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Keepers of the Clock
Contact: Donna Bernard, Vice President & Informational Services Officer
Friday, March 1, 2002

Ruston, LA — After years of silence, the clock on the old Ruston State Bank building on North Trenton Street in downtown Ruston, began chiming today at 11 a.m.
In a long-awaited ceremony, the clock was turned on and chimed as it did when it was first put into commission in 1927.

Mary-Kyle McDonald, daughter of Kyle McDonald, President and CEO of Argent, and Lucius “Luc” McGehee III, son of Lucius McGehee Jr., Sr. Vice President of Argent, turned the lever that activated the clock at exactly 11 a.m.

“These are the keepers of the clock for the future,” McDonald said of the two. Argent Financial, formerly The Trust Company of Louisiana, is the current owner of the old Ruston State Bank building that dons the Whitney Clock.

“It was originally placed in operation in 1927 by Mrs. Atkins in honor of her husband Darius M. Atkins, who died in office after serving almost one year as the bank’s president,” McDonald said.

“We are the current Keepers of the Clock and we pass this responsibility down to the next generation as signified by our children here today,” he said.

“Ruston has supported our company since its beginning and by refurbishing this clock to working order, we feel we are giving a little something back,” he said.

Argent Financial Group actually has roots dating back to Ruston State Bank’s beginnings in 1890. Argent is born from the bank’s Trust Department. The bank, which was the oldest bank in the state until the early 1990’s when it was sold, was established in 1890 in a building at the current Ruston State Bank building site. A two-story permanent building was erected in 1910 but burned in a fire in 1924. Ruston State Bank rebuilt the existing building in 1925. The chimes were heard throughout downtown Ruston from 1927 until 1970 at which time they became inoperable. Mr. John Emory through Ruston State Bank, had the chimes repaired and they worked until the late 1990s.

Argent Financial Group, then The Trust Company of Louisiana, began the task of trying to find a company or individual that could refurbish the clock.
“We are proud to present this as our ‘thank you” to Ruston,” McDonald said.