SNBT Celebrates Bank Vault 100th Anniversary

April 24, 2023

What happened in 1922? The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated. The first issue of Reader's Digest was published. Water skiing, convertibles, the electric blender, the radial saw arm, and the Eskimo Pie were invented. The Tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered in Egypt. A first-class stamp cost 2 cents compared to 60 cents today. The price of gas was 11 cents per gallon compared to average price for regular gasoline now at about $3.40 a gallon.

Along with these noteworthy moments in history, 1922 was also the year the vault from York Safe & Lock Co., of Chicago, Ill. and York, Penn. lumbered through the streets of downtown Marinette. It came to rest at Stephenson Banking Company, which is now known as SNBT.

“The delivery of the vault was a pretty big deal back in those days,” said Daniel Peterson, SNBT President & CEO. “It arrived on a train car with a sign that boasted the weight of 66,000 pounds. Gentlemen brought it through the streets using log rollers lead by a horse drawn team. Once it got to the bank building, a section of wall and a window was removed so it could be maneuvered inside. The vault has been in the same place ever since.”

A lot of things have changed at the bank in the last 100 years, but the vault remains the same. It gets locked every night and opened again each morning. “It’s a wonder the vault still functions after being opened and closed more than 25,000 times all those years,” continued Peterson.

SNBT celebrates its 148th Anniversary on October 30. “The vault has stood by throughout our long history as a witness of the various contributions SNBT has made in the area: customers buying their first car; newlyweds purchasing a home; entrepreneurs launching new business ideas; and innumerable people reaching for their dreams,” Peterson concluded.