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The artifact:
What I remember:
This was a very organized system to encourage thrift among grade school children. Every week, I think on Friday, the Farmers and Mechanics bank deposits were collected. The main office of the bank was in down town Minneapolis. Years later my regular bus transfer spot was right there and I stood at the feet of the extremely buff looking mascots who were on the front of the building. I vaguely recall cashing out the account when I was in high school. I have no recollection of what I did with it. It might have been enough for a couple of dates with an early girl friend.
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| His brother the Mechanic was equally macho |
What I don't remember.
Something about the dates here seems wrong. In June of 1969 I figure I had just finished 7th grade. I don't remember there being a School Deposit Program in the chaos that was Jordan Junior High. Perhaps this was an old, left over deposit card? That would explain the long gap since the last deposit in January of 1968. That would have still been in 6th grade at Lowell Elementary School.
I had also not remembered that there was a punch card. I suppose an early computer must have been involved.
I wonder what my sources of revenue were back then. I guess I got some birthday money once in a while. I remember my brother and I prowling back alleys looking for returnable pop bottles. But the latter funds were immediately reinvested in junk food.
I suppose also in the category of things I don't remember, or perhaps never knew, when did the emblem of the bank morph from the rather Bolshie looking Heroes of Labor into the little girl with the big dog as seen on the record folder and deposit card?
Wikipedia has a photo which shows the full frontage.
ReplyDeleteIt's now a Westin.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers_and_Mechanics_Savings_Bank_(1942)
And F&M's previous headquarters is now a strip club...
"The walnut-paneled main banking hall of the building is now the lobby of the hotel. The taller wings of the building once held offices, but now house 214 hotel rooms.[2] The hotel conversion preserved several historic features of the bank building. The main banking lobby with a 34-foot (10 m) high ceiling, marble staircase, and carved wood emblems have been retained. The bank's boardroom on the 10th floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows, is now a conference room. The original bank vault on the lower level is also a conference room, while the former safety deposit vault is now a wine vault and the entire bank has been made into a restaurant, called B.A.N.K. The restaurant kept as much of the original woodworking from the actual bank as possible. Former offices now serve as private dining rooms and the teller counter now serves as a bar.[3][4]"