James Blanding Lewis Banks was born in a two and a half story buff brick farm house in Lexington, Kentucky on the Lexington-Richmond Road. He was delivered by a Doctor Blanding who told his parents Grant and Sarah Belle that he would not survive the year. At the age of nine months he weighed nine pounds. Blanding lived on a farm until 1918 when his family moved to Tucson, Arizona to help his sister Myrtle whose health was poor. Within a year they returned to Lexington and a short time later Myrtle died. The family never recovered from the move to Tucson and the loss of Myrtle. Blanding’s father often was away from home due to work. Blanding and his mother lived together until her death in 1926. She was 58 and he was barely 15.
At that point Blanding left school to support himself by working as an usher and posting advertising materials for a local movie theatre. He also worked as a drummer with a local five piece combo. He lived this way for about two years when he moved to Hamilton, Ohio and obtained work in the Ford Motor plant. This lasted until October 1929 when single people were the first to be laid off. Blanding then traveled most southern, central and some north-western states washing dishes and doing odd jobs.
Finally, in 1932, he settled in Hamilton, Ohio where he had family. He became a meat cutter apprentice at the Chicago Meat Market. He also became known as Jim Banks. In 1936 Jim married Dorothy Weinman and and her family. He was particularly fond of her mother Irma and loved her as his own.
During the next seven years, Dorothy and Jim became parents of two boys and one girl, Steve, John and Betsy. He worked extremely hard during this time when the country was at war, typically for sixteen hour a day and continued long after the war ended. He remarked one time that providing for his family was what a man most wanted to do.
Over the course of the next forty years Jim became very successful in doing so. Modestly at first as meat cutter, next as a tracer in the engineering department of a heavy machine manufacturer and then in the machine shop where he progressed from a “gang leader” to a superintendent of the press division.
By the mid fifties Jim began a new career as an industrial engineer for a consulting company. He traveled extensively, including into Canada. One of his clients was J.M. Schneider, a Canadian meatpacking company and in 1960 they invited Jim to join their staff and establish an Industrial Engineering Department. One of his most noted achievements and the subject of some well intentioned ribbing was what was referred to as “Banks’ Folly”. He redesigned the traffic flow in the six story building from trucks moving meat on each floor to a conveyer system that was vertical.
Jim formed close friendships with some of his colleagues at Schneiders and enjoyed the time he spent with them and in Canada immensely. He remained with Schneiders for 16 years and retired in 1976 as a vice-president and member of the board of directors.
Upon retirement Jim and Dorothy returned to Hamilton, Ohio where they bought their first house and resumed their close connections with Dorothy’s family.
At that point Blanding left school to support himself by working as an usher and posting advertising materials for a local movie theatre. He also worked as a drummer with a local five piece combo. He lived this way for about two years when he moved to Hamilton, Ohio and obtained work in the Ford Motor plant. This lasted until October 1929 when single people were the first to be laid off. Blanding then traveled most southern, central and some north-western states washing dishes and doing odd jobs.
Finally, in 1932, he settled in Hamilton, Ohio where he had family. He became a meat cutter apprentice at the Chicago Meat Market. He also became known as Jim Banks. In 1936 Jim married Dorothy Weinman and and her family. He was particularly fond of her mother Irma and loved her as his own.
During the next seven years, Dorothy and Jim became parents of two boys and one girl, Steve, John and Betsy. He worked extremely hard during this time when the country was at war, typically for sixteen hour a day and continued long after the war ended. He remarked one time that providing for his family was what a man most wanted to do.
Over the course of the next forty years Jim became very successful in doing so. Modestly at first as meat cutter, next as a tracer in the engineering department of a heavy machine manufacturer and then in the machine shop where he progressed from a “gang leader” to a superintendent of the press division.
By the mid fifties Jim began a new career as an industrial engineer for a consulting company. He traveled extensively, including into Canada. One of his clients was J.M. Schneider, a Canadian meatpacking company and in 1960 they invited Jim to join their staff and establish an Industrial Engineering Department. One of his most noted achievements and the subject of some well intentioned ribbing was what was referred to as “Banks’ Folly”. He redesigned the traffic flow in the six story building from trucks moving meat on each floor to a conveyer system that was vertical.
Jim formed close friendships with some of his colleagues at Schneiders and enjoyed the time he spent with them and in Canada immensely. He remained with Schneiders for 16 years and retired in 1976 as a vice-president and member of the board of directors.
Upon retirement Jim and Dorothy returned to Hamilton, Ohio where they bought their first house and resumed their close connections with Dorothy’s family.
