Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 33 can put it into building a house. Then if he has not enough, they will loan him the sum, and he will start out over again with new shares. If a man here in Windsor Locks wished to buy a house costing $4,000 he would go through the following procedure. First the local association would approve of his purchase and advance him $3,000. The association will loan as much as in the judgment of the directors seems to be safe, which is not less than one-half, and usually more than one-half of the appraised value of the property. At this transaction he hm’onu ' s a borrowing member and is given ten shares (at $200 per share), so that he can nay back the loan. He pays each month the same as a lending member, but an extra $10 per month to apply on the interest at 6% (6% on $3,000 is $180 per veer and $15 per month). The full amount each month is $10 to apply toward the principal ( 1.00 per share for ten shares) plus the 15 interest. Every three months 10 c per share is paid to help to nay the un¬ keen of the association. This would make «• ■ editions! dollar every three months on fen shares. A share is supposed to mature in about 139 months or ghout 11% years. After the shares mature the borrower is given a quit claim deed releasing the mortgage. The lending member pays the same wav but, does not have to pav anv interest. When the shares mature they are worth 100 . For a borrowing member the monthly payments will be slightly larger, perhaps, than ordinary rents. Rut remember — after those few vears of slightly higher r«nt bills vx u will not have t.o osy rents! Then von can look with svmp tbv at v«ur neigh¬ bor’s house an ' i c a ' r “Whv didn’t he do as I did? Tf he bad he would also own his own home. As it, is now he can never fix it up as he wants it. while T can suit mv own fancies as to repairing and decorating Ho still has to oav rent with nothmer t show for his haH-eprned money, while 1 have my own cosv home.” A«ido from its being a thrifty and eco¬ nomical thing to r P t your homo through the Budding and Loan, it, is also a great ascot to a town to have home-owners rsther than home-renters A home-owner nlwxvs tskoc m i«h v r no interest in town •,fr«irs the school-!, politics, improvements. and such, than the home-renter who is always in constant dread of having to move. The renter usually lives in a place long enough to get very much interested in it. People also take much more pride in the way their homes appear if they own them themselves. The Building and Loan Association would be a fijne thing for a High School boy or girl to invest in. If he takes out a share when he enters the High School and pro¬ vided he continues his education through college, he will have something to start him out in the world at the time when it is most needed— at the beginning of his career. A great benefit which is derived through the Building and Loan Associa¬ tion is the habit of saving. If a man be¬ comes a borrowing member he has to pay a certain fixed sum at a certain date. He gets so in the habit of saving this, that after the debt is paid, he still saves the sum each month because he has found out that he can get along without spending it. Before he knows it, he has a share paying him dividends. Men and women, take this advice and you will never fegret it. Go, the next time the Building and Loan meets, and make appli¬ cation for either a loan or a share. Put down in your memorandum calendar so that you will be sure to romember it. It has been said that opportunity knocks hut once. That proverb was composed for the benefit of the pnonle of a century ago. Opportunities have changed the same as everything else has changed. They how ' - evpr. have changed for the hette ’. One of the h« st opportunities to-day is to be t-npri in the Building and Lean Association. nRASP IT! Elizabeth Jackson, ’26. - (o) - BUILDING, LOAN AND AND SAVINGS ASSOCIATION. Second Prize. The office door of the firm “Winslow Co.” slowlv onened. and th« office boy poked his head in saying, “Mr. Winslow, that same man is here again, and he in¬ sists unon seeing you this time.” “Well, ‘for goodness sakes,’ show him in

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32 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD EXCHANGE COLUMN We acknowledge the following ex¬ changes: “Enfield Echo,” Enfield High School, Thonipsonville, Connecticut. “Senior,” Westerly High School, Wester¬ ly, Rhode Island. “Central Recorder,” Central High School, Springfield, Massachusetts. “Somanhis Events,” South Manchester High School, South Manchester, Connecti¬ cut. “The High School Herald,” Westfield High School, Westfield, Massachusetts. “The Commercial News,” Commercial High School, New Haven, Connecticut. “The Legenda,” Williams Memorial In¬ stitute, New London, Connecticut. “Students Review,” Northampton High School, Northampton, Massachusetts. “Tunxis,” John Fitch High School, Wind¬ sor, Connecticut. “The Nutshell,” Stonington High School, Stonington, Connecticut. “The News,” Wilby High School, Water- bury, Connecticut. “The Mercury,” West Springfield High School, West Springfield, Massachusetts. “The Chronicle,” Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford, Connecticut. “The Green and Brown,” Emerson High School, Flagstaff, Arizona. BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION ESSAYS. THE BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION. First Prize. The Building and Loan Association might be termed a verb with a subject and an object. The subject or underlying prin¬ ciple is co-operation and the compound oo- ject or result is thrift and content. The Building and Loan Association was first started in England during the early years of the 19th century. This great or¬ ganization would never have existed had it not been for a handful of thinkers who were trying to devise some plan by which the common wage-earner could be made more contented and their living conditions bettered. Upon investigation they found that the people were willing and eager to save, but did not know how to invest their savings safely and wisely because of the many “get rich” schemes which were prev¬ alent at that time. The plan which was first drawn up in England was that there be fifty share¬ holders in each Association, holding shares valued at a certain sum. The Association would build a house each time that it had collected enough money from the sharehold¬ ers. This would go to one of the fifty who would keep on paying in his money until the house was paid for, at which time the house and land was deeded over to him. In England living was found so much better in towns where such an organisa¬ tion existed that the plan soon spread. The first one of its kind in America was started at Frankford, Pennsylvania, in 1831. Not only are there shareholders but there are also borrowers. A man might wish to buy a home, but, not hvaing the money on hand, has to borrow. A person almost invariably winces at the idea of a mortgage or anything which might suggest one. This being the case, he still has the Building and Loan Association to fall back on, which is truly a stable support. First- if he is not already a member, he must take out shares and apply for a loan, his application going before the Board of Di¬ rectors for approval. If it is approved the Association will then loan him part of the money which will be needed for the pur¬ chase. For this loan he will pay the same as regular stockholders do, plus interest at 6 % until the amount is paid. He will then be given the deed of the property in his own name. When the loan is made, the borrower gives the association a first mortgage upon the property as security for the loan. If, however, he already has shares in the association, which have not reached their maturity, he may pass them in and will get his money back, so that he

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34 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD and maybe we can get rid of him after a while.” So the man was ushered in, and going over to Winslow, shook hands with him, saying, “As you probably know, I repre¬ sent the Building, Loan and Savings Asso¬ ciation. I thought perhaps I could inter¬ est you in this matter. First, let me tell you something about the history of this organization. “The first building association estab¬ lished in America was organized at Frank- ford, Pennsylvania, now a suburb of Phil¬ adelphia. Among the gentlemen most active in its organization were: Dr. Henrv Taylor, nnd two manufacturers nanrux . Samuel Pilling and Jeremiah Horrocks. These gentlemen had gathered some in¬ formation regarding the plans and methods of such institutions of this kind, which were being onerated in England and think¬ ing that such an association might be of use in th s countrv they laid th«ir nlans • «foro Jpsse V. Castor, a lawyer, and Isa ' Schallcross, a conveyancer. As a result there was organized on January 3 1831 . an acsoeiatjon called the ‘Oxford Provident Building Association of Frankford.’ “This was found to K o su ’( S ' ! . and conseouentlv other towns have organised similar institutions.” “Well, what is a building association ?” interrupted Winslow. “A building association is a mutual, fi¬ nancial institution, usually operating und r articles issued by the state, and made un of members who have thus organized! themselves for their own benefit and finan¬ cial advantage. The member hin of a building association may b« divided into two classes—the saving members and the borrowing members. The saving members use the association as a savings bank. That is, they deposit regularly, such sums as they are able to snare from their wages or other incomes. The borrowing members use the association as a place where they can borrow some amount of money to use in buying, repair¬ ing, or building a home. Now. for instance, if you should decide to build a home, a committee from the association to which you belong, would inspect your lot and nlace a value upon it. The association will loan not less than one-half, and usually more than one-half of the anpraised value of the lot and house. The borrower then gives the association a first mortgage upon the property as a security for the loan. The borrowing members pay the same amounts as the saving members, until they receive their loans. Then they pay the interest on the loan besides their regular dues. The saving members wait until their shares mature before they receive the whole paid-up value of their shares, while the borrowing members draw the paid-up value of their shares in advance. Every six months-” “Wait a minute,” exclaimed Winslow, “I want to see if I have this straight— Now if I should join the association as a saving member, I would put into this asso¬ ciation, any amount that I can spare, and if I join as a borrowing member 1 can bor¬ row from this association enough money to build or repair a home? If I am a borrowing member, I draw the whole value of my shares in advance, while if I am a saving member I must wait until my shares mature before I get the whole value of the shares. Is that right?” “Exactly, and as I was saying, every six months the earnings of the association are reckoned and distributed to the accounts of the members, and equal percentage be¬ ing distributed to each share-holder, wheth¬ er he is a saving or a borrowing member. So you see, it deals to all alike. A new series is opened every six months, in August and February, numbered from Series 1 up, and so, in about 11V6 years from the beginning, it is expected that these series will mature, one each six months. As these series mature, the sav¬ ings members will be paid in cash, and the borrowing members will receive quit-claims of their mortgages; that is, they are under no obligations to the association, but really own their own homes now.” “Pardon me,” interrupted Winslow, “but what is the purpose of a building associa¬ tion ?” . “The aim and purpose of a building asso¬ ciation is to encourage and help its mem¬ bers to learn and practice thrift by regular savings, and to find ways and means by which every family may r own its own home. You see, an association of this kind, is interested in having people owning their own homes. You know for a fact, that a