Irwin Union Bank

A Complete Timeline Overview Of Irwin Union Bank History & Wonderful Pictures
From a million dollar bank to a billion dollars since establishment

Go here: www.irwinfinancial.com/corporate/history.htm

More Written History Details Here:

www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/52/Irwin-Financial-Corporation.html

I WORKED AT IRWIN UNION STARTING NOV 30,1961
I WORKED THERE FOR 12 YEARS IT WAS THE START OF MY CAREER
I WORKED IN THE PROOF DEPARTMENT AND AS A COMMERCIAL TELLER
WHEN THE BANK DECIDED TO GET A COMPUTER I WAS THEIR FIRST COMPUTER OPERATOR
WHEN PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ASSASINATED I WAS IN A CLASS AT THE BANK LEARNING HOW TO PROGRAM THE COMPUTER AND SPENT THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS IN VARIOUS CONVERSIONS FROM MANUAL TO COMPUTER OPERATIONS AT THE BANK

DURING MY STAY AT THE BANK THERE WERE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT I WORKED WITH AND FOR.
VIVIAN HASTINGS BOFFO STARTED THERE A FEW DAYS BEFORE I DID AND THE SHE MAY STILL BE THERE
I HOPE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE WONT MIND ME MENTIONING THEM AND I CANT NAME THEM ALL BUT THIS MIGHT REMIND OTHERS AND MAYBE MORE WILL CONTRIBUTE
HERE GOES MR LAUTHER, PAUL DINKINS, BILL FISH, BERT ENGLE , NORVAL SWEENEY,MARTIN GUTNECKT, MARVIN BOFFO, JIM LEIGH,ELDON VERSTEEG,KURT GLOGER.KATHERINE BANNISTER, RUTH HUBBARD AT THE FIRST WINDOW ,PAUL NOLTING, MR KUEHN, BOB KIRK,LESLIE HOBBS.GENEVA MEEKS. LINDA MARTIN, H RAY MOORE,SHIRLEY WILKERSON, BETTY BRUNER WILKERSON, DOROTHY EVANS,BOB NAGEL,KAREN COLDIRON,DIANE BRADLEY, AL HADLEY,DON MASCINO,MARIE JAGGERS, JOHN NASH
I KNOW I LEFT SOME OUT BUT IM GETTING OLD ER

AND FINALLY LINDA KAY KEATON WHO IS NOW MY WIFE

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT TIME FOR ME AND THE MEMORIES WILL STAY FOREVER

I THOUGHT I WOULD ADD THIS PICTURE I SAVE FROM LIVE LOCAL



IT SHOWS THE WHITE DOTS OF THE MAIN CUSTOMER CENTER OF THE BANK
I BELIEVE THIS PORTION WAS OPEN IN 1955
THE PORTION TO THE LEFT AND BACK WAS UPDATED DURING THE LATE 60'S
AT THE BACK AND DOWN THE ALLEY IS THE ERICKSON BUILDING
(IT HAS 6TH STREET ON TOP OF IT)
THE COMPTER WAS INSTALLED FIRST ON THE THIRD FLOOR, SHORTLY THEREAFTER IT WAS MOVED TO THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE ERICKSON BUILDING.
AS TIME PASSED THE BANK UPGRADED TO ANOTHER COMPUTER WHICH WAS INSTALLED ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE ERICKSON BUILDING.
WHEN THE BUILDING WAS UPDATED IN THE LATE 60'S OR EARLY 70'S, THE COMPUTER WAS RELOCATED IN THE BASEMENT OF THE NEWLY UPDATED AREA.

ITS INTERESTING THAT YOU CAN SEE THE UNUSUAL SHAPE OF THE ERICKSON BUILDING AND THE BUILDING JUST ABOVE THE WHITE DOT PORTION, THAT WAS WHERE THE INTERURBAN TRACK CAME THRU BACK IN THE EARLY YEARS.

NOTE; I DIDN'T TAKE MY OWN ADVICE
THE REFERENCE ABOVE TO THE TRACKS WERE FOR THE RAILROAD RATHER THAN FOR THE INTERURBAN.
I WAS TOLD BY MY MOM AND OTHERS THE ANGLE RIGHT OF WAY THRU THERE WAS THE INTERURBAN.
BUT WITH RICHARDS HELP AND THE THREAD ABOUT THE INTERURBAN I HAVE LEARNED IN CAME DOWN WASHINGTON STREET RATHER THAN ACROSS IT.

SINCE I ADDED SOME OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THE IRWIN UNION BANK
I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO PROVIDE SOME PICTURES TO THE VERBAL DISCOURSE

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE IRWIN FINANCIAL PEOPLE FOR ASSISTING ME BY GIVING ME THE ANNUAL REPORTS FROM 1961 TO 1973 THIS WILL BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE TO MY ITEMS AM GOING TO ADD OVER TIME


FIRST I THOUGHT I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN THERE ARE OTHER POSTS THAT MYSELF AND OTHERS HAVE ALREADY POSTED ONE OF THEM WAS LINKS TO THE CHRONOLOGICAL TIME LINE OF THE BANK

WHAT I AM GOING TO ADD IS FROM THE TIME THAT I WORKED AT THE BANK FROM 1961 TO 1973 I WILL TRY TO MAKE EACH POST SELF CONTAINED SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO EXPECT INFO FROM SOME OTHER POST.

THE FIRST JOB FOR ME WAS A PROOF OPERATOR


THE PICTURE IS AN IBM 803 PROOF MACHINE
THE YEAR WAS 1961

THIS MACHINE HAD 32 POCKETS THAT WERE USED TO AID IN THE SORTING OF ALL PAPER TRANSACTIONS THAT CAME THROUGH THE BANK EACH DAY.

AN EXAMPLE OF A TRANSACTION IS A CHECK FROM A CUMMINS WEEKLY WORKER WOULD BRING THE CHECK TO THE BANK AND ASK FOR SOME OF IT TO GO INTO HIS CHECKING ACCOUNT AND PLEASE GIVE HIM 20.00 CASH. THE TELLER WOULD EXECUTE THAT REQUEST AND THAT TRANSACTION WOULD BE SENT TO THE PROOF DEPARTMENT.

THE PROOF OPERATOR WOULD RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING
A CHECK FROM CUMMINS, A CASH-OUT TO REFLECT THE MONEY THE PERSON REQUESTED FOR 20.00, AND A DEPOSIT SLIP THAT IDENTIFIED THE CHECKING ACCOUNT OF THE CUMMINS EMPLOYEE AND THE DEPOSIT AMOUNT.

THE OPERATOR WOULD LOOK AT THE CUMMINS PAYROLL CHECK AND SELECT THE POCKET ASSIGNED FOR THAT CHECK AND THEN . PUT IN THE AMOUNT OF THE CHECK IN THE KEYBOARD
THERE IS A SLOT THE CHECK IS PUT IN AND THE ENTER KEY IS STRUCK THE AMOUNT IS CAPTURED AND THE CHECK GOES INTO ONE OF THE 32 POCKETS SELECT.

THIS IS REPEATED FOR THE CASH-OUT AND THE DEPOSIT SLIP.
THE CHECK MINUS THE CASH OUT SHOULD BALANCE WITH THE DEPOSIT SLIP OR THE PROOF MACHINE WILL STOP FOR CORRECTION.

DURING THE DAY THERE WOULD BE BETWEEN AND 10, 000 AND 30,000 ITEMS PROCESSED BY THE PROOF DEPARTMENT

ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MACHINE UNDER THE ARM REST THERE WAS A DOOR THAT SLID OPEN SO YOU COULD REMOVE THE ITEMS WHEN THE POCKET GOT FULL SINCE THERE WERE THOUSAND OF WEEKLY EMPLOYEES THE WERE A LOT OF THOSE YELLOW PAYCHECKS THAT CAME THROUGH THE PROOF DEPARTMENT.

THE FINAL FUNCTION WAS TO CREATE PAPER TAPE OF THE AMOUNTS OF THE ITEMS IN EACH POCKET. THERE WERE 32 ADDING MACHINE TAPES IN THE BACK THAT RECORDED THE AMOUNTS,

A REMARKABLE MACHINE THAT WOULD SLOWLY DISAPPEAR IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS AS THE DATA PROCESSING INDUSTRY BECAME FASTER AND MORE SOPHISTICATED.

WHEN I WORKED THERE I COULD PROCESS ABOUT 800 ITEMS PER HOUR
THE REST OF THE OPERATORS WERE IN THE 1200 PLUS RANGE
SO I WAS THE GOPHER GUY A LOT OF THE TIME
AT THIS POINT THERE WERE THREE OF THESE MACHINES.

THESE 803 PROOF MACHINES WERE ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE BUILDING THAT WAS MODIFIED LATER IN THE 60S WHEN THE GREEN WINDOWS AND THE ATRIUM WAS BUILT.

DURING THAT BUILDING TIME THE THIRD FLOOR WAS MOVED TO THE ERICKSON BUILDING ALONG WITH THE NEW COMPUTER WHICH I WILL DETAIL A LITTLE MORE LATER.

THE 803 MACHINE WAS FIRST REPLACED BY THE 1201 MACHINE WHICH WAS THE SAME MACHINE BUT HAD THE ABILITY TO PUT MICR CODING ON THE CHECKS

IBM 1201 PROOF INSCRIBER




YOU CAN SEE IT WAS SIMILAR TO THE 803 THE DIFFERENCE BEING THE WHITE AREA ABOVE THE 32 KEYS WAS A SPECIAL ATTACHMENT THAT WOULD INSCRIBE THE CHECKS AND DEPOSITS WITH MAGNETIC INK WHICH WAS READABLE BY THE COMPUTER



BOTH MACHINES WERE REPLACED BY THE COMPUTER AND AN 1203 ENCODER UNIT



THIS UNIT REPLACED THE OTHER TWO MACHINES DUE TO MAGNETIC INK CODING ALLOWED THE DISTRIBUTION TO BE DONE BY THE COMPUTER

THIS CHANGE FROM THE MULTIPOCKET PROOF MACHINE TOOK PLACE DURING THE PERIOD OF 1963 TO 1970

IN THE YEAR 1963 THESE TWO ITEMS CAME TO THE FOREFRONT OF INPORTANCE TO THE BANK
MICR ENCODED CHECKS AND IBM 80 COLUMN CARDS IDENTIFIED AS 8051 S

THE MICR PHASE FOR BANKS WAS THE INDUSTRY CATALYST THAT MOVED THEM FORWARD THROUGHTHE COMPUTER PROCESSING AGE



THIS IS A SAMPLE OF A CHECK WHERE MICR(MAGNETIC IMAGE CHARACTER RECOGNITION) IS USED

YOU WILL NOTICE THE NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE CHECK ARE FORMATED IN WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS E13 B FORMAT. THIS WAS A STANDARD SET UP BY THE BANKING INDUSTRY TO MAKE IT UNIFORM FOR ALL BANKS
THE SYMBOLS WERE USED TO DIFFERENTIATE THE VARIOUS AREAS RESERVED FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION.

THERE IS AN AREA FOR BANK ID NUMBER, ACCOUNT NUMBER,TRANSACTION CODE AREA AND AMOUNT.
EACH AREA HAS A SPECIFIC SYMBOL TO IDENTIFY IT.

AND HERE IS A SAMPLE OF THE FAMOUS 80 COLUMN IBM CARD



THE CARD WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COMPUTER OPERATION DURING THIS PERIOD BECAUSE THE COMPUTER PROGRAMS WERE PUNCHED INTO CARDS TO RUN THE PROGRAMS.
THE CARDS WERE ALSO THE METHOD TO GET THE STATIC DATA AND FINALLY THE BALANCE INFORMATION INTO THE COMPUTER.

FROM 1964 TO 1969 THE BANK HAD CONVERTED ALL MAJOR APPLICATION TO THE FIRST COMPUTER . THE BANK DECIDED TO UPGRADE TO A BIGGER AND MORE EFFICIENT COMPUTER AND THIS CONVERSION WAS COMPLETED IN 1969

THE BANK'S SECOND COMPUTER WAS A


BURROUGHS B-2500



ABOVE IS A BROCHURE PICTURE OF THE BURROUGHS 2500 COMPUTER SYSTEM






THE THREE SMALL PICTURES SIDE BY SIDE ARE SOME OF THE UNITS OF THE NEW BURROUGHS SYSTEM. THE TWO GIRLS WERE ACTUAL EMPLOYEES THAT I HAD THE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH DURING MY YEARS AT THE BANK.

THIS SYSTEM CONSISTED OF A RANDOM DISK UNIT THAT HELD 50 MILLION CHARACTERS OF DATA.
A MAGNETIC TAPE CLUSTER WHICH COULD HAVE 4 TAPES MOUNTED ON IT AT ONE TIME, A CHECK READER/SORTER WITH 11 POCKETS AND 1 A CARD READER UNIT,

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS COMPUTER AND THE FIRST ONE IS THAT YOU COULD DO MORE THAN ONE FUNCTION AT A TIME. THE SECOND AND MORE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE WAS THE BANK WOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE INTO THE FUTURE BY BEING ABLE TO SUPPLY THE WORKERS AND CUSTOMERS ON-LINE SERVICES LIKE CURRENT BALANCES IN CHECKING ACCOUNTS AND SAVING ACCOUNTS LIVE. THIS CAPABILITY WAS FIRST STARTING IN THIS YEAR IN HISTORY THE YEAR AGAIN WAS 1969.

I MENTION THIS TO FURTHER IMPRESS PEOPLE OF THE IRWIN UNION BANK'S DESIRE TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE INDUSTRIES PROGRESS INTO THE FUTURE.

IN THE LATE 1960'S THE BANK CHANGED FROM ITS OWN STYLE CREDIT CARD AND BEGAN ISSUING 'MASTERCARD' CREDIT CARD . IRWIN UNION HAD THEIR OWN CREDIT CARD SINCE 1953 SO THE BANK WAS PUT INTO A FAVORABLE POSITION WHEN IT ISSUED THE NEW CARDS BECAUSE THEY ISSUED THE NEW CARD TO ITS EXISTING CUSTOMERS.
THE BANK PROCESSED ITS OWN CREDIT CARD CUSTOMERS ON SITE.
AS TECHNOLOGY PROGRESS THE CREDIT CARD INDUSTRY BOOMED. AND THE ATM CAPABILITY WAS ON THE HORIZEN. THE FIRST STEP WAS WHAT WAS REFERRED TO AS CASH DISPENSING MACHINES.

IRWIN UNION INSTALLED ITS FIRST CASH MACHINE AT THE COLUMBUS CENTER MALL IIN 1971,




THIS MACHINE WOULD ISSUE CASH IN PACKETS OF 25.00 EACH, SO WHEN YOU GOT CASH YOU WOULD INDICATE HOW MANY PACKETS AND THE MACHINE WOULD ISSUE THAT NUMBER OF PACKETS.
AT THIS POINT IN TIME THE MACHINE COULD ONLY ALLOW AN AMOUNT UP TO A LIMIT ESTABLISHED EACH DAY BY A FILE UPDATED EACH MORNING. THE ONLINE UPDATING WAS COMING IN THE FUTURE BUT NOT YET THERE IN 1971.

Wow Moose! That would be a tense situation for anyone and bringing the cash across the street. Thanks for sharing this story.