A Zoom Call With An Old Friend

Bill P. (far left) digging in at the Girard Bank Trust Operations Department Christmas buffet 1979

 This morning I had a Zoom call with an old friend from my Girard Bank days. His name is also Bill and he was also my boss. The picture above is at one of our bank's annual Christmas parties.  Everyone brought something in to eat and share with fellow Trust Operations employees.

I departed Girard Bank a few years after Mellon Bank took over in 1982. I took this picture I think in 1979. Yes, I was taking pictures even back then. I've always been that annoying person who drags out his camera and takes photos. Be thankful, imagine how many pictures I would have if I had an iPhone back then in those prehistoric digital days.  

My former boss Bill also departed Girard Bank (of Philadelphia) after Mellon Bank (of Pittsburgh) also departed the Philadelphia office and moved to Pittsburgh after Mellon completed its swallow of Girard Bank.

Over the years I've kept in touch with Bill by phone. But with the advent of Zoom I was able to convince him to try Zoom, even though he frequently reminded me he wasn't "technological proficient." In my opinion he doesn't give himself enough credit. Coincidently his e-mail address also has the name "Zoom" in it although that was pre Zoom call era.

In this COVID era I stay in touch with old friends, relatives and former co-workers via FaceTime and Zoom. I am so thankful I can do this. I'm old enough to remember the main way we stayed in touch was by handwritten letters or expensive long distance phone calls. I hear now days they don't even teach cursive writing in elementary school.  

We had a little trouble connecting this morning, couldn't get Bill's image, but eventually he came through and he had a surprise for me. He got a new puppy! 

Bill P. with his new puppy, "Brooke". She's ten weeks old. Looks like a lot of love here.

Bill's favorite breed of dog are Shetland collies. He and his wife Marie had two of them. One died a few years ago and the other is fourteen years old now. Bill and his wife were reluctant to get a new dog because of their age, their dog will likely outlive them. This is a thought I've had. If my Bill passes before I do I want to get a companion to keep me company and focused here in an empty house of love. I've been considering cats (I love cats) but reluctant because I know cats like to climb and I just have too many things to get knocked over not to mention all my functions keys on my keyboard, a problem my friend Lar has with his cats. 

Bill told me his unique solution to bringing into his family a puppy who will likely outlive him and his wife. He has an agreement with the breeder should he and his wife die before their new puppy, the dog goes back to the breeder. Now that solves a problem for me. My preferred breed of dog is a Pomeranian. The best friend I ever had in my life was "Horace." A Pomeranian that I brought on a whim after seeing him frolicking in a pet store window on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia on my way to lunch. I had no intentions of buying a dog (puppy) that day but I was intrigued and walking into the pet store. The owner brought this little stinky orange fluff ball out to me to hold and that was the end of that story. I bought him on the spot and took him back to work with me then surprised my Bill when he picked me up at the train station at the end of the day. Horace lived a long sixteen years. In the photo he is on the far right. The middle is "T" another Pom we purchased and their puppy "Babydoll."  Horace died in 1998 and we haven't had a pet since. Now, knowing that I can have an agreement that if I get a puppy, he (or she) would have a home long after I'm gone. Of course I won't get any pet while my Bill is still here. But getting a pet will be a way for me to cope with life should my Bill die before me. 

Bill P and me on Zoom this morning during a point of hilarity. Life goes on. I am so thankful for Zoom. We couldn't have these moments with the old land line phones.

These days I think a lot about my previous seventy-nine years of life. I have so many good memories, some bad, some scary but mostly good.

The picture below is one of the rare ones with me and Bill P. during our days at Girard Bank in the 70's. Bill was the vice president of the Trust Operations department. I was one of his managers along with Joe M., another manager in the photo. 

Me, Joe M. and Bill P. at Girard Bank 1977

Those were the days!

Yet Even More Old Films Transferred to DVD

  This is your lucky day folks.  Yet even MORE old films transferred to DVD that I'm sharing with you today.  Hey, isn't this fun?  Almost as much fun as having a neighbor pressuring you to stop by and view an hour's worth of slides from their latest vacation trip.  Oh yes, I remember THOSE days.  When we lived in Philly, we had these delightful neighbors, the Kehrers.  Very nice folks.  One summer they took a vacation to Europe.  When they got back they invited us down to show us their slides. Folks, I have to tell you that was one of the most boring two hours I've ever had in my life.  And believe me, I've had some boring episodes in my life.  But hey, after you've seen one angle of a church cathedral in Cologne Germany, you've seen them all.  No need to show me ten different versions.  And they Mr. Kehrer got caught up on "Was this taken in Cologne or Koblenz Germany?"  I wanted to shout out "IT.DOESN'T.MATTER!"  But of course, the Best Little Boy in the World that I am, I didn't say anything but suffered in silence.  So folks, I am quite aware that I may be boring the pants off of some of you and if I am, then just move on to the next blog but for those of you who are interested, here is my latest installment. 

This video shows me cavorting with our two Pomeranian dogs at our new house in the woods outside of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  Oh those were the days. I was so young and those dogs were so frisky.  Check me out with my skinny leg jeans, before they were fashionable.  Hey, I still have those jeans but they don't fit me anymore (waist).  The waist is 31 inches and length 36 inches.  These days the Old Ron takes 34/34.  Waist has expanded and I've shrunk.  Fifteen pounds heavier too. For years now I've been procrastinating selling those jeans on Ebay as "vintage jeans."  That's another project I should get in gear for. 

Me and my skinny legged jeans 1986

And guess what folks!  I found a video that I had taken of my workplace at Mellon (formerly Girard) bank in Philadelphia.  I had forgotten all about this video.  What a delight to see my former co-workers like Nazarene Regalbuto, Bill Price, Joe Moorhead  Peggy D'Allesandro, Nancy Wallace, Renee (I forget her last name) and Sue Saylor.  Hard to believe I took these films thirty years ago (1986).  Time does really fly.  

Two good friends and former co-workers Reno and Renee (Renee is gone now)

Note: Pictured at the header of this blog are my former bosses Joe Muirhead (now deceased) and Bill Price. 

Christmases Past

Me in full work drag - Girard Bank Christmas Party 1979

At this time of year I often think of Christmases past.  This year I remember Christmas 1979.  

I worked at Girard Bank in center city Philadelphia, directly across from City Hall.  I was a trust operations manager (made sure the trust checks went out on time and were calculated properly - a job that is totally automated now).  

Gathering around the piano to sing Christmas carols at the bank Christmas party - 1979

Christmastime back then was a big deal.  At the first of the month we (bank employees) received a profit sharing distribution from the bank that could total over $1,000 or more.  Profit sharing?  What's that you ask?  Yet another relic of the past when employers valued their employees and showed it.  Then corporate greed took over by outsourcing jobs and eliminating profit sharing.  But digress again, climbing up on my soapbox. 

Four "bank angels" singing Christmas carols  1979

Christmas celebrations at the bank were always fun affairs.  On the designated day for our Christmas Party, everyone would bring in something to eat and spread it out.  Pollyanna gifts would be exchanged.  Carols would be sung.  Good cheer would be spread.  And we would get out early Christmas Eve.  Oh those were the days.

Lining up for the food at the Bank Christmas Party- 1974

This Christmas I go into work today (filling in for another co-worker).  I also work tomorrow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I will share my Christmas celebrations this year with the grandparents who visit their relatives in Lewes but stay at the hotel because they can't take their grandchildren 24/7. All that energy kids have.  Were we EVER like that?  But I digress again.

Digging in at the bank Christmas Party - 1974

One nice thing about Christmas, not only to we celebrate it every year but we also get to relive memories of year's past.  

These days I celebrate Christmas alone at the hotel.  That's fine with me.  Silent night is supposed to be silent and it is when I'm at the hotel on Christmas Eve. Below is a photo taken of me (I think I had a timer, no one else was around) on Christmas Eve 2009.  I thought this photo was last year but it is five years ago.  Where of where does the time go?  Mark your records, I won't be here five years from now but if I am, then you will know a miracle has occurred.

Me at the hotel, Christmas Eve - 2009

I'll be talking to you again before Christmas but in case I don't, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Girard Bank

Girard Bank
Broad and Chesnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA

 Some dates in the past always trigger memories.  Today, March 1st is one of those days. Forty six years ago today I began working at Girard Bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


Ever since I can remember, I wanted to work at a bank.  I grew up in a small town (Downingtown, PA) and always dreamed of someday working at the Downingtown National Bank.  However, when I graduated from high school they wouldn't even let me in the door.  I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.  No 'Tiptons' here please.  Ironically, many years later I would work at Downingtown National Bank but that is a story for another whole blog posting.


Today I want to briefly mark my anniversary of one of the most life changing times of my life, and that was the day I began work at THEE bank in Philadelphia, Girard Bank.  

The lobby of Girard Bank

I worked at Girard Bank for twenty-two years until Mellon Bank took over in 1982.  I lasted another four years after Mellon "merged" with Girard Bank (the Harvard Business Review said "Mellon Bank took 'merged' with Girard bank with all the grace of Russian troops entering a Polish village at the end of World War II" - some quotes you never forget.)

Me in banker drag at my desk as manager - yes, my plants

I had quite the plant collection.  At one time I had over a hundred plants I was taking care of on the floor.

Me transplanting plants on company time

I left Girard Bank, then Mellon Bank on December 1st 1986 and went up Broad Street to work at the Fidelity Bank.  Again, a story for another blog posting.

The Trust Remittance Unit - where I started my job

Today I'm taking a trip down Memory Lane again.  


My first job was in the Trust Department as a remittance clerk.  I eventually worked my way up to manager of the Trust Information Unit which was a combination of five different operations units.

Calculating remittance payments in the day before digital calculators

Below are some pictures that I took that bring back fond memories.  Yes, these days were some of the best of my life.  And I am happy to say, I still remain friends with my former boss (Bill P.) and one of my former co-workers (Penney P.)  Unfortunately, so many others have passed on but I will always have them in my memory.  

When I 'retired' I had a wonderful sendoff luncheon at the Bellevue Stratford.  All my friends were there.  I will always remember them and these times as some of the best of my adult life.  I had the best boss (Bill B) that one could want.  I was very lucky.

That's me on the left with the serious mien with my fellow managers and supervisors.  All great folks!  This was when I was 'somebody.'

Thus it is with some irony today that I inform you that the grand bank where I used to work at in center city Philadelphia is now a (are you sitting down?)...HOTEL!  That's right, Mellon Bank sold off the original Dome Building where Stephen Girard started his bank and the building was converted into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.  The irony is that I work at a hotel now, a high end hotel in downtown Lewes, DE.  Pure coincidence.  

My goal this year is to book a stay at my former place of employment, now the Ritz-Carlton Hotel...if I can afford it.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Philadelphia, PA