Celebrate A Half-Century and Still Going Strong
Where were you in 1954?
The question is important because this year OLGH Credit Union celebrates 50 years of helping our fellow parish members become more financially secure. In that year, as the parish was forming, a number of far-sighted individuals, with the encouragement of the pastor, Father Fisher, decided to form a credit union for the members of the parish.
Parish credit unions were quite common in the Milwaukee area in the post-war years of the 50s and 60s. As many of the central city parishes closed or changed significantly, the parishes credit unions quietly closed or merged. There are now only two Catholic parish credit unions still operating in the Milwaukee area. – Our Lady of Good Hope and Holy Redeemer (now Holy Trinity). Parish credit unions still exist in other parts of the state – Racine, Sheboygan and some areas of the Fox Valley and some cities in western Wisconsin.
In other parts of the country, church affiliated credit unions are more common. Many of them have grown beyond their original membership and are strong regional credit unions, appealing to many diverse populations.
During that first year we opened almost 60 accounts. Five of those members from that first year are still members with us. We thank these members for their loyalty to our Credit Union.
Over the years we’ve opened over 2,500 accounts for our members. We also helped the parishioners at St. Nicholas Parish, by merging their credit union into ours.
Watch for additional historical information on the Credit Union in future newsletters this year.