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Lake State Federal Credit Union's History
The purpose of this section is to describe the process in which an idea held by a few people in 1939 developed into our present credit union of about 16,000 members.
Our Credit Union, like all Credit Unions, was formed by people wanting to help themselves and their neighbors. That cooperative philosophy has sustained us since 1939, and now it is your responsibility to maintain that philosophy.....you have taken on a very worthwhile endeavor.
Needing a source of credit, members of the Moose Lake Cooperative Association formed our credit union in 1939. With the help from the Minnesota League of Credit Unions and officials of the Kettle River Co-op Credit Union, application was sent to the Minnesota Commissioner of Banks to form the Moose Lake Co-op Credit Union January 24, 1938. Seven people each contributed $5 to create the original assets of the Credit Union. The Certificate of Organization was officially approved February 3, 1939. Twenty-seven members attended the organizational meeting of the Moose Lake Co-op Credit Union meeting on January 30, 1939 to elect a board of Directors. The maximum share investment was set at $500 per member, with a maximum unsecured loan amount set at $25, and secured loans $250 with a 9% interest rate.
The Credit Union officially opened for business February 6, 1939 with Merle Pulling as the Secretary/Treasurer. The board position of Secretary/Treasurer had the same responsibilities as today’s President of the Credit Union. Pulling managed the Credit Union, the Co-op gas station and hardware department of the Co-op store. He kept all Credit Union records in a tin box under the counter at the gas station. Merle served in that capacity until he moved to another Credit Union in Floodwood in 1951.
Carl Wells, the first president of the Credit Union, (the Credit Union President was equivalent to today’s chairman of the board) devoted most of his adult life to the Moose Lake Federal Credit Union. He was president from 1939 to 1957, and then he was Secretary/Treasurer from 1957 to 1966. The Credit Union assets doubled the first year he served as Secretary/Treasurer, and the membership grew by over 1,000 members under his management to a total of over 1,300 members when he retired in 1966.
To start a financial institution by having a handful of people each contribute $5 is a monumental task. It is obvious that it takes many people to make a viable Credit Union, but it is just as clear, that our Credit Union would not be where it is today without the leadership and dedication displayed by Carl Wells and Merle Pulling.
During the 1940’s and the 1950’s, the credit union slowly began to take shape. In 1949 we merged with the Kettle River Co-op Credit Union. The credit union moved into larger quarters in the co-op store as more space was needed. In 1954, the credit union office was open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 P.M. except during the lunch hour. In the late 60’s the credit union found a home of it’s own in a building located at 317 Elm Street.
The purchase of an office machine in 1959 was the first mechanical aid that was used to help with the ever-increasing volume of paperwork that had, up to this date, been handled entirely by hand. Ellen Isaacson was the first part-time employee hired for clerical help in 1960. In June 1966, David Misukanis was hired as the first manager of the Credit Union who was not also a member of the board of directors.
In February 1970 , the Credit Union changed from a State to a Federal charter. The name was changed to the Moose Lake Federal Credit Union and the membership area was extended to include everyone who lived within 15 miles of the Moose Lake Post Office, not just members of the Moose Lake Cooperative Association.
The credit union experienced phenomenal growth in the 1970’s due to three major changes. The National Credit Union Administration insured the savings of the credit union members for the first time. Prior to that time, member’s savings were not insured by the federal government. Share draft accounts were introduced which made the credit union a legitimate full-service financial organization and the field of membership was expanded to include people living in 15 townships in Carlton County and all of Pine County in November, 1976. Continued growth led the credit union into a new building at 304 Elm Street in 1975. That building was soon too small for the growing business and another new building was constructed at our present location in January of 1983.
The charter expansion of our Credit Union in 1976 has caused our Credit Union to evolve into a financial institution for the southern half of Carlton County and all of Pine County, not just the Moose Lake area. To better serve our Pine County members, we opened a branch office in Sandstone in May, 1985. Due to the broad support we received in the Sandstone area, we constructed our present facility in Sandstone in 1990.
An advisory committee was formed November 11, 1991 to give our members in southern Pine County better representation. October 20, 1994 our first annual membership meeting was held in Sandstone. The purpose of this meeting was to elect members to the advisory committee and also the Sandstone and Hinckley Credit Committees.
May of 1992 we opened up an office in Hinckley, and to meet the needs of the growing Hinckley area, we built our present office in Hinckley December of 1995.
January 1, 2000 our name changed to Lake State Federal Credit Union to better describe our field of membership.
July of 2000 we opened an office in North Branch. As of July 2002, our North Branch office had 2500 new members. By December 2004, we had opened over 4900 new accounts
In January 2005, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) approved our expanded field of membership to include Isanti, Kanabec, Aitkin and northern Carlton Counties. Our new field of membership in the East Central Region of Minnesota now includes Aitkin, Carlton, Chisago, Kanabec, Isanti and Pine Counties
To meet the needs of our expanded field of membership, we opened a new office in Isanti in July 2007.
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