Over my lifetime, Greenfield has been fortunate enough to have had several banks and credit unions, enough so that residents could decide which one they wanted to use.

My first memory is of the First National Bank located on Bank Row — what a beautiful bank, especially its interior. John Dahoski, a former teller there, was so helpful to me.

Back in the 1930s, a passbook was used to tally your savings. You had to bring it with you every time you went to the bank. Some banks, such as the Franklin Savings Bank, which was where the Pushkin Gallery is now on the corner of Federal and Main streets, offered a small book-bank for its customers. Along with it was a very small key to open it and a slot to slip monetary savings inside. If I remember correctly, mine was blue. It had the name of the bank on its front cover.

Frank Keegan was the president of that bank in the early 1950s.

Nextdoor was the Franklin County Trust Co. John Haigis served as the bank’s president in the early 1950s. He also was the owner of radio station WHAI, which is still going strong in 2019. His son ran the slalom for many years. Other local banks are the Greenfield Cooperative Bank, which has two branches on Federal Street.

Another bank that I recall was called Heritage Bank. It later became part of Bank of America. My mortgage was from that bank. I had several owners of my mortgage over its 30 years.

The Bank of America branch across from the Middle School on Federal Street recently closed.

Greenfield Savings Bank at the corner of Main and Federal streets is now one of the largest and busiest banks in the area.

As you can see from this article, with Greenfield having two credit unions as well as its many banks, it never lacked in having enough places where people could keep their money safe. This is just another memory of times past in the great city of Greenfield.

Robert Bitzer, 93, of Erving is a lifelong resident of Franklin County, having been born in Greenfield. His columns are inspired by extensive photo albums and thorough collections of correspondence he has compiled over the years.