After 50 years at First National Bank of Santa Fe, Marianne Candelario rejoices in her health, family and faith

She remembers it as if it were yesterday:  Marianne Candelario awoke early that morning to begin her first day of work at First National Bank of Santa Fe on the Plaza. It was Thursday, Aug. 1, 1957, and it was a beautiful day in Santa Fe.

“I was scared stiff,” the vivacious Candelario recalled. She started the day by going to Mass at the Cathedral (now Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi). Although she had worked part time while attending Loretto Academy, this was her first full-time job. It would be the last time she was scared by much of anything.

A self-described “single mom” with two children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Candelario does not plan to retire anytime soon. “Maybe I’ll think about it in a year or two or three, but I’m very happy where I am right now,” she said as First National Bank officers, colleagues and friends marked her 50 years with a public celebration Aug. 1 on the Plaza. Passing tourists also enjoyed cake and lemonade.

Mayor David Coss added the city’s congratulations by proclaiming Aug. 1 “Marianne Candelario Day” in Santa Fe. The bank’s choral group, the FNB Chorus, introduced a special song written for Candelario. Matthew Moon, First National vice president and chief information officer, accompanied the chorus with his guitar, singing her favorite song, the Roy Orbison standard, “Pretty Woman.”

The bank followed up a week later with a private catered luncheon for Candelario, her family and friends. Family members including daughter Margo Shirley, a kindergarten teacher at Sweeney Elementary School; son Landie Romero, an electrical engineer at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center; and grandsons Aaron Shirley and Brandon, Jeremy, Justin and Landie Romero surprised Marianne at the buffet luncheon. Only granddaughter Lindsey Shirley and great-grandson Adam Michael, who live in Arizona, could not be there.

“Unlike most records, which are made to be broken, I don’t think anyone will ever break this one, certainly not at First National Bank of Santa Fe,” said Gregory J. Ellena, president and chief executive officer. “We have a number of longtime employees who have been with us more than 20 and even 30 years, but Marianne is special. There will never be another like her. We are so proud of her, and as she says, she’s not through yet.”

Among her many friends and colleagues at the luncheon were former Mayor Larry Delgado and longtime “best friends,” Art and Tessie Johnson, parents of Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Johnson and Capt. Gary Johnson and State Police Sgt. Ken Johnson. All enjoyed Candelario’s favorite musical form, mariachi, performed by Mariachi de Oro youth.

Candelario, now a loan administration specialist, began in the bank’s bookkeeping department and has worked in the audit, trust and commercial loan departments over the years. The only position she tried and didn’t like was that of teller, preferring to work behind the scenes.

A different place

The town, now a city, was a different place 50 years ago. Santa Fe was smaller then, with perhaps 30,000 people. Dirt roads, that included Canyon Road, challenged horses, much less cars. Trucks were the predominant motor vehicle. And, the Plaza … a time traveler from the ’50s would hardly recognize it now.

The basic layout is the same; the war memorial in the center is still there, as is the Palace of the Governors on the north side. The buildings surrounding the Plaza mostly are original, with new facades and the wooden floors replaced. The big difference is in the occupants as well as those who come to the center of town daily.

Tourists and those catering to tourists fill the Plaza now. Then, it was the citizens of Santa Fe who came to shop at the mostly locally owned stores, have lunch in nearby cafes and restaurants, and generally socialize as people did in “the old days.”

While there were family-owned grocery stores and other shops in various neighborhoods throughout Santa Fe, residents came to the Plaza for their regular shopping. The various-sized malls surrounding the city had yet to be built.

Among the shops and stores surrounding or near the Plaza were Kaune’s grocery store; the New Canton Cafe (“best Chinese food in town,” said one old-timer, adding it probably was the only Chinese restaurant in town); Moore’s ready-to-wear men’s shop; Kempenick, Shop of the Rainbow Man and the Thunderbird Shop jewelry stores; Kahn’s shoe store; Zook’s and Capital pharmacies; El Pavon dress shop; Annabella’s clothing store; Guarantee clothing and shoe store; Santa Fe Book and Villagra Book Shop; Eleanor Bedell’s antiques; Kay Stephens Santa Fe Shirts; Santa Fe Western Wear; Gans’ Indian and Gift Shop; Hoe-Down Alley; and Dendahl’s textiles.

And, each day, around noon, Tony Rael would shuffle down from his Canyon Road family restaurant (which occupied the front room of his home) to supply hungry residents with tamales.

