139 I was fascinated by the banking business. I entered law and banking when the bootleggers and moon shiners were your most lucrative clients because they could pay their bills.” Later that month, Miss Barthel was promoted to Vice President and Mrs. Jean Hinson to Vice President and Trust Officer. In February of 1989, the Berryville Retail Merchants Committee called for Bank of Clarke County to open its lobby on Saturdays. Missed sales opportunities for merchants and traffic jams were cited as the main reasons. The Clarke Courier interviewed people on the street about the proposal. The decision was made to open a walk-up window, install an ATM and begin opening drive-through facilities at 8:30 A.M. instead of 9:00 A.M. Mr. Hudson stated in the paper that “we hope the new facility will alleviate some of the congestion in downtown Berryville on Saturday mornings.” Parking was offered to shoppers on Saturdays as well. Miss Wisecarver announced her retirement on April 10, 1989 upon her completion of 48 years of service. When she applied, there were six jobs in the Bank of Clarke County and only one had been filled by a woman. She attributed her decision to go into the banking field to the global conflict of World War II opening up banking opportunities for women by drafting all the able young men. President Ewing, during his speech to the stockholders on April 20, 1989, stated that “1988 will be a hard year to match, attributing much of the bank’s financial growth to the new real estate loans which reflect the County’s increasing development.” In December of 1989 Bank of Clarke County installed the first ATM in Clarke County at the Berryville office. Berryville Mayor Richard Sponseller was the inaugural user. Bank of Clarke County seized the opportunity to buy the bank’s original home on North Church Street in February 1990 for $180,000. Renovations commenced at a cost of $25,000. The restoration of the original home included chemically treating the brick to remove the paint (because the original brick fit better with the community) and a new roof and paint job. The Keating building on North Church Street was purchased at the same time for $150,000 to allow the bank expansion options. President Ewing, in a speech to the stockholders on April 11, 1990, announced $1 million in net earnings for 1989. Ewing stated that the net earnings figure was “especially impressive in a year when some of our peers struggled to maintain the prior year’s earnings.” The annual report that year was dedicated to Miss Wisecarver, who wrote to the Board, “It was indeed an unexpected surprise and needless to say I am most pleased and overwhelmed. The Bank has always been very special to me and will continue to be so in my heart.” During 1990, the Bank joined the Adopt-A-Highway Program along parts of Route 340 and hosted the Berryville/Clarke County Chamber of Commerce August Mixer for the first time. Mrs. McDonald was promoted to Assistant Vice President late in 1990. The Clarke Courier interviewed President Ewing for his thoughts on the current economic situation in the United States in 1991. He was quoted as