Scotland Credit Association staff in 1989: Betty Burroughs, Virginia Chriscoe, Doris Ingram, Millie McMillan and Jim Hunt.

In the early 1960s, options for financial services were often limited for families in rural areas. That began to change in Scotland County, North Carolina when the textile industry moved in, bringing new jobs, new opportunities and a new credit union for employees. Scotland Credit Association (the company avoided the word “union”) was formed in 1964 to serve local textile workers, and the great majority of them were members.

In 1998, Scotland expanded its service to the entire community. In 2005, the credit union merged with us at Self-Help Credit Union. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today we are releasing a short, seven-minute documentary—Finding a Place Called Home—as a tribute to that history. The video includes interviews with former credit union employees and former textile workers.

One of the people featured in the video is Eva Hines, who used to run machines for the textile company J.P. Stevens. Before Stevens closed, Eva had hopes for buying a home. Times were hard for a while, but Eva was persistent about finding new work and building a new life. This year, with a Self-Help loan, she finally moved into her new home.

This video is part of our ongoing series on the histories of credit unions that have merged with Self-Help in recent years. Check out previous videos at Stories from Self-Help’s Vault.

Eva Hines and her son enjoy their new home in Laurinburg, NC.