William Arthur "Bill" Bowman Jr. was born in 1928 in Chattooga County, the son of William and Lillie Bowman. He graduated from Gore School in 1945, and worked at Farmers & Merchants Bank from 1946 to 1960. Bill retired from banking in 1991 and now lives in Oconee County, near children and grandchildren.
The former Chattooga County resident shared several photographs, some of which have been featured in earlier web pages. Below are several more from Bill's collection.
From left to right: Bill Edwards, Jess Lee, and Clyde Holt were soda jerks at Jackson Drug Store in downtown Summerville in the late 1940s.
W.H. Dean (left), pastor of Four Mile Baptist Church from 1946 to 1951, presided at the baptism of G.W. Bramlett (center) and Grady Henry Bramlett, Bill's father-in-law.
Mr. and Mrs. O.B. Millican operated a grocery store in Summerville.
Edwin Newsome was a classmate of Bill's future wife, Sue Bramlett, Summerville High School Class of 1949. He stands by a car named "Durango" as shown on the fender skirt.
Another friend of Sue's was Sarah Ayers, shown in a circa 1949 photo.
Jean Duff (left) and Sue Bramlett, along with several other classmates, traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for the 1949 Summerville High School senior trip.
Sue Bramlett and Bill Bowman were married in 1951. They are shown at the 1954 grand opening of the new Farmers & Merchants Bank building at the southeast corner of Commerce Street and East Washington Street in downtown Summerville.
Bill's work for bank president Daniel Lee McWhorter (right) at Farmers & Merchants Bank was interrupted by a two-year stint in the U.S. Army.
Another photo of Sue and Bill shows the teller's area. The drive-thru window is shown behind them. The window is clearly visible even today as you drive past the vacant building.
Sue Bowman and Genevieve Hill McWhorter, wife of Daniel Lee McWhorter, pose with several congratulatory floral arrangements. Many people remember this bank building as a beehive of activity when most (all?) of the tellers who stood behind the counter on the left were men.
Bill poses with his brothers-in-law, Cecil Ray (left) and G.W. Bramlett (right), 1954.
Grady and Tessie Bramlett at their Cloudland home, 1954. Grady worked at Scoggins Motor and Implement Company, a Plymouth-Chrysler dealership located across Cox Street from the county jail.
Thanks to Bill Bowman for sharing his photographs. Some details are attributed to Bob Baker's Chattooga County book.