In olden days, when professional relationships were more personal than they are today, in Kilmarnock two individuals in particular exemplified the best of that quality of small town living. This past Sunday, each of them reached a noteworthy milestone.
The first is Leah Pittman, who for many years, along with her colleague, the late Faye Bell, about whom I wrote an item upon her passing in 2011, provided the patrons of Tidewater Telephone Company the opportunity to pay their monthly bills at an office on Main Street in Kilmarnock, but bill-paying was only a part of the experience of entering their office.
Leah and Faye made paying a bill a happy occasion. Leah is a person of extraordinary graciousness, akin to that of her late sister, Peggy Davis, who served as mayoress of Kilmarnock for 24 years during her husband, Edward J. Davis’s, term as mayor of the town. Leah is given to being gregarious, and in her work, she thrived on having personal contact with each of her customers.
Since taking early retirement, Leah has spent her time enjoying life, singing in her church choir, working at her family’s booth at the Kilmarnock Firemen’s Carnival, and preparing some really tasty delicacies. Peggy told me many years ago of Leah’s culinary ability, noting that she is known especially for her congealed salad. I soon found out that the mayoress had not exaggerated. Leah’s is the best congealed salad I ever had the pleasure of consuming.
On Sunday, Leah became a nonagenarian, in the doing of which she is following a long-standing family tradition where years do not matter as long as the individual is perpetually young. Leah’s life epitomizes the value of personal relationships that characterize small towns where folks are part of a broad community in which everyone works to help one another. Congratulations, Leah! Ad multos annos!
A few doors down Main Street from Leah’s office, Ken Bransford spent four decades serving the public in his capacity as a banker par excellence. Most of Ken’s association with the community came about in his helping people achieve their financial goals, be they personal or professional.
For much of his career, as the loan officer of the Bank of Lancaster, Ken knew the pulse of the community and he did his best to make possible the desires and needs of his customers. Ken always kept meeting the goals of his clients and his stockholders in balance. As a banker, he lived by the adage that one’s word was one’s bond.
In the last years of his service, Ken was the president of the bank. In that role, his example is reminiscent of that of Cosimo de Medici, the famous Florentine banker during the Renaissance, who sat on a bench in front of his bank every afternoon to meet with his customers and anyone who wished to speak with him, albeit in his case also to maintain political control over the city.
During Ken’s term as president, for part of every business day, he sat at a desk in the lobby of the bank where anyone who entered could speak with him about finances or any other subject. He understood the importance of keeping his finger on the pulse of the community and he genuinely enjoyed the interaction with his customers.
In the lower Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula today, many of the homes and businesses owe their presence in our community to Ken’s constant effort to help people better their lives. The pleasure that he received from doing his part to make life better for those in need and more successful for those hoping to advance their financial plans was self-evident. Across the breadth of our region Ken’s fine hand as a banker has benefited innumerable individuals.
On Sunday, Ken became an octogenarian, to which I can add for him as for Leah, Happy Birthday! Ad multos annos!
