HANCOCK COUNTY — When COVID upended Greenfield Banking Company’s plans to throw itself a birthday party for its 150th anniversary this year, bank executives decided to turn lemons into lemonade.
In lieu of an expensive celebration, they opted to instead give $10,000 to each of the four Hancock County school foundations: for the Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and Southern Hancock schools.
Leaders from each corporation attended a luncheon at the bank’s main branch on July 27 to receive the checks.
“We couldn’t be happier about it,” said George Philhower, superintendent for Eastern Hancock schools.
“This is an incredibly generous donation towards the education of the young people in Hancock County,” added Dr. Lisa Lantrip, superintendent of the Southern Hancock schools.
It’s up to the individual school foundations to determine how the money will be spent, said Renee Rupley, the bank’s vice president of marketing, “because they’re more in tune with what the needs are in each school system.”
Renee Oldham, executive director of the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation, said the funding comes at the perfect time, as the foundation is celebrating its 15th anniversary.
“Since it’s our anniversary, we wanted to take the opportunity to do some additional enhancements and some additional programming, and this will allow us to be able to do some of those things that we’ll all be talking about in upcoming months,” said Oldham, who was elated when she first heard of the bank’s gift.
“We were thrilled by their generosity and their commitment to support not only our school system, but all four school systems in the county.”
Rupley said the bank had been planning a number of different anniversary events over the past year before COVID made directors second-guess holding public gatherings, even canceling the long tradition of the summer concert series, Entertainment on the Plaza, for the past two years.
“We don’t want to create super-spreader events,” she said.
Instead, bank officials sought employees’ input as to the best way to commemorate this year’s big milestone without a party.
Once the idea to gift $10,000 to each school system was discussed, bank officials and employees were sold on the idea, Rupley said.
Despite the lack of a formal celebration, Rupley said the bank’s 150th anniversary is a very big deal.
“There’s not too many banks, or companies for that matter, that have been around for 150 years. I think that alone is a huge accomplishment, especially for a community business,” she said.
Rupley has been educating the community about the history of Greenfield Banking Co., posting a series of facts on social media detailing the bank’s timeline.
The information series runs through Sept. 4, which is the date the bank was founded in 1871.
Rupley’s first post shared how that year, “five farsighted businessmen in Greenfield recognized the need for a bank in their town. These gentlemen formed a stock company for the purpose of carrying on a banking business.”
The bank held firm when financial panic swept the nation in 1873, and later played an instrumental role when the “gas boom” came to town in 1887, helping to bring a variety of businesses to town throughout the 1890s.
“The bank has such a rich history of helping make Greenfield what it is today,” Rupley said.
Ginny Brown, executive director for the Greenfield Central School Foundation, said the bank’s decision to donate $40,000 to local schools in honor of its anniversary speaks volumes about its role as a long-standing community partner.
“By investing in Hancock County students, our county’s future leaders, they have shown that real community isn’t just based on proximity but on purpose. Community is what connects us and allows us to move forward together,” she said.
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Greenfield Banking Co. is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
The bank was founded on Sept. 4, 1871.
Tidbits of information from the bank’s history are being shared on its Facebook page each day through Sept. 4.
A few highlights so far:
-In 1871 five businessmen recognized a need for a bank in town, and formed a stock company to serve the community.
-In 1873 financial panic swept the nation, yet the fledgling bank held firm and continued to pay deposits as usual.
-In 1876, Greenfield was incorporated as a city and Greenfield Banking Co. moved into its current downtown home on Main Street.
-In 1887, the “gas boom” came to Greenfield and gas wells sprung up all over Hancock County. Local leadership recognized the opportunity to bring new industries to Greenfield, an effort that was aided by the local bank, which helped usher in a variety of businesses throughout the 1890s.
-By the mid 1890s, Greenfield’s economy was flourishing and its population grew. In 1898, the bank reorganized and incorporated as a state bank. Before the end of the century, electricity lit the brick streets downtown and the county courthouse was built across the street from the bank.
-In 1900, an interurban line between Greenfield and Indianapolis was completed and mail deliveries began in Hancock County. The bank launched its first promotion by giving customers special banks to encourage saving.
-In 1909, Nelson Bradley retired as the bank’s first president after 38 years at the helm.
Source: Greenfield Banking Co.
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