Good-Bye Old Friend

In the beginning, there was Creve Coeur…and it was good. That’s right, it all started in the city of Creve Coeur on Old Olive Street Road – your credit union’s first official stand-alone branch office. Since the early 1960s, this branch location served thousands of members living or working in central St. Louis County. However, as years went by, the cost of maintaining this facility became prohibitive. So, on March 31, 2009, we retired this branch location.

The decision to retire our Creve Coeur branch was not an easy one for us (and it’s not motivated by current economic conditions). This branch holds great sentimental value for members, volunteers and employees. Many of us started our credit union careers there, or have worked there at one point in time. We remember the countless members we’ve helped over the years. We also associate special times of our professional and personal lives with this branch. So, to us, this location was more than “just a branch” – it was an extension of our collective identity.

Nevertheless, we debated about the best way to continue to serve members in this area, while providing a retail experience with amenities you expect and deserve. Our solution was to first introduce a new branch location as close as possible to the existing Creve Coeur branch location. So, in 2006, we introduced the new Olivette branch – just a short drive east on Olive Street Road. While we understand some might not completely agree with our decision to retire Creve Coeur, most people understand our reasoning and appreciate the added features (i.e. drive through lanes) the new Olivette branch offers. I hope you give our new Olivette branch a try – there’s a great staff there – some of which used to work at Creve Coeur.

But, this post is supposed to be about the Creve Coeur branch, not Olivette (sorry, I just love the new Olivette branch). There’s a saying…“We do not remember days; we remember moments.” As employees working in the retail service business, this saying rings especially true. So, I thought it would be fun to share with you some thoughts and memories of real events that happened at the Creve Coeur branch throughout the years. It’s our way of saying “good-bye” to the Creve Coeur branch which will forever be special to us. Some of our memories listed below are serious, while others are just silly and still others are scary! I hope it brings a smile to your face (especially if you used to visit this branch).

–Mary Redfern (wife of Sterling Redfern, our first President) always told the story of an elderly lady whose husband had recently died and he did all their banking. She came into the Creve Coeur office to ask how to get cash out of her account. Mary explained that she could just write a check (the procedure at the time). The woman was not that used to writing checks and asked Mary who to make the check out to. Mary replied, “Either to cash or to yourself.” The woman wrote out the check and gave it to Mary to process. On the payable line, the woman had written, “Yourself.” Mary cashed the check for her.

–I will miss the Creve Coeur branch for many reasons. I’m a nostalgic type person. I had my first interview there with Donyella.

–The big vault door was VERY obstinate. You had to be precise in the way you spun the dial when doing the combination or it wouldn’t open. You had to go just the right speed; I remember one time trying it for at least 15 minutes. You want to talk about nerve wracking!! But looking back, it’s funny.

–When I began working as Sterling Redfern’s secretary, things were very different. There were only nine employees so both our loan staff and bookkeeping department (of two people) needed to have their regular work completed by 3:00 pm so they could all wait on members (mostly teachers) who came into the branch after school closed. Since we had no checking accounts at that time, we had no cash drawers or tellers. Most everything was done by check. However, we had a small cash box with about $50 in case of an emergency. We had a staff meeting each Wednesday in the conference room. At the beginning of the month, we all helped sort member statements and mail them. Right after I started working here it was Annual Meeting time, and as secretary to the President I had the assignment of printing the Annual Reports. I had to type the master copies perfectly using an old IBM Selectric typewriter, which was difficult. If the printer messed up the master, I had to start all over again. And yes, this happened. Also, I ruined several blouses by getting ink on them. I’m surprised I lasted through that first quarter of employment!

–I remember a homeless man walked downstairs to the condo (we rented space in the building next to the Creve Coeur branch for a period of time) and wanted some assistance. I was by myself, and told him I could not help except to give him a job application, so he threw the rest of his coffee and the styrofoam cup at me. Turns out, he went to the Creve Coeur branch first, they gave him a cup of coffee and told him to walk over to me (in Personnel)!

–When we expanded the back parking lot behind the branch many years ago, Mary Redfern told me I could dig up the irises that would have been covered by the new asphalt. My sister met me on a Saturday after we closed and we dug to our heart’s content. I still have those irises in my yard at home today.

–It was about ten minutes after we closed the branch and a teller noticed an elderly woman still in her car in the parking lot. We went to check it out and her late model Cadillac apparently had a high-tech security system that shorted out, locked up and shut down her car. She could not unlock or start the car. When we approached the car she was writing “help” on the driver’s window with her lip stick. We called the fire department and they managed to save the day and help her get out of the car.

–It was the end of a cold day in January 1987 and I was at my teller window balancing. After the front door was locked, a policewoman walked up and needed to enter the building. At that time, Hubert was the branch manager, and he was meeting with another employee in his office. The policewoman demanded to see the branch manager. Hubert came out of his office and approached the officer. As soon as they met, it was obvious this wasn’t one of Creve Coeur’s finest. The music started and SOME of the officer’s uniform came off. Yes, it was Hubert’s 30th birthday.

–I remember one morning before we opened, I looked out the front window and yelled, “There’s a man with a rifle outside!” We looked and there were several men with rifles outside the building. Apparently, we had set off the alarm and nobody knew it. Those were the days before we had the procedures we do now. The alarm company didn’t have our correct phone number, so it was a SWAT team outside thinking we were being robbed!

–One of the funniest things I remember was the birds in early spring. The trees, immediately outside my window, had berries on them. In the winter, these berries would freeze, then ferment. When the birds would eat the berries they got “drunk” and would then fly continuously into the windows. I’m not talking a little tipsy here; I’m talking rip-roaring frat party drunk! The effects would usually wear off by late afternoon. The birds we thought were dead would finally stand up and then fly away.

Share your thoughts, experiences or funny moments with us!

Ode to Creve Coeur
There once was a branch in Creve Coeur
Many trained inside that door.
As we continue to grow,
It's now time to let go.
Since retiring, Creve Coeur is no more.

Condo: The Condo housed Admin, HR, and Marketing at some pointCondo 2: It sits next to the Creve Coeur branch.Inside Creve: This is where the Board met so many years ago

Inside Creve 3: You're so hired...to redecorate! Dated, but effective as an HR office.Inside Creve 2: But the table in the back corner...a punitive measure?Inside Branch: Worker bees work well under the drone of buzzing honeycomb lights.Inside Creve employee kitchen: Need to meet? Pull up a chair...supply your own seat cushion.