VINITA, Okla. – Oklahoma State Bank in Vinita has earned a reputation for solidarity, efficiency and quality – all the hallmarks of a fine thoroughbred in its prime. At 75, this horse is swift to stay ahead of its game.

The bank located at 120 W. Canadian Ave. in the heart of the Craig County seat celebrates this milestone in September at its locations in Vinita as well as its branches in Langley and Monkey Island.

President of Oklahoma State Bank Eddy C. Allensworth said it’s “strange at 75,” but in a very good way.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment … and something we’re very proud of,” he said.

Allensworth has been part of the OSB family since 1989 and can attest to the transformations he has seen in his hometown as well as OSB. A tradition of community spirit continues, which makes its concept of “thoroughbred banking” as personal as it is excellent. Allensworth said he is reminded of this every time he looks at OSB’s horse logo.

“It has deeper meaning for me because I’ve seen where we’ve come from and the fact that we do progress and we do have to change with the time,” he said. “For a small community bank we’re on the cutting edge. There are some things (in which) we can outperform and out service the bigger banks on.”

To understand OSB, you have to know its beginnings and about the Hartley family.

Officially, OSB opened as Craig County Bank in November 1937, set up by a small group of investors, but its ties stretch way back to Indian Territory and the town of Centralia, northwest of present-day Vinita. In the late 1890s, Centralia was a hub for commerce and eventually became home to two banks. There, OSB Chairman of the Board F.M. (Monty) Hartley’s grandfather, Fred Hartley, began work at a bank. Eventually, however, Centralia fell into decline, and other communities grew up along the railroads pushing through Oklahoma. The banks closed like other businesses, and Fred Hartley moved on to Grove. Other bankers in Centralia left, too, some looking to Vinita.

When OSB was chartered in 1937, Vinita was an established community at the junction of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad) and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (back then called Katy, today known as the Union Pacific).

The Hartleys entered the banking picture again in the late 1950s when Hartley’s father, the late Kelly Hartley, joined the bank and became an officer. He began buying shares of the bank gradually to become the majority shareholder and chairman of the board, a position he would pass to his son in 1992.

“We grew up in the agriculture business,” F.M. Hartley said. “He was doing cattle inspections and monitoring loans and appraisals.”

That aspect hasn’t changed much. OSB is still rooted in Craig County’s agricultural economics and banks on it.

“Many of the banks across the state will just kind of roll their eyes and look at us and say, ‘You make loans on cattle? That’s crazy because cattle die,’” Allensworth said. “We just kind of smile and say, ‘Yeah, we’re comfortable with that.’ We understand where the risks are and feel like we know what we’re doing.”

Some things have changed, however. To meet ever changing banking regulations, the push for convenience in customer service and the evolving economy of Oklahoma, OSB has diversified into new ventures, including wealth management, health banking (savings accounts) and financing of special tribal projects.

OSB’s Chief Information Officer Brian Hartley also leads the bank’s business development sector. When he joined in 2002, he saw how OSB could improve its product to customers through online banking, automatic bill pay and other services now commonplace in the industry. Other upgrades were made to banking software, methods and products.

The bank has been TERO certified through the Cherokee Nation Tribal Employment Rights Office since 2010, affording OSB benefits as a Native-owned business owing to the Hartleys’ Cherokee blood.

Brian Hartley is also the bank’s TERO specialist.

“It has given us new opportunities,” he said. “It has allowed us to bid on (projects for) different tribes in the area for building hotels, building other ventures they have in businesses. We can help out in the financing side of that.”

As a TERO-certified business, OSB is among a number of Native-owned business on the CN’s list for special consideration when projects are up for bid, whether it means financing an addition to a casino gaming floor or providing payroll and cash management services. In past 3-5 years, OSB has become more involved in tribe projects.

Such initiatives have allowed this institution to serve customers in 42 states and surpass more than $100 million in assets to date. But OSB very much remains a local bank.

“Small town community banks, I feel, have a purpose,” said F.M. Hartley.

Communities have a place for business transactions, and local banks have a clear perspective on what the community wants, F.M. Harley added.

“Hopefully we create a warm feeling in the community with a friendliness that big national banks can’t offer,” F.M. Hartley said.

Part of that formula is hiring good employees who reflect the community.

“Craig County is deeply rooted in agriculture, and I think that hard work and work ethic is a reflection of the agricultural industry that carries over into the bank,” Allensworth said. “It’s a reflection of the community that no one’s scared to work hard or roll-up their sleeves to do their part … When you surround yourself with good people, good things happen.”

Heath Hartley, OSB’s CEO, said this celebration is as much an acknowledgement of a supportive community.

“All of the bank’s officers and staff share an enthusiasm and passion for Northeastern Oklahoma and continue to have a long standing desire to see it prosper and flourish,” Heath Hartley said.

F.M. Hartley added that he is proud of his sons, the bank’s officers and staff and that he confident the leadership will take OSB in the right direction in the future.

What would the founders have thought of their creation today?

“I think they would be proud,” Allensworth said, “because I think the core values they built the bank on have carried through time in that you try to give good customer service and you try to be fair in all your dealings and be consistent with how you do things.”