James Blanding Lewis Banks was born in a two and a half story buff brick farm house in Lexington, Kentucky on the Lexington-Richmond Road. He was delivered by a Doctor Blanding who told his parents Grant and Sarah Belle that he would not survive the year. At the age of nine months he weighed nine pounds. Blanding lived on a farm until 1918 when his family moved to Tucson, Arizona to help his sister Myrtle whose health was poor. Within a year they returned to Lexington and a short time later Myrtle died. The family never recovered from the move to Tucson and the loss of Myrtle. Blanding’s father often was away from home due to work. Blanding and his mother lived together until her death in 1926. She was 58 and he was barely 15.
At that point Blanding left school to support himself by working as an usher and posting advertising materials for a local movie theatre. He also worked as a drummer with a local five piece combo. He lived this way for about two years when he moved to Hamilton, Ohio and obtained work in the Ford Motor plant. This lasted until October 1929 when single people were the first to be laid off. Blanding then traveled most southern, central and some north-western states washing dishes and doing odd jobs.
Finally, in 1932, he settled in Hamilton, Ohio where he had family. He became a meat cutter apprentice at the Chicago Meat Market. He also became known as Jim Banks. In 1936 Jim married Dorothy Weinman and and her family. He was particularly fond of her mother Irma and loved her as his own.
During the next seven years, Dorothy and Jim became parents of two boys and one girl, Steve, John and Betsy. He worked extremely hard during this time when the country was at war, typically for sixteen hour a day and continued long after the war ended. He remarked one time that providing for his family was what a man most wanted to do.
Over the course of the next forty years Jim became very successful in doing so. Modestly at first as meat cutter, next as a tracer in the engineering department of a heavy machine manufacturer and then in the machine shop where he progressed from a “gang leader” to a superintendent of the press division.
By the mid fifties Jim began a new career as an industrial engineer for a consulting company. He traveled extensively, including into Canada. One of his clients was J.M. Schneider, a Canadian meatpacking company and in 1960 they invited Jim to join their staff and establish an Industrial Engineering Department. One of his most noted achievements and the subject of some well intentioned ribbing was what was referred to as “Banks’ Folly”. He redesigned the traffic flow in the six story building from trucks moving meat on each floor to a conveyer system that was vertical.
Jim formed close friendships with some of his colleagues at Schneiders and enjoyed the time he spent with them and in Canada immensely. He remained with Schneiders for 16 years and retired in 1976 as a vice-president and member of the board of directors.
Upon retirement Jim and Dorothy returned to Hamilton, Ohio where they bought their first house and resumed their close connections with Dorothy’s family.
At that point Blanding left school to support himself by working as an usher and posting advertising materials for a local movie theatre. He also worked as a drummer with a local five piece combo. He lived this way for about two years when he moved to Hamilton, Ohio and obtained work in the Ford Motor plant. This lasted until October 1929 when single people were the first to be laid off. Blanding then traveled most southern, central and some north-western states washing dishes and doing odd jobs.
Finally, in 1932, he settled in Hamilton, Ohio where he had family. He became a meat cutter apprentice at the Chicago Meat Market. He also became known as Jim Banks. In 1936 Jim married Dorothy Weinman and and her family. He was particularly fond of her mother Irma and loved her as his own.
During the next seven years, Dorothy and Jim became parents of two boys and one girl, Steve, John and Betsy. He worked extremely hard during this time when the country was at war, typically for sixteen hour a day and continued long after the war ended. He remarked one time that providing for his family was what a man most wanted to do.
Over the course of the next forty years Jim became very successful in doing so. Modestly at first as meat cutter, next as a tracer in the engineering department of a heavy machine manufacturer and then in the machine shop where he progressed from a “gang leader” to a superintendent of the press division.
By the mid fifties Jim began a new career as an industrial engineer for a consulting company. He traveled extensively, including into Canada. One of his clients was J.M. Schneider, a Canadian meatpacking company and in 1960 they invited Jim to join their staff and establish an Industrial Engineering Department. One of his most noted achievements and the subject of some well intentioned ribbing was what was referred to as “Banks’ Folly”. He redesigned the traffic flow in the six story building from trucks moving meat on each floor to a conveyer system that was vertical.
Jim formed close friendships with some of his colleagues at Schneiders and enjoyed the time he spent with them and in Canada immensely. He remained with Schneiders for 16 years and retired in 1976 as a vice-president and member of the board of directors.
Upon retirement Jim and Dorothy returned to Hamilton, Ohio where they bought their first house and resumed their close connections with Dorothy’s family.
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