good conversation. John K. died in 1976.
The Dickisons of Lexington, Mass. have two children and five grandchildren.
