Editor’s NOTE: Throughout the 11+ year history of the Federal Observer (Kettle Moraine Publications), it has been common for certain emails to make the international go-around every few months. The best – or worst – example is the pre-2000 email regarding Jane Fonda being named one of the 100 “Women of the Century” (the 20th century). Whoever receives this email continues to update it, depending on who the current (p)resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue happens to be. From Clinton to Bush Jr. and now Obama – the story never changes – just the idiocy of those who send it.

That which you are about to read has come around many times as well, and although I find it profound, from a “carrying” perspective – this is the first time that I have noticed the capitalization statement on the window of the bank. “Capital $45,000.00 in GOLD.”

How long ago was this photo taken, and what is the value of the gold today? Banking – the way it used to be… Our thanks goes out to Rolling Thunder for having sent it around again. (Ed.)

Chappell Hill is a small town between Houston and Brenham on Hwy 290.

Any would-be robbers planning to walk into this bank had better think twice. There’s a new sign in town. About a month ago, Chappell Hill Bank president Edward Smith looked at a sign on the front door prohibiting concealed weapons from his bank and decided to make a policy change. Licensed to carry a handgun? Come on in, and bring your weapon.

The sign, now prominently displayed on the bank’s front door, says: “Lawful concealed carry permitted on these premises. Management recognizes the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as an inalienable right of all citizens. We therefore support and encourage the carrying of licensed concealed weapons.”

Smith said he made the policy change to send a warning to potential robbers, and to express support for Americans to bear arms. “We had the conventional sign on the window, with the red circle and pistol inside and a line through it.

I started thinking…we’ve got this “no gun” sign up, so a robber can come in and do anything he wants. But if we’ve got a policy that allows handguns, he won’t know how many people in the bank are gonna be carrying a concealed weapon. There may be some little old lady who’s mad at the government, and would love to use her concealed weapon,” he said.

The bank has been robbed twice in the last three years, including last March when a man walked in, ordered bank employees to fill a canvas bag with money, and then fled in a pickup truck. The man, who didn’t brandish a weapon, has not been caught.

The sign has made Chappell Hill Bank somewhat of an Internet curiosity. A photo of the sign has made its way around the world, and Smith has been interviewed for the National Rifle Association’s radio network. He’s also been contacted by various media outlets wanting interviews. “It’s kind of gotten a life of its own,” he said. Expressions of support have far outnumbered criticism.

“I haven’t gotten any reactions from Chicago or California, which doesn’t surprise me,” Smith said with a chuckle.

The policy change has also brought Chappell Hill Bank some new customers, as well as comments from people outside Washington County, saying that they’d bank there if they lived here, said Smith. “I tell them that we’re a full-service bank, and we’re on the Internet. They can bank online,” he said.

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