BOYS TOYS AGE 11

Built in the 1880s by James F. Toy in Sioux City Iowa.
The life record of James F. Toy and the history of banking in Iowa have been
pretty much one and the same thing, for he ranks among the pioneer bankers
of the state and through a period of practically a half century his name has
stood in the forefront among the successful and influential financiers of this
section of the country. The distinction which he has attained in his particular line of business entitles him to specific recognition among the representative men of his day and generation in the state with which his entire active life has been identified.

Mr. Toy was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on the 5th of January, 1850, and
is a son of Neal and Rebecca (Rusk) Toy, the latter of whom was a native of
Pennsylvania and of old Quaker stock. The father was a native of Londonderry,
Ireland, from which country he was brought to the United States at the age of
twelve years. On attaining mature years he engaged in the quarry business
in Delaware, where he remained until 1867, when he came west, settling near
Waterloo, Iowa, where he engaged in farming for about six years. In 1873 the
family moved to Storm Lake, Iowa, where the parents resided until their deaths.

James F. Toy attended the public schools of Wilmington, Delaware, and
completed his education at St. Mary's College., His first employment was as a
clerk for Anderson & Cutts, at Waterloo, with whom he remained three years, after which he went to work for a and retail implement house, remaining on the inside two years and then going out as a traveling salesman, his territory covering the Illinois Central Railroad from Dubuque to Sioux City. In 1873 he went to Storm Lake, Iowa, where he engaged in the lumber, coal and
agricultural implement business under the firm name of Green & Toy. A year later Mr. Toy purchased his partner's interest and carried the business on under his own name for three years. In 1877 began his identification with the
banking interests of this state, when he became associated with Messrs. Dean and Harker in the organization of the Storm Lake State Bank, of which he was made cashier. In 1878 he severed his connection with that bank and bought the private bank of Sutfin & Hay at Storm Lake, which title was soon changed to the Banking House of James F. Toy. Under his able management this became a very successful institution. While here he published a newspaper for the purpose of advertising his bank, called the "Toy Advertizer," and which gave indication of his progressive and original bent of mind. In 1881 Mr. Toy started another bank at Alta, Iowa, followed later by others at Sioux Rapids and Fonda, these being but the first of a large system of banks, about nineteen in all, which he controls in this state. He installed a private telephone system
between his Storm Lake and Alta banks before any telephone exchanges had been established in this part of the country. This line was at that time a novelty and served well as an advertisement, people coming miles to see the wonderful
instrument. In 1883 he organized the Farmers Loan & Trust Company, with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars, which was transferred to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1889. It maintained quarters in the Toy building at Fourth and
Jackson streets, the largest brown stone office building in Sioux City at that time, which was burned in the big fire there. In 1908-09 he built the present office and bank structure at Fourth and Nebraska streets, which now houses the Toy National Bank and the Farmers Loan & Trust Company, two of the strongest and most influential financial institutions of this city. Mr. Toy is president of the Toy National Bank, the Farmers Loan & Trust Company, the Iowa joint Stock Land Bank and the Toy National Incorporation, as well as of his many other banks.

On June 16, 1875, at Waterloo, Iowa, Mr. Toy was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Brubacher, daughter of Washington Brubacher, a member of the firm for
which he worked for three years, the family being numbered among the pioneers of Waterloo. Mr. and Mrs. Toy celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1925. To their union were born three children, namely: Grace H., who is the
wife of J. W. Van Dyke, of Sioux City; James Fred, Jr., who now lives in Hollywood, California; and Carlton B., who is vice president of the Toy National Bank.

Politically Mr. Toy has always maintained an independent attitude, voting
according to the dictates of his judgment as to men and measures. He is a
member of Tyrian Lodge, No. 508, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Sioux City Consistory, No. 5, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; and Abu-Bekr Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was president of the Sioux City Commercial Club for several years. He is now a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Sioux City Boat Club and the Sioux City Country Club, and also belongs to the Greater City organization and to t

Randy's Donut's, Inglewood, CA

-Novelty architecture is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or simple eccentricity of the owner or architect. Many examples of novelty architecture take the form of buildings that resemble the products sold inside to attract drive-by customers.