America’s Credit Union Museum, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, is where the history of the credit union movement lives on. Only in the museum will you find an incomparable collection of items, materials, and media, chronicling the significant people, events, records and milestones that form and document the basis of what credit unions are and what they do.

The graying of the credit union industry is no secret. We are losing stories of those real examples of the values, philosophy, struggles and successes of credit unions with every retirement or passing. The museum, seeking a way to preserve and share those stories for generations to come, began collecting “CU Stories” from credit unions across the nation.

And then came the Coronavirus pandemic and ‘stay-at-home’ orders.

The museum used the time away to partner with the Cooperative Credit Union Association to capture and produce “Moments in Credit Union History.” These segments, sponsored by CUNA Mutual Group, feature credit union professionals sharing unique memories from throughout their careers. 

“As credit unions merge, leaders retire and the credit union system continues to evolve, we risk losing important knowledge about our history,” said Paul Gentile, America’s CU Museum Chairman and President of Merck Employees FCU. “We must preserve our history and not lose the fabric of our credit union story. We will do our part to do this through the Moments in Credit Union History series.”

“Moments in Credit Union History” launches with a three-part interview featuring Dick Ensweiler, a ‘self-proclaimed credit union enthusiast’ with over 53 years in the credit union movement. Dick recalls his beginnings days in the movement and shares his passions serving the Latino community.

According to the museum’s Executive Director, Stephanie Smith, these stories “They capture the human side of the credit union movement, telling the stories in the voice of those who were there, and we share them to inspire future credit union leaders.” 

Smith notes that 24 interviews have been completed for season one of “Moments in Credit Union History” and invites other credit union trailblazers to contact her at ssmith@acumuseum.org to share their memories and stories.