ABA Banking Journal - December 2006 - (Page 24) community Dec 06 11/16/06 4:32 PM Page 24 Community Banking The phoenix bank of Hallam, Nebraska After a devastating twister blitzed a small Nebraska town and its only bank branch, recovery took coordination, cooperation, and, at times, confrontation Hallam, Neb.'s Main Street, following the devastating 2004 tornado ay 22, 2004, around 8:30 PM. It was a crowded Saturday night at The Hitching Post, a pop- ular restaurant in Hallam, Neb. It had been raining hard, the power was out in many spots in the county due to storms, and native Nebraskans know that such weather can presage torna- does, one of the banes of the Midwest. What the 80 or so diners and staff in the restaurant were not aware of was that tornado warning sirens were not working. And so, when some latter-day Paul Reveres began banging on doors in town to warn that a tornado was approaching, there were only minutes to find a safe place underground. Then someone realized that The Hitching Post lacked the one thing you really need in a tornado: a basement. Hallam's Saline State Bank branch lost its roof in the tornado. No time to go home. No hope of outrunning the danger in cars. And then someone had a solution. The Hallam branch of Saline State Bank across the street had a basement, indeed, one big enough to hold the dining crowd. But the bank was closed. Desperate men do desperate things, the saying goes. The bank branch had glass doors, and someone realized that a bat- tering ram would open the path to safety. But where to find one? That was easy. The carbon dioxide tank for the restaurant's soda dispenser was disconnected, and put into service. Torpedo-like, it smashed through the bank's portal, and the crowd reached shelter in time. The town's Main Street was decimated, and the bank building itself was nearly a total loss. Or so the bank's management be- lieved, but that's part of the ensuing story. Indeed, Main Street was only one of the areas damaged in the Today, the bank's reconstructed branch, a sign of Hallam's comeback. By Steve Cocheo, executive editor 24 DECEMBER 2006/ABA BANKING JOURNAL www.ababj.com/subscribe.html http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - December 2006 Contents Editor's Column The Secret to Success. Can you Guess It? Snapshot: M&A Outlook Poolside With the Godfather Sleight of Mind Banking From on High-The Regulators' Views ABA Chairman's Position ABA Resources The Phoenix Bank of Hallam, Neb. How Banks Are Handling Multi-Factor Authentication COVER REPORT: Got Innovation? M&A WORKSHOP: What Should You Expect From a Merger Advisor? SOA (begins to make) Inroads Paper, Plastic, or Point-of-Sale Checks? 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