Appropriately enough, the original Kona
Community Federal Credit Union used this coffee "shack" as
its office until 1955. It was located next to the present facility
in Kealakekua.
In 1955, we were the largest federal
credit union in the former territory of Hawaii, and also the
first to erect our own building. (Left to right) Patrick Masutomi,
Peter Hirata, Yasunori Deguchi, Mitsugi Inaba, Matsuko Onaka,
Paul Sakamoto, Nora Koyanagi, Harry Chow.
The Kealakekua branch, now a familiar
landmark to mauka residents, opened its doors on June 1, 1973.
Hard at work: In the early 1960s, credit
union staff (Lilly Ushiroda, cashier; Mitsugi Inaba, manager;
Yasunori Deguchi, assistant manager; Nora Koyanagi, secretary;
Matsuko Onaka, loan clerk; and Patrick Masutomi, field rep),
manually calculate the dividends for each share account. The
entire staff was needed to help in the process of calculating
and posting the dividends. |
|
On a windy, rainy night in 1936, a group of 10 coffee farmers sat
down in Kealakekua and drew up a charter to form their own credit
union. Because they had difficulty obtaining loans or service from
banks, this new credit union helped its first members get through
the challenges of the Great Depression and kept their farms and families
going.
Known initially as Kona Farmers Federal Credit Union, and later
expanded in 1939 as Kona Community Federal Credit Union, this credit
union was built by our community, for our community.
HCFCU's field of membership increased substantially in 1981 when
Kohala Federal Credit Union merged with us. In 1991, we changed our
name to Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union to better represent
the geographic scope of our membership. In 2000, our field of membership
opened up to the entire island of Hawaii as Paauhau Federal Credit
Union merged with us. We now serve members with offices in Kealakekua,
Kailua-Kona, Kapaau, Paauhau and Kaloko. Through our shared branching
locations on other islands, members can access these branches as though
they were their own.
Today a few charter members are still living, and we salute them.
Without them, there would not be a Hawaii Community Federal Credit
Union, now grown stronger and larger beyond their wildest dreams.
|
