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Bay St. Louis born Leo W. Seal, president of the Hancock Bank for the last 27 years, learned early in life the value of a dollar, the basic training for a banker. As a boy at Loatown, besides going to school, he worked at practically every job in the Weston saivmill from firing the boilers to laboring on the tug that towed the lumber to Ship Island for export, finally reaching the peak rage of S1.35 a DAY. Later, when he graduated from Mississippi A <£• .V College >now Mississippi State University* where he received both a degree m Civil Engineering and his varsity football ,(M”, he pledged himself, along with the rest of his class of 1911, to dedicate his energy and talents to build Mississippi.
Following graduation at .4. & M, he served as civil engineer with	Electric
Company, the N.O.G.S. Railroad (notv GM&O) and in Central America with the United Fruit Company, later rejoining IVesfon Lumber Company.
He answered the call to the colors in 1917, serving as an officer with the 155th Infantry Regiment and, shortly after his return from World TVar I service, joined the staff of the Hancock Bank. Since that time, he has dedicated himself to conservative banking and building Mississippi. He has taken an active part in development/of the cattle, seafood and particularly the forestry segment of the State's economy. 'Mr. Seal served for many years as director and on the executive committee of the Lamar Life Insurance Company, Mississippi's oldest and largest life insurance company. IVas a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning 'Colleges and Universities of Mississippit, and has served on Governor’s Staffs in both Mississippi and Louisiana.
A past president of the Mississippi Bankers Association, Mr. Seal is one of the few southerners to have the distinction of having served as president of the Independent Bankers Association of America whose membership is comjxtsed of over 5.000 banks throughout the United States.
A 32nd Degree Mason, married to the former Rebecca Baxter of Logtown, Mr. Seal presently, in addition to serving as President of the Hancock Bank, is a director of the Southern Company < Atlanta, Georgia) and a director of Mississippi Power Company.
Serving on the Board of Directors of the Hancock Bank with him are L. P. Sweatt, Chairman of the Board Mississippi Power Company; H. H. Jones, President Jones Bros. Drug Co.; C .E. McCabr, retired, previously South Mississippi District Manager, Armour and Co.; and R. P. Fant, vice president, Gulfport Creosoting Co.
Hancock Bank
(Continued from Page 5) dent, the position he has held for the last 27 years.
You may have noticed a couple of paragraphs back that we called the Hancock Bank the Hancock County Bank. That was not carelessness or a mistake. It was originally chartered in 1891) as the Hancock County Bank. However, after establishing banking offices in Harrison County, the name was shortened to Hancock Bank and has so remained ever since.
The Years of Expansion Early in its career, to serve the lum-
bering business, a Branch Bank was established at Pearlington in 1902. This Branch continued to operate until 1919 when it was transferred to Logtown. Not until the virgin pine of Mississippi had been exhausted and the half-century hum of the sawmill along the Pearl had died down and these two towns were left with only the memories of their former glory, did the Branch at Logtown discontinue operations.
In 1027, with the lumber industry activity slackening, the Bank established a Branch office at Long Beach, which old timers will remember then as the Radish Growing Center of America.
That was when a thousand railroad cars in a good season, sometimes running as many as six and eight a day, filled with the famous Long Beach long red radishes, would roll out over the L & N and I. C. to the hungry markets at Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville, Chicago and New York.
But unfortunately the real estate fever that crept over from the Florida boom in the Twenties contaminated the Coast and the radish growers began selling their farms. And then, of course, came the 1929 crash that hit everybody from Long Island to Long Beach—and when it was over, the Day of the Long Reds was over and Long Beach regretfully closed a very colorful and profitable chapter in its community history.
In 1932, in the midst of the Depression that followed the 1929 crash, the city of Gulfport was without a bank and asked the Hancock to establish a Bank there. The nearby Long Beach branch, which already had many Gulfport depositors, was transferred to Gulfport. In 1938, the Gulfport Bank became the main headquarters.
Again in 1955, the Long Beach Branch was restored to that city. With the reopening of this Branch, the Hancock Bank marked the first drive-in banking facilities in Harrison and Hancock Counties. Later in 1955, the Bank’s Northeast Gulfport (often called Pass Road) 3ranch was put into operation.
As this is being written, construction is nearing completion on the newest Hancock Bank Branch facility, this one being located in the Mississippi City— Handsbovo area near the site of the famous John L. Sullivan - Paddy Ryan heavyweight championship title fight.
In all cases, the Hancock Bank has been invited by the cities themselves to establish its service. Undoubtedly largely because of the Hancock record during these 60 years of promoting the civic and business interests of those communities of which it has become a part.
Serving the Public Interest
As far back as around the beginning of the century when, as we stated before. there was no ferry across the Bay of St. Louis, the Hancock Bank helped finance private interest in establishing and operating a 15 to 20 car steam ferry from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian, and used its influence with the counties of Hancock and Harrison to provide the proper approaches.
It was the Hancock Bank that bought the whole $400,000 Full Faith and Credit Bond Issue to expedite and guarantee the construction of the Old Spanish Trail through Hancock County. It was gravel only, but it was the prosperity building predecessor of today’s zooming U. S. 90. The Hancock Bank also bought other complete bond issues for the construction of several strategic county roads—as well as public schools. It also loaned money to build churches and private schools.
During the sawmill days, Hancock County was also a wool growing center and annually the L&N Railroad shipped many a carload of wool from Bay St. Louis. To help the wool growers and to further diversity the economy of the county, the Bank purchased and brought blooded rams into the county. The Bank
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