Local landmarks

First National Bank of Santa Fe’s main office was only three years old when Candelario began working there in 1957 (although it is on part of the site of the original bank founded in 1870, the first bank in New Mexico Territory). Sharing the west-side block of the Plaza were the Plaza Café, Ortega’s and Dressman’s Curio Shop (now called Dressman’s Gift Shop). All three are still there, as is the La Fonda on the southeast corner of the Plaza. The venerable Packard’s is still near the hotel, which was the social center of Santa Fe then. The Camera Shop and Five and Dime (once part of the much-larger Woolworth’s) remain in place.

Gone or moved are the Placita Bon-Bon Shop in Sena Plaza (the popular Shed Cafe used to be on Burro Alley), the El Paseo movie theater, Doodlet’s, St. Vincent Hospital, the U.S. Post Office and Sears. The renovated Lensic maintains its supremacy just off the Plaza, with the also-renovated Original Curio Store nearby. Candelario’s father and uncle once ran the latter.

“Santa Fe was different then,” Candelario said. “Now, it’s more culturally diverse, and people are more accepting of each other. There’s a more open attitude, and I think that’s a good thing.

“At the same time, Santa Fe is more sophisticated. The art galleries have changed and multiplied, drawing people who love the arts. With the population growth, we don’t know the people the way we did before,” Candelario said, exhibiting the ambivalence shared by many longtime Santa Feans.

Working world

The bank, too, is different, according to Candelario. “When I started, it was very formal. Everyone was called Mr., Miss or Mrs. That changed when Ed Bennett became president, and he said, ‘Call me Ed,’ and we did. He made all the difference, because then we could really talk to the (bank) officers as well as employees in other departments. Now, we’re more like a family.”

Another big change at the bank, of course, involved technology. It was akin to going from an abacus to the computer.

“I like the computer, but I miss the old way,” Candelario lamented. “The brain doesn’t work the same. But the job required that I use a computer, and I picked it up pretty quickly.”

Some things do remain the same, however. Candelario has a daily routine that rarely changes: She rises about 3:30 or 4 a.m. and gets to the bank by 5:15 a.m., whereupon she makes coffee (both decaf and regular), balances her checking account, reads The New Mexican and, finally, begins her work day officially at 7 a.m. Quitting time is 4 p.m., unless she has some shopping to do and then she’ll leave a little early, according to her boss, Dave Bencoe, senior vice president and loan administration manager. She finishes her day and is in bed around 7 p.m. every evening. When she has time, she says, she loves to read.

Another thing that has never wavered is her faith. A devout Roman Catholic, Candelario has been a member of the Fiesta Council for more than 30 years. She has worked with the queen and her court over the years, primarily chaperoning them to events, and now handles information services for the organization.

“We are busy from February into September every year,” Candelario said. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done. Fiesta is my cup of tea.”

At the same time, Candelario suggested that “religion is not like it used to be. I had a hard time with Vatican II, because I liked the Latin Mass. Mariachi masses are nice, however, and I’ve more-or-less accepted the changes.

“God gave me my faith, my family and my friends. I have my health, and I love my life. First National Bank also is a big part of that. I have been very happy there over the past 50 years, and I still am,” Candelario said.

The song was researched and written by Susan Sinclair Davis, First National Bank vice president and training director, and sung to the ubiquitous Coca-Cola tune, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”

We’d like to tell you all about

 

a gal who’s really swell.

She’s worked at FNB for 50 years,

her story we will tell.

She has two kids who now are grown;

their names are Margo and Landie.

They’re produced some grandkids,

which Marianne thinks is dandy.

She’s worked on Fiesta Council for years,

in charge of information.

She knows everyone in this whole town,

much to her daughter’s frustration.

Marianne is the first to arrive.

She opens the bank each day.

She goes to bed early each night;

7 p.m. is when she hits the hay.

She’s had the same car for 10 years

and drives only to work and back.

God forbid that the snow is deep,

her driving skills somewhat lack.

She has some favorites we will share —

Las Vegas is her favorite spot to go.

Gambling on slots is her preferred sport,

her daughter told us so.

Her work wardrobe consists of five outfits.

She wears them the same day each week.

False eyelashes are always worn,

of this we freely speak.

She tells us all we’re her very best friends.

She brings us treats that are filed away.

Without her, we’d have no chocolate

but much less we would weigh.

Fifty years at the same company

is something really rare.

Due to this achievement, we salute her.

We’re just glad she’s here!