Ohio Woman Has Bank Account Dating Back To 1913

Jun 3, 2011, 16:32 by Sarah Long

An Ohio woman who recently turned 100 years old revealed she has been using the same bank account her father set up for her early a century ago.

June Gregg mentioned the bank account to a friend, who went on to tell the small-town bank's manager.

"That perked my ears up, because I was like, '1913?!'" said Doug Shoemaker, general manager of what's now a Huntington National Bank branch in this community, 45 miles south of Columbus, as reported by the Washington Post.

The bank found that not only was it the same account, but also that the account number changed only once, when Columbus-based Huntington acquired the plainly-named Savings Bank in the early 1980s, Shoemaker said to the Washington Post.

Gregg's father, Gilbert, a farmer who grew corn, hay, and wheat, wanted to ensure his daughter learned about savings.

"That's what he always taught us: to stay out of debt and save our money and not buy anything until we had the money to pay for it," Gregg said in an interview, as reported by the Washington Post.

With the help of the account, Gregg is comfortable in retirement even after so many years, Shoemaker said.

"I get along good because I don't have many wants," said Gregg.

The loyal customer said she never considered taking her savings elsewhere because she liked the bank, across the street from the Ross County Courthouse, the Washington Post reports.

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com, said to the Washington Post it used to be far more common for customers and families to develop long-term attachments to banks, but that was before all of today's shopping around and bank name changes.

"It seems less prevalent today because we're seeing such consolidation and so many changes in banking, and incentives for consumers to move," he said, as reported by the Washington Post.