In February 1984, a “Whistler’s Answers” feature in the Whistler Question asked residents “Are your banking transactions made overly complicated because there’s no bank in Whistler?” Before the summer of 1984, there was no permanent financial institution in the resort, which could make banking more difficult than usual for residents and even visitors. Over time, we’ve heard many stories about banking (or not) in Whistler at the museum, such as the race completed by Whistler Mountain employees on payday to make it to Squamish before the bank there closed.
Two of the stories we’ve heard from longtime residents concern bank robberies, both occurring at the trailer the Bank of Nova Scotia (now known as Scotiabank) operated near the base of Whistler Mountain for a time in the 1970s. It seems the trailer operated as part of the Pemberton branch and, though it did not offer all the services one might expect to find at a bank, local residents could cash cheques there, avoiding a drive to either Pemberton or Squamish.
According to one tale, one or two people in Vancouver who were acquainted with some Whistler residents decided they were going to rob the bank. They drove up the highway, went into the trailer, held up the teller (though it is unclear what, if anything, they used as a weapon), and escaped with the money, though there was apparently at least one customer who recognized them. While it might have seemed like a simple robbery to plan, the thieves forgot to make a plan to get out of Whistler. With only one road in and out, the bank called the RCMP in Squamish, who set up a roadblock on the highway and apprehended the thieves.
The second story of a bank robbery in Whistler was even more straightforward. As the bank was located in a trailer, someone reportedly decided to hitch it up to their truck and drive away with it. Unfortunately for them, there was no money kept on the premises, and the bank was found abandoned but intact relatively close by.
Though the Bank of Nova Scotia did offer some services in the trailer for a few years, it was not until June 1984 that a financial institution opened an official branch in Whistler. The North Shore Community Credit Union (NSCCU; known today as BlueShore Financial) opened in the Blackcomb Professional Building in Village Square on Saturday, June 2. Although credit unions are not the same as banks, the NSCCU provided residents with many of the same services, including chequing, RRSPs, mortgages, and loans. With four full-time and two part-time employees, the NSCCU planned to be open five days a week (Tuesday to Saturday) and was also planning to install an ATM. It was the seventh branch of the NSCCU to open and the first outside of the North Shore and West Vancouver. For visiting NSCCU members, the opening of a Whistler location was also very convenient.
The financial institution was well received by the community. Businesses and organizations such as the Whistler Resort Association and both mