Bill OBoyle: How Christmas clubs saved the holidays
Mar. 24—With tax time in full swing, many of us are eagerly awaiting our refund checks.
And many are also dreading having to pay more to our government.
These thoughts took me back to those olden days when families lived well enough and were happy. There was plenty of food on the table and in the fridge and we always had time for a CMP, or a Cherry Coke, or a Mister Softee treat.
So I hopped into the Way Back Machine and set the GPS for mid 1960s Plymouth. And in a couple of seconds, I found myself in the bank on Main Street and the line was long.
"What's going on?" I asked a woman in line. She told me everyone was signing up for a Christmas Club.
Remember the Christmas Clubs? These accounts were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but have become less common in recent years. Today, they are more commonly offered through smaller local credit unions and community banks.
So I looked it up in the World Book encyclopedia and I found that the first Christmas Club was offered in 1909 by the Carlisle Trust Company in Pennsylvania.
So I went further, adding the Encyclopedia Britannica to my research tools.
I discovered that it is pretty reliable that the Carlisle Trust Company's then-treasurer of the company, Merkel Landis, launched the club with roughly 350 members who contributed an average of $28 each.
Now, the thinking was that a Christmas Club account would help a consumer save for the holiday spending crunch by automating deposits into the account throughout the year.
So when the holidays approached, people would cash-in their Christmas Clubs and take the money to buy gifts, like a new bike for Billy, or a Barbie doll for Suzie, or a basketball, baseball, basketball or pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All Star sneakers — yeah, all for Billy.
Maybe dad would get a couple of shirts or a new golf club or a case of Stegmaier Gold Medal beer. Mom might get a blender, or perfume, or some nice jewelry from Al Wasley's.
The point is that Christmas Clubs often saved the holidays for many families.
So as I waited in that long line to open my Christmas Club account, I had the opportunity to talk to a few younger people about what they were going to do for the summer after school was out.
"I'm going to get a paper route," Wally said.
"I'm going to work on the farm down the flats," Joey said.
"I'm going to babysit," Sandy said.
"I got a job at Golden Quality," Lem said.
Really, Golden Quality? Sounds good. Can you eat all the ice cream you want? I really love those Fudgesicles! Can you get me a job there too?
Next thing I know, I'm working the line at Golden Quality, sitting across from Lem as we packed boxes of Nutty Buddys, ice cream sandwiches and lots more. They would come down a conveyor belt and we would pack them — I think 12 to a box. It was very intricate work, especially the Nutty Buddys, because you have to make sure they were placed in the boxes in reverse position. You could never have them all facing the same way.
Like I said, it was very precise work, which explains the high salary we received — $1.25 per hour. Early retirement, here we come!
It was working out well until I started sleeping in almost every day. I was always late for work, causing delays in starting the conveyor belt, which meant the boxes were not getting packed, delivery freezer trucks weren't getting on the road on time and stores' shelves were waiting to be stocked.
Apparently all that was very important for businesses to be successful.
So after way too many late arrivals, I was told I would be fired. I pleaded for my very lucrative job and I was told to go home and come back after lunch and a decision would be rendered by the GQ High Court.
But when I got home, in the mail was a letter from the school district informing me that I was appointed as a playground instructor for the summer — more pay, fun all day and my hands would never be cold again!
I returned to GQ and I was told that after much deliberation, I could return to my job on the line. I thanked the gentleman, then told him that I quit. The look on his face is something I will never forget.
For two summers, I was a playground instructor and enjoyed every bit of it. And I still enjoyed Golden Quality ice cream — especially those CMPs.
And before I returned to 2024 in the Way Back Machine, I opened my Christmas Club — I even increased the weekly contribution.
Mom and Dad were going to love their gifts this year, I thought.
Time to celebrate with a Cherry Coke, a Tastykake and a Red's sub.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
