CHRISTMAS CLUB

A very Merry Christmas to my readers of this column! I thank you very much for your support and encouragement, as well as providing me with historical photos and items from Albion which help me in producing this column. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Remember when banks used to have "Christmas Clubs?" That was a common service which banks offered years ago. You would put in a particular pre-determined amount of money (25¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5, $10, or $20) each week for 50 weeks into a special savings account on a regular basis. At the beginning of December, the bank would issue you a check for the amount of your savings, and that became your Christmas money in which to purchase gifts. No doubt, this was in the days before credit cards.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a 1927 Christmas Club advertising "ink blotter" from the Commercial & Savings Bank in downtown Albion. This colorful blotter with a red border measures approximately 9 ½ x 3 ½ inches in size. In the upper right are three wise men, with mistletoe below. This blotter states that checks would be mailed around December 7, 1927. Various savings increments and payment results are listed. For example, if you paid 50¢ a week for 50 weeks, you’d get a check for $25.00. The text also states, "Interest at the rate of 3% per annum will be added to all fully paid memberships." Gosh, that’s more than banks pay for savings accounts now!

Of course, you didn’t need a "Christmas Club" to save money, but it was a disciplined way to save for a specific purpose. How many of our readers had "Christmas Clubs" while growing up?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
	Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints \| Albion Scenes \| Custom Cards \| Zazzle Gifts
	AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net \| Albion Blog \| Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net
	General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community \| General Guide — Outdoors
	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981 \| Advertise on AlbionMich.com