HINTON W.Va. (Hinton News) – I recently uncovered this neat piece from The First National Bank of Summers while going through a box of old documents in my basement. As with so many pieces in my collection I bought this item at a local auction. Which is one of my all-time favorite pastimes.
It was buried in one of my favorite things to purchase, which is box lots of old local paper pieces. It first opened its doors in 1895 as the Bank of Summers. Its name was later changed to The First National Bank of Summers in 1906.
It was housed in what is now the library in Hinton, which was built in 1921 under the presidency of James T. McCreery. He was president of the bank from 1906-1925. The “new” building was designed by M. Bates, a Huntington architect.
After the bank closed its doors, the people of Summers County spearheaded a campaign and bought the vacant building in 1981. The ownership was then transferred to Summers County Public Library. The building underwent extensive restoration and renovation and officially opened as the library in 1984.
I digress and turn back to the 1930s paper Santa Claus mask. It says, “Join Our Christmas Club the National Bank of Summers Hinton W.Va.” Christmas Clubs first started in 1909 by Merkel Landis, treasurer of Carlisle Trust Company in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
They became very popular through smaller credit unions and community banks. This is why The National Bank of Summers had this Christmas giveaway drawing children so their parents, and especially their mothers to come into the bank and would then face larger odds of opening a Christmas Club account.
You can just see a little kid walking out of the bank during that time to a scene like this photo of Christmas in Hinton in the 1950s; wearing a mask like this one, or going to the Christmas parade with it on. Christmas Clubs fell out of popularity in the 1970s. But you still occasionally find a local bank that still offers them.
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