In an era when women did not yet have many legal rights (including the right to vote!), Canton Co-operative had woman shareholders - as customers were called in those more formal days - including “school teachers and shop girls,” to quote George Comeau’s column again.
(Given the Bank’s history of valuing women and their contributions, it’s probably not a coincidence that our former President, Debby Kreusch, was one of the first women bank presidents in Massachusetts.)
In the 1890s, community banking was a new idea. Our first President, Ephraim Thorndike, was the publisher of a local newspaper, the Canton Journal. He felt it was so important for Canton to have a local independent bank that he started writing front-page editorials talking about banking and the value of having fair place to borrow and a safe place to save right here in town. “How Banks Do Business – Things That Look Mysterious Easily Explained” was the title of one.(And - given the Bank’s history of wanting to explain banking and finance in clear language - it seems particularly appropriate that our current President and Canton native, Nick Maffeo, writes a monthly column called Smart About Money for the Canton Citizen.)
At the end of his history of the Bank, George Comeau wrote that perhaps “the greatest asset” of Canton Co-operative is “the legacy of families that were given the opportunity to buy a house and settle down with families that have yielded the town of Canton we know today.”
Thank you, George, for those kind words. And we plan to continue to be a bank worthy of that legacy for many years to come.”
Celebrating our 125th Anniversary in 2016, Canton Co-operative Bank is located in downtown Canton at 671 Washington Street, Canton, MA 02021. The main phone number is 781-828-8811.