Tools

“It was a cold night in February 1936 when we organized in a room on the first floor of the telephone company building at 17 South Fairchild Street in Madison. It was cold inside, too. Mr. F. Ennis, manager of the local exchange in Madison, took to heart the admonition of his superiors to conserve fuel. We were still in the depression days. Our first employee, John Cash, was a man of courtly manners and well into his sixties, pipe smoking and serious about his job. He was proud to be associated with us even though his wages were next to nothing. Charlie Hyland of CUNA Mutual Insurance assisted us in getting off on the right foot. Not only did we take in money the first night, but also granted the first loan to Nick Guerten. At 9:30 p.m., we turned out the lights, slapped our hands together several times to re-establish circulation, and headed home satisfied with our work.”

— Axel Lundstrom, HCU’s first chairman, recalling the night the credit union was organized in 1936.