Silver dollars, Christmas gifts and attempted takeovers
How one family has helped
The State Bank thrive for 125 years
Frederick Hitchcock’s silver dollar collection changed Michigan’s history.
Hitchcock was one of the original investors in the Fenton State Savings Bank — the forerunner of what is today called The State Bank. In 1907, Hitchcock and four others bought out the existing Wightman Exchange Bank, pooling $25,000 to move it from a private bank to a chartered institution and reopening it as the Fenton State Savings Bank.
Over the years, the bank grew. But as the Great Depression suffocated the economy, banks felt the pressure. Between 1930 and 1933, more than 9,000 failed.
Faced with the stress of the Depression and a duty to his customers, Hitchcock, the bank’s cashier, sold his personal silver dollar collection to raise money to keep the bank afloat.
The bank’s five founding members — in many ways the forefathers of Fenton — formed the bank to support and serve their community. That meant building trust. So even as the Great Depression crumbled the country’s backbone from the industrial Midwest to the agricultural South, Hitchcock made sure his Shiawassee River friends and neighbors knew one thing:
“If you put your deposits in our bank, we’re going to make sure they’re secure.”
In 2023, The State Bank celebrates 125 years of serving mid-Michigan. From the Great Depression to the Great Recession and beyond, The State Bank has held tight to its community values. Through resilience, integrity and innovation, the bank has helped businesses and families meet their needs and build brighter futures.
Today, The State Bank manages roughly $1.75 billion in assets and has expanded to 20 locations across several Michigan counties. In a world where banking collapses riddle the headlines, The State Bank’s longevity has made it a welcome exception.
Its secret? For 125 years, The State Bank has counted on the stability of family.
Stockings by the chimney, stocks by the tree
Today, Dr. Bill Dery serves on The State Bank’s board of directors — a role he has held since 2009. The great-grandson-in-law of Frederick Hitchcock, Dr. Dery is the fourth member of the Hitchcock-Dery family to sit on The State Bank’s board. He follows his father, Robert Dery, who himself followed his father-in-law, Horace W. Hitchcock — known as “Hitch” to one and all, even his grandchildren.
As The State Bank has supported mid-Michigan families for more than a century, it has also become like family to the Hitchcock-Dery clan. In fact, the bank often ends up under the family Christmas tree — as it has for decades.
“Our grandfather, Hitch, got bank shares through his father (Frederick Hitchcock),” said Dr. Dery’s brother Bob. “As Hitch got up in years, our Christmas presents often were 10 shares of The State Bank.
“My grandfather knew the bank would always be there. By gifting us shares, he figured we’d have the financial resources we needed for that first car, first house or the first family emergency in our lives. It just feels like the bank has always been part of our family.”
As The State Bank has grown, family ties have kept its mission true to Frederick Hitchcock’s original vision: that a bank should serve its community.
So while the bank has always been there for the Hitchcock-Dery family, it has also been there for its customers — through depressions, recessions and attempted disruptions.
1898–1937: A merger,
the automobile and a son
In 1898, two banks served Fenton — the Commercial Savings Bank and Wightman Exchange Bank, which was soon to become Hitchcock’s Fenton State Savings Bank.
In those days, as it remains today, Fenton was a close-knit community. The town embraced the lumber industry by manufacturing carriages and wagons, while its 2,300 residents bustled about the town square.
As the auto industry surged, Michigan’s population followed. The Ford Motor Company formed in 1903, kicking off an economic expansion that increased the need for local banks.
In 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, Commercial Savings Bank and Fenton State Savings Bank merged to become The State Savings Bank of Fenton, overseeing nearly $1.5 million in assets.
In 1937, Frederick Hitchcock passed away. His son, Hitch, who had served a stint on the board from 1925–1931, once again followed in his father’s footsteps, rejoining the board of The State Savings Bank of Fenton. For the next 33 years, Hitch remained on the board, helping navigate never-dull decades.
1937–1969:
The community gives back
As the country went through major changes, The State Savings Bank of Fenton turned to its town for stability.
Over the decades, local business leaders joined Hitch on the board. Among them were George Pellett from Pellett’s Department Store, Paul Bottecelli, former Fenton mayor and owner of Fenton Drug, and Howard Haddon of Fenton Lumber Company.
In the 1940s, with the country engaged in World War II, Michigan factories produced tanks, jeeps and aircraft, with local banks often financing the efforts.
In the 1950s, as the auto industry led a booming economy, Genesee County residents frequently found themselves in The State Savings Bank lobby to get a car loan.
In the 1960s, the bank faced its strongest challenge since the Depression. A larger bank attempted an aggressive takeover, trying to secure enough shares to gain control of the board.
With its back against the vault, the bank found salvation in the same place it had provided support for so many years — its community.
From nearby Grand Blanc, the Johnson family pledged its commitment to The State Savings Bank, buying enough shares to help the bank keep its independence.
As the saying goes: business is business. But in The State Savings Bank’s case, community was community.
1969–present: A cornerstone amidst challenges
In 1969, Hitch’s son-in-law, Robert Dery, became the next link in the family chain, stepping in as a director of the board. The following year, Hitch retired from the board after nearly four decades.
Robert Dery served on The State Bank board for 30 years — including a five-year stint as chairman. In 1988, Fentura Financial was created as the bank’s holding company and the bank’s name changed to The State Bank.
Robert Dery’s time on the board collided with difficult economic years for Michigan families and businesses. In the 1970s, a recession hit the state, spiking unemployment and flattening incomes.
The recession bled into the 80s, as Michigan’s auto industry battled rising rates and increased foreign competition. While many local banks took a hit, The State Savings Bank remained a community stronghold, growing its assets from $29 million in 1971 to $100 million by 1984.
Robert Dery, a well-known Fenton community leader, retired from the board in 1999 and passed away in 2005. In 2009, his son, Dr. Dery, became the family’s fourth generation to join The State Bank’s board of directors.
As Dr. Dery joined the board, the Great Recession had just rocked the country and gutted the state.
But as Wall Street buckled, The State Bank dug into its modern-day silver dollar collection to ensure its customers were safe.
At the time, Fentura Financial’s umbrella covered three banks — Davison State Bank, West Michigan Community Bank and The State Bank — each of which had individual charters. In the wake of the Great Recession, Fentura Financial sold Davison State Bank and West Michigan Community Bank, improving The State Bank’s capital position to once again protect its clients — just as Frederick Hitchcock and his partners promised 110 years earlier.
“The resilience comes from the character of the people who have been on the board and who we’ve hired as CEOs,” Dr. Dery said. “They haven’t been ones to think this is a stepping stone to a bigger bank. They’ve been there to support the long-term growth of the community and the bank.”
Through good times and bad, The State Bank’s century-plus tie with the Hitchcock-Dery family has cemented its commitment to the community.
And while its core tenets of integrity and perseverance have remained unshakeable since 1898, The State Bank has been anything but rigid, providing flexibility to serve Michigan’s needs over the decades.
“Years ago, everyone went to the bank to get a car loan,” Dr. Dery said. “There was no GMAC. Now we do a few, but it’s not the big business it used to be. Today, the bank’s niche is small business, small commercial — loans in that $2 to $15 million range that we can make in our backyard."
So it was 125 years ago, so it remains today — a community bank that thrives by nurturing its own neighborhoods. This local commitment has earned the bank much recognition. One nod comes from the Small Business Administration, which named The State Bank Michigan’s top SBA Lender three years in a row. Another comes from American Banker Magazine, which placed The State Bank among the nation’s top 200 community banks in 2022.
For The State Bank, commitment has been the input — longevity has simply been the result. As the bank looks forward to its 126th year and beyond, it remains committed to staying consistent in the face of change.
With shifting customer preferences, The State Bank has invested in new technologies to evolve with the times. But it won’t forget what got it here.
“We’ve always felt our bank is a bank of relationships between you and the customer,” Dr. Dery said. “Even so, we have to change with the times to serve different customer preferences.”
Changing with the times means staying current as the bank grows. And growth means forging deeper ties with the community.
To strengthen those ties, The State Bank is inviting community members to participate in the next chapter of its storied history by becoming equity shareholders in the bank. By investing in The State Bank, the Derys say, investors are buying into their own communities.
“What can I do to improve where I live?” Bob Dery asked. “Invest in Fentura Financial. When you invest in your community, it ramps up and becomes a wheel of progress. We would like to see as many of our customers as possible become owners.”
Today: Building the future by investing in the present
Thanks to Frederick Hitchcock’s willingness to part with his silver dollar collection, The State Bank has helped shape Michigan’s history, being a silent but steadfast partner for thousands of Michiganders looking to buy their first car, own their first home or start their own business.
Outside its lobbies, The State Bank continues to support its community. Bank employees volunteer in at least two community events each year — often helping out at food banks, lending a hand in community cleanups or hammering away at Habitat for Humanity.
In an effort to improve financial literacy, The State Bank provided roughly 1,400 hours of personal finance training to everyone from school children to retirees in 2022
Since 2011, the bank has grown its Change for Kids program, raising more than $300,000 to support the physical and educational needs of low- to moderate-income communities.
Few understand the value of compound interest better than banks. But did Frederick Hitchcock and his fellow founders know just how much impact their $25,000 would have one day?
Sometimes, growth is more than just numbers.
“If you deploy your deposits back in your community, you can grow your community. That’s one of the values of having a community bank,” Dr. Dery said. “If a bank is headquartered in another state or another place, the deposits are going to flow to that location. We’ve always felt that we were here for our communities.”
This article was written prior to the passing of Dr. Dery. The State Bank is grateful to have had the honor of recording Dr. Dery’s contribution to this article and to the history of The State Bank.