Priscilla Richardson

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At the Historic Fincastle Inc. Christmas party, Harry "Mac" Williamson Jr. accepted a framed collection of early American paper money for display at the Bank of Fincastle. As the bank's former president and chief executive, and now chairman of the board, Williamson immediately decided to hang the collection in the lobby of the main office in Fincastle itself, not in the Daleville branch. HFI gave the gift to the bank in recognition of its long support of HFI and its goals. So by placing it in Fincastle itself, Williamson added yet another reason for folks to come and see the glories of the town.

Fincastle's Williamson, 82, was born and reared in Botetourt County and has never lived anywhere else, with the exception of one year at Virginia Tech. Since that time was the start of World War II he was needed back home at the farm. "There was no help available," he remembered, "so I stayed there." He and his father cared for a dairy herd and beef cattle. They sold out just before the senior Williamson died, in 1961. "You either had to grow from 35 cows or sell out," he said.

He and his mother ran the cattle operation for a few years, and then got out completely.

After five years with the Farm Bureau, Williamson got an offer from the Bank of Fincastle. They wanted someone to take the place of Arch Bolton, now deceased. "So I went there in September of '65 and stayed until I retired in 1987," Williamson said. "I had no banking experience. They said, 'You'll learn it by doing.' It was easier then than now, with complicated government regulation."

While no longer active in the daily operation of the bank, he still works for it. As a member of the loan committee, he meets with it every Wednesday. He presides over the board of directors every month.

"I went from assistant cashier and cashier, vice president, then president and chief executive officer." He saw great growth, from a total of three employees and $2 million in assets, to about 70 employees and $160 million in assets. "We financed a number of homes for young couples starting out," he said. "That made me feel good, to let them get into their own homes. We have had extremely good luck. I could count the foreclosures with the fingers on one hand."

He explained the simple reason behind that success: The maximum the bank would loan was 75 percent, so the customers had to have some of their own funds in the house. "It doesn't make sense to do 100 percent financing. They have no money in it and nothing to worry about. If they cannot pay, they can just walk out." He feels that the current subprime mortgage crisis would have been avoided by "plain common sense."

And speaking of sense, Williamson had the sense to marry Dorothy Strickler in 1947. "She told her mother she was going to marry a farmer. She loved the country." They were married 59 years before her death two years ago.

The prospect of hard work didn't deter him when, in 1957, he began growing Christmas trees -- more than 100,000 over 40 years. "The only other tree operation [then] so far as I know was in Charlottesville. We sold them from the farm to individuals." People would pick out the one they wanted and have it cut.

Tree farming is not for the lazy. You have to plant them, mow between them, shear them into shape and spray them. After Williamson was employed outside the farm, he would get up early in the morning, do farm chores, go to work, and then do more chores when he got home at night. Dorothy Williamson would cook meals for the eight or nine workers he would gather over a selling weekend, generally family members, including in-laws.

Nowadays, yardwork, baby-sitting a great-grandson and weekly golf occupy his time. But no matter which part of his career Williamson speaks of, he has only one comment. "I've enjoyed it. I really have."