By Frank J. Diekmann
PHILADELPHIA–There are few institutions that are as woven in and through the American fabric as credit unions, a truth that cannot just be held to be self-evident, but as July 4 is celebrated, can also seen in the names CUs use from sea to shining sea.
Credit unions track the US of A in so many other ways, as well. The credit union model is an immigrant to this country, as were the members of the first credit union chartered in America. Most of those immigrant members did not speak English, which seems appropriate, as today’s credit union community often speaks what sounds to outsiders as a foreign language of its own. And from 1776 when the country was born and from 1909 when CUs entered the world of finance in the U.S., there has been a steady tug-of-war between federal and state for both.
As the concept of cooperative finance spread, these odd little entities called credit unions grew right along with the growing country, taking root in large factories and small towns, during times of war and times of peaceful sit-ins, and during depressions and booms.
Credit unions haven’t just embodied the American ethos of pulling one’s self up by one’s own bootstraps, they have been the leather.
The American heritage of credit unions is no more readily apparent than in their names. Indeed, there are two CUs called just that, American Heritage (Pennsylvania and Georgia). And while what was once a community of more than 23,000 CUs has shrunk to around 5,000, the country’s heritage remains proudly represented in what today is more often referred to as “the brand.”
A July 4 Salute
In a salute to July 4, CUToday.info has compiled a look at just how often the founders of credit unions looked to the founders of the country and the country itself when choosing the name to put on the charter application.
Begin with the words “America” and “American.” They appear in the names of 179 credit unions, according to NCUA, starting with 1st MidAmerica in Bethalto, Ill., and concluding with United Services of America in San Diego.
In-between in the alphabet and the coasts are an American 1 (Michigan), a pair of CUs named American (California, Wisconsin), a trio called America First (Utah), America’s First (Alabama) and American First (California), although none of them were; another trio with Great American in their names; an America’s CU (Texas), an America’s Best (Alabama), a Spirit of America (Nebraska) and a Credit Union of America (Kansas).
All of them are displaying their American Pride (that CU is in Pennsylvania).
There are also credit unions with American in the name that serve the airline, as well as nurses, Christian organizations, an auto association, a bakery, a box board company, a chemical society, a coil spring manufacturer, a freight ways company, a metal hose maker, a firm that produces rivets, and a trouser manufacturer, among many others.
According to NCUA, there are also 23 credit unions with U.S. in their names, from First U.S. Community (California) to Washington County U.S. Gov’t Employees CU (Vermont).
The Melting Pot
Across the country one will also find CUs that serve sponsors whose names seem to lend themselves to some creative branding, such as American Hammered and Compaction of America, and that raise interesting possibilities, such as should American Monarch (which would seem to be a contradiction) have perhaps merged with Crown American?
In NCUA’s listings of credit union charters one also finds real-world examples of the melting pot in action, of groups that came to U.S. shores and who looked to pull each other up as they chased the American Dream. Those CUs include Hispanic American, Hmong American, Polish American, Italian American, Italo-American, Korean American Catholics, Franco American, Caribbean Americans, Chinese American, Spanish American, Russian American, Taiwanese American, Swedish American, Japanese American and Ukrainian American, among many other hyphenated entities.
The sons and daughters and other generations that followed the founders of all those CUs no doubt just consider themselves plain-old Loyal Americans (as is the name of one former CU in the NCUA database).
Other Reflections
Credit unions with the word America or American in their names are by no means the only way CUs reflect their country. NCUA shows 41 CUs with Washington in their names (although as is the case with all the names that follow, not all appear to be active), ranging from AT&T Washington to Washington Pacific.
There are also:
- In what would no doubt greatly displease John Adams, there are eight CUs with Adams in their names (from Adams County to North Adams), while there are 20 CUs named for Jefferson (from Greater Jefferson City Educational to West Jefferson S.D. Employees).
- 20 CUs have Franklin in their names, beginning with five named after counties and concluding with Stephens-Franklin Teachers (Georgia).
- 11 CUs have Hamilton in their names, from Hamilton (California) to McCabe Hamilton and Renny CU (Hawaii). There are also four named after respective Hamilton counties, as well as a number of Hamilton CUs in the NCUA database that appear to be defunct, although none are suspected of having met their demise in a duel with regulators.
- 18 CUs have Madison in their names, from four CUs named for Madison counties to Priests’ CU-Diocese of Madison (Wisconsin).
From Eagle to Abe
But it isn’t just the Founding Fathers who find tribute among credit union names. There are also:
- 28 credit unions with Eagle in their names, from American Eagle (Connecticut) to Wichita Eagle (Kansas)
- 4 with Flag in their names, from 8 Flags (Florida) to Six Flags (California)
- 2 credit unions were named after the Liberty Bell (Pennsylvania, Oklahoma), although much like the bell itself, both are inactive
- 24 named for Liberty, from 1st Liberty (Montana) to Liberty One (Texas)
- 19 with Freedom in their names, from Four Freedoms (Pennsylvania) to The Freedom (also Pennsylvania). And in-between there are five credit unions named just plain Freedom.
- 29 CUs have Lincoln in their names, from Copiah-Lincoln Educators (Mississippi) to Lincoln USDA (Nebraska).
Holiday Wishes
As noted, the directory of federally insured CUs continues to list a host of many other credit unions with some form of one of the above in their names that appear to no longer be waving their respective flags and are inactive. Some will say it’s the American Way, others an American tragedy.
But whatever your view and wherever you may be headed to celebrate July 4, whether it be a beach (25 CUs have “Beach” in their names), the mountains (53 CUs), a local park (111 CUs), or if you just plan to remain home (54 CUs), CUToday.info wishes you a happy holiday (two credit unions.)