It was Monday, February 2, 1931. The United States was at the beginning of the 10 years known as The Great Depression. Unemployment was about 16% of the work force…some 8 million citizens (United States History). Henry Vosti wasn’t unemployed. He was the bank cashier at the First National Bank of Salida, CA. It was business as usual at the bank that day, until Otis Hobbs, a down on his luck ranch hand, walked in the door intent on robbing the bank.
The First National Bank of Salida, CA was founded in June of 1920 to service the town of Salida and the surrounding community (Modesto Evening News). At that time, every small town had one or two banks where locals could deposit their savings, and take out loans for houses, or to purchase equipment and expand their farming operations. Especially in rural areas, banking was personalized and local. Bankers knew their customers well because they were their family, friends and neighbors.
Sometime between 1920 and 1926, Henry Vosti’s mother, Anna Vosti, became a stockholder in the Salida bank. Anna was….well…a strong personality (Henry Vosti and Lois Curtis Vosti Interviews). Anna was hoping for more from Henry (her oldest son) than to become the next proprietor of the Vosti ranch in Salida. Henry attended college at both Stanford and University of California at Berkeley for brief periods of time, but did not graduate. Anna owned a store in Salida where Henry worked for a while (that’s another story). Henry was 28 when he finally settled on his future career in banking. He started his job at the First National Bank in Salida, CA in April of 1926 (two months before he married Lois Elvene Curtis in June of that same year) (Modesto News-Herald).
Although roughly 600 small banks rural banks failed every year between 1921-29 (EconProph), the First National Bank of Salida was successful. Annual reports show it stable and well capitalized (Modesto News-Herald). Henry thrived in his job at the bank and eventually became one of the bank’s directors. All was well until the fall of 1929 when the stock market crashed and the roaring 20’s turned into the Great Depression of the 1930’s. In 1930 alone, 1,325 banks failed. People lost confidence in the banking system and “runs” on banks were common as people tried to withdraw their life’s savings. Between 1930-33, over 10,000 U.S. banks failed. It’s estimated that 20% of bank customers lost their entire savings (EconProph).
On February 2nd of 1931, the First National Bank of Salida still had its doors open and was solvent. That day Henry was behind the counter as usual and helping several other customers, when Otis Hobbs walked into the bank:
Hobbs “went to the deposit desk and fumbled with a piece of paper. After some minutes, he went to Vosti’s window and said a in a voice that quivered, “This is a hold up job. I want all the money you got!” (Modesto News-Herald).
Henry couldn’t see a gun, but Hobbs kept patting his pocked where he actually had a .15 cent cap pistol hidden. After Henry handed over the money, Hobbs ordered Henry into the bank vault and tied his hands and feet with cords.
When a local rancher, Leland Warburton, walked in to the bank, Hobbs raced out. Warburton’s wife (who was in the bank during the robbery) yelled “Get that man – quick!” Warburton, having no idea why he was chasing Hobbs, jumped in his own car to follow Hobbs’ car which had been left running outside at the curb. Warburton cornered Hobbs in a nearby blind alley and held him at bay with a car crank. In the meantime, Henry freed himself and called the local sheriff’s office. Hobbs gave himself up and was arrested without incident. All of the money ($472) was recovered from Hobb’s pocket and returned to the bank.
It was mid-Great Depression and Hobbs, it turned out, was an unemployed local ranch hand from the midwest with a wife (Josie Fern) and a 3 year old daughter (Irma Jane) he was trying to support. His car, where his wife and baby were waiting, was packed with all of the family’s possessions. The plan was to take the cash, leave the area, and start a new life. When interviewed by local police, Hobbs wept and said, “I’m no criminal – have never been arrested in my life. But I had to have money to feed my wife and baby, so I decided to stick up the bank.” (Modesto News-Harold).
After the robbery, Henry Vosti boasted that he could tell all along the robber was an amateur.
“He never did convince me he was a bandit. I kept joking with him all the time he was in the bank and the more I talked the more nervous he became. He was a poor bank robber.” (Modesto News-Harold)
Henry later obligingly reenacted the whole robbery and let himself be tied up on the bank vault floor so the newspaper could get a picture for their article!
Despite the difficult economic circumstances of the times, there wasn’t much sympathy for Otis Hobb’s situation and the plight of his family. The Whittier News sarcastically noted that “although the work might be hard and the rewards poor, ranch labor, Hobbs discovered, is still a better proposition than bank-robbing.” (Whittier News).
Hobbs admitted robbing the bank, pleaded guilty, and requested probation. He explained that he was desperate to feed his wife and child and only used a 15 cent toy pistol he’d bought a few minutes before the robbery because “he didn’t want to hurt anyone in the bank” (The Morning Republican).
“I just looked at the bank and decided on a moment to stick it up. My wife and baby were hungry. I thought I could get some money, not hurt anyone, and then just settle right down again with my family,” explained Hobbs (Modesto News-Herald).
His pleas did not work. In front of his wife and young daughter who were in court with him, Hobbs was sentenced to 10 years to life and transported to San Quentin on Feb. 25th, 1931 (California, Prison and Correctional Records).
Ironically, four days later, on March 1st, 1931, the Modesto Trust and Savings Bank announced that it had purchased the First National Bank of Salida. The sale was approved by First National’s main stockholders, including Henry and Anna Vosti. The Modesto bank reassured First National’s customers that it would fully guarantee their savings…and that it was also assuming all of their obligations and loans. The Salida bank was immediately closed, but Modesto Trust reminded customers that the new bank was only six miles away. Henry Vosti went to work at the bank in Modesto and was a banker for the rest of his life.
P.S. Otis Hobbs’ records at San Quentin indicate that he was prisoner 49746, received on Feb. 25, 1931, paroled on Nov. 13, 1933 and discharged on Jan. 29, 1937 (California, Prison and Correctional Records).
Henry Angelo Vosti – Vosti Family Tree – #1
Sources:
Admits Holding Up Salida Bank; Asks Probation; The Morning Republican; Fresno, CA; 12 Feb 1931; retrieved from newspapers 30 May 2020
Arrest Ends First Try at Bank Robbery; The Whittier News; Whittier, CA; 03 Feb 1931; retrieved from newspapers.com 30 May 2020
California, Prison and Correctional Records, 1851-1950; Inmate Photographs and Mug Books; San Quentin, Marin, CA; Book 16; retrieved from ancestry.com 31 May 2020.
First National Bank in Spring 1929; Modesto News-Herald; Modesto, CA; 04 Apr 1929; retrieved 30 May 2020 from newspapers.com 30 May 2020
Henry Vosti Gets Job at First National Bank; Modesto News-Herald; Modesto, CA; 04 Apr 1926; retrieved from newspapers.com 30 May 2020
Luke, Jim; Bank Failures: The 1920’s and The Great Depression; Econproph; 26 Oct 2009
Man With Toy Pistol Gets $400; Confesses; Modesto News-Herald; Modesto, CA; 02 Feb 1931; retrieved from newspapers.com 30 May 1920
Salida National Bank Open for Business Next Tuesday; Modesto Evening News; 29 May 1920; retrieved from newspapers.com 30 May 2020.
Unemployment Statistics During the Great Depression; United States History; retrieved 30 May 2020
Vosti, Henry & Vosti, Lois Curtis; Personal Interview; LeeAnne McDermott; 1990