MANCHESTER, N.H.-In a scene not seen in a century, credit union pioneers Alphonse Desjardins, Monsignor Pierre Hevey and Joseph Boivon all came together here to mark the 100th Anniversary of credit unions in the United States.
In this case they were being portrayed by actors in period costumes who re-enacted the opening of and first deposits into St. Mary's Cooperative Credit Association, the nation's first credit union, which is known today as St. Mary's Bank. Sponsored by Credit Union Journal and CO-OP Financial Services, along with St. Mary's, the re-enactment took place inside the very same offices 100 years to the day after which the first transaction took place. Also on hand were children playing the role of their contemporaries a century earlier making one cent deposits, often from their jobs as workers in the local mills.
In the re-enactment, Desjardins gave a speech explaining the credit union concept to an audience of parishioners in Hevey's church, St. Mary's, to which he had been invited by the Catholic priest. Boivin, the first credit union manager, talked of his role and that of the credit union.
