July 9, 2003
Financial institution
Traverse City bank building celebrates 100th birthday
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Merging Traverse City history with the wave of the future, the Fifth Third Center building celebrated its 100th birthday last Thursday.
Acknowledging the community role of the landmark, which is the former Traverse City State Bank situated on the corner of Front and Union Streets, bank officials dedicated the building in honor of Julius "Jake" Beers. Beers died last October but for decades helped guide the growth and development of the region and was an active on many community boards.
The dedication ceremony was held Thursday afternoon at the bank, whose famous clock tower is one of Traverse City landmarks. Completed in 1903, the building was the first building north of Grand Rapids constructed of steel with bricks on the outside.
The event Thursday featured Richard "Mack" Beers, Julius' son, who helped dedicate the plaque in his father's memory. Mack Beers now serves as vice president in credit administration and is the fourth generation of the family involved in that bank. The Fifth Third Bank also held an evening reception in honor of the centennial dedication and to recognize the life and contributions of Jake Beers.
"The bank and this building have been through a lot of different things but it still stands tall," said Mack Beers, who has been with the bank since 1974. "My dad loved the banking business and he loved Traverse City, he always wanted to be here even later in life when he could have lived anywhere."
Jake Beers was a fixture on the Traverse City financial and community scene throughout the middle part of the last century. As the third of four generations involved in banking in that building, Beers served as president and chairman of the bank.
The Beers family history dates back to the days of Perry Hannah, the founder father of Traverse City.
"Our family is related loosely by marriage to Perry Hannah," said Mack Beers. "Perry's daughter-in-law, Elsie, was my great grandmother Laura's sister."
Jake Beers' sense of civic duty began early when he served as an infantry captain in World War II. He also spent 25 years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Beers retired from banking in 1983 but continued as a community leader serving on the boards of Interlochen Arts Academy, the Community Chest, Munson Medical Center and the Traverse City Area Public Schools board.
"He was a great man and a great leader," said John Pelizzari, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank of Northern Michigan. "It is a great thing to be able to dedicate this to him."
More than a dozen current employees worked with Jake Beers, many starting their careers under his tutelage. Barbara Keane, who has been with the bank for 28 years and now serves as an assistant vice president, remembered Beers after the dedication ceremony.
"He was a wonderful, gentle man, he was fabulous," she recalled.
Beers embodied an entrepreneurial spirit, said Dennis Piskor, senior vice president of Fifth Third Bank.
"He provided an environment where everyone, all the employees, had no limits," said Piskor, who started his banking career with Old Kent Bank in Grand Rapids 28 years ago. "He created a culture that permeated the organization and he was always open to change."
Piskor said that Jake Beers always found time to talk to everyone in the bank, despite his demanding schedule.
"He thought we were part of his family," Piskor noted.