Nevada Focus: Still the lamp, but no bank in little town

Thursday, May 14, 1998 | 5:02 a.m.

Minden Town Board members have decided to contact Wells Fargo Bank officials to express their dismay that the Esmeralda Avenue branch is closing June 26 in favor of a new Carson Valley facility in Gardnerville.

Don Hellwinkel, whose family has owned and operated the C.O.D. Motor Co. in downtown Minden since 1911, urged town board members to make every effort to keep the bank in Minden.

"I don't think we should go down without a battle," Hellwinkel says. "The bank should be asked to stay in Minden. The old building is quieter and roomier and has better parking than the new building."

Bank officials announced earlier this year that Wells Fargo would shut down its Minden branch and move operations less than a mile away to Gardnerville, about 45 miles south of Reno.

But to some old-time Minden residents and merchants, the new Carson Valley branch might as well be in Timbuktu.

When the branch closes on June 26, it will be the first time in more than 80 years there will be no bank operating on Esmeralda Street in downtown Minden. The first facility was the old Farmers Bank. That was taken over by First National Bank, which became First Interstate Bank. Wells Fargo took over FIB in late 1996.

"We are not reconsidering closure of the Minden branch," said Bryan Waters, Wells Fargo senior vice president and Nevada division manager for retail banking.

"That's why I made all efforts to make sure that the day after we announced this, we set up arrangements to meet with the town and county to let them know what our plans are," he said.

The way town board members recall the meeting, Wells Fargo officials left no room for negotiation.

"It was presented to us as an 'already-done deal,"' says town board member Bruce Jacobsen. "I left with the opinion that what we wanted was just too damned bad. All our suggestions fell on deaf ears. We tried."

"I, too, was somewhat surprised," said town board member Robert Hadfield. "I don't know what they gained in the move. I think a letter should be written expressing our disappointment in the meeting. They've had longstanding support from the business community in our town. I think the new facility has several detriments, especially the traffic."

Waters, who is based in Las Vegas, said the new Carson Valley branch is "state of the art."

"We are making a large financial commitment to build that facility to accommodate all our existing customers in Carson Valley. It's a beautiful facility and will have more than enough capacity to serve all our customers in Carson Valley and help us grow and be an outstanding corporate citizen."

Wells Fargo did agree to leave behind a historic lamp that first lit the way to the old Farmers Bank on Esmeralda in 1918.

When Wells Fargo announced it was closing the Minden branch, town officials asked that the lamp be spared, perhaps for display at the entrance to the community.

Officials made inquiries only to discover the Carson Valley Historical Society was ahead of them, and the lamp will be hung at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center - in Gardnerville. At least it's not leaving the Valley.

"The lamp originally hung outside the Farmers Bank," said Marlena Hellwinkel, president of the Carson Valley Historical Society. "Then it disappeared for awhile."

Her brother-in-law, Daniel Hellwinkel, tracked the missing lamp to the patio of a bank officer in Reno.

"Daniel called the bank officer and strongly suggested that the lamp be returned to Minden, and it was," Hellwinkel recalled.

Ever since, the lamp has been displayed at what is now Wells Fargo bank.

Daniel Hellwinkel operates the C.O.D. Garage with his brother Don Hellwinkel, Marlena's husband.

The lamp was removed from the Minden branch on May 2 and taken to the museum where it will hang in the main hallway.

Minden town board members also are making a pitch for the bank branch building once it closes, either to be used by the town or offered to another bank.