John H. Cunningham was a charter member of the Md. State Fireman’s
Assoc.
At the time of his death, Cunningham “was believed to be McDaniel - Western
Maryland College's oldest living alumnae… and the State's only living charter
member of the Maryland State Fireman's Association
When John Cunningham died, he was America's Oldest Banker in Years of
Continuous Service. He was a lifelong member of the Westminster Fire Engine and
Hose co. No. 1.
It is only fitting and appropriate that from time to time we take a
moment to remember some of the many great Carroll Countians that have gone
before us.
On
December 31, 1965, John Cunningham passed away within a few hours of 99th
birthday. Local historian Jay Graybeal wrote of “his rich life, including his
interests in bicycling, walking and poker,” in a March 16, 1997 column in
the Carroll County Times.
Finding
a picture of Mr. Cunningham has been nearly impossible – except, I did finally
find a picture of him at the Westminster Fire Engine and Hose Co. No. 1 -
although the picture was damaged by the April 6, 1906 H. H. Harbaugh's Palace
Livery Stable fire. The livery stable and residence was located next to the
Fire House on East Main St in Westminster. The fire, which destroyed the huge
building, also burned a portion of the Westminster fire station and the
Westminster city offices that were located on the second floor of the station.
To
put 1965 and the mid-1960s into some perspective, our country was just
beginning a new phase of the Vietnam War; with the introduction of the first
combat troops on February 9, 1965. Before we had, “advisors” engaged in the
conflict. Later in the year, on November 14, the Battle of the Ia Drang began
in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It was the first major engagement of the
war between regular American and North Vietnamese forces. Shortly afterwards,
the pentagon told President Lyndon Johnson that the number of troops needed to
be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.
At
home, the Civil Rights movement was on the forefront of many as around 1965 was
the last year that restaurants and such were segregated in Westminster. Malcolm
X was assassinated in New York at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21.
Bloody
Sunday had occurred on March 7 as 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by
state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. Led by Martin Luther
King, Jr. civil rights marchers were finally successful, after three attempts,
to walk from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama. On August 6, President Johnson signed
into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
It
was 1964 that Carroll County administrator George Grier went to New York to
begin negotiations with Random House to build a book distribution center in
Westminster. At that time in the negotiations, adequate supplies of water was a
sticking point, among many issues that were subsequently ironed out before the
facility opened on July 14, 1967, according to “From Our Front Porch,” a
history of Carroll County from 1900-1999, by Jim Lee.
And
oh in 1964 ice cream cost 89 cents per half gallon
Graybeal
shared with us Cunningham’s obituary, which appeared on January 1, 1966, in an
unidentified newspaper. The obituary began: "John H. Cunningham, believed
to have been the oldest banker in the United States, died yesterday at his
home… His wife, the former Mary Irwin, died in 1949… He was a past master of
the Masonic order and was a member of the Westminster Church of Christ.”
Cunningham
was born on New Year’s Day in 1867. According to his obit, “On January 1, 1885,
while a senior at Western Maryland College, Mr. Cunningham began his banking
career as a clerk with the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank, [at 105 E. Main
St. in Westminster] following the footsteps of his father William, who was a
clerk there.”
He
worked in the same office, with the same employer for his entire life – from
1885 until when he passed away in 1965. “Many days he walked the mile to work
from his home at 95 West Green Street.”
Graybeal
reported; “His long career in banking was recognized by a telegram from
President Kennedy in 1963.”
The
telegram said: "Congratulations on being named by your friends and
associates in Westminster and Carroll County as "America's Oldest Banker
in Years of Continuous Service." Your 77 years record as a banker is
certainly an impressive one and you deserve all the honors, which have been
given you…”
He was well-known for his punctuality and folklore attests
that “fellow employees reportedly set their watches by him,” as he would arrive
at his desk “every working day promptly at 9 a.m. and would not leave until 3
in the afternoon…” It was also noted “that Mr. Cunningham had not missed a town
meeting in Westminster since 1883, the year he became old enough to vote.
Cunningham
played poker every Tuesday night between 7 and 11 p.m. sharp, at “Thelma
Hoffman's restaurant at 216 E. Main Street [later known as Cockey’s Tavern] in
Westminster.” Among his partners were Ben Thomas, Paul Whitmore, Miller
Richardson, Ralph Bonsack, Frank Leidy, Theodore Brown and Norman Boyle.”
Cunningham
was also well known for his New Year’s Day tradition of an all day poker game,
“that began promptly at 11 a.m., broke for dinner at 5 p.m., then resumed until
11 p.m.”
At the time of his death, Cunningham “was believed to be
Western Maryland College's oldest living alumnae… and the State's only living charter
member of the Maryland State Fireman's Association.”
The January 1, 1966 obituary reported that: “Cunningham's
interest in politics was rewarded during the Coolidge Administration with his
appointment in 1923 as Surveyor of Customs at Baltimore, a post he held for
nine years. In 1911, Mr. Cunningham ran unsuccessfully for State Comptroller.”
“Beside politics and poker, Mr. Cunningham loved walking. On
weekends as late as 1964, he hiked along country roads, a white handkerchief
tied to his cane, for safety.”
When he was 97 years old, he explained in a November 1964
interview: "I only walk half as far and about half as fast as I used to…
It's a strain to walk more than 4 or 5 miles…"
“In his earlier days… [he] was a bicyclist of renown…
According to a banker's association bulletin, in 1898 he bicycled 200 miles
from Westminster to Atlantic City, N.J…” He waited to give up driving until he
was approximately 92 years old.
In full disclosure, I met Cunningham in the early 1960s upon
the occasion of one of his visits to City Hall to talk with City of Westminster
Mayor Joseph L. Mathias who served on the Westminster Common Council May 1927
to May 1937 and Mayor from May 18, 1942 to December 3, 1963. To the best of my
knowledge, I have only written about Cunningham a couple of times. Most
notably, a portion of this column was previously published in 2006.
Carroll County is fortunate to have many great community
leaders still with us. We should all take time to pause and thank them for
their service to our community – whether we agree with them or disagree.
Every one of them is working hard to meet today’s and
tomorrow’s challenges. In 2019, may we all work hard to rekindle a renewed
sense of civility and have as full and vigorous a life as Mr. John Cunningham –
playing poker, bicycling and walking many four or five miles is optional. God
Bless and Happy New Year.
+++++++++++++++
Westminster, Maryland, Cunningham, history, MSFA,
++++++
Kevin Dayhoff for Westminster Common Council
Westminster Municipal election May 14, 2019
Authority Caroline Babylon, Treasurer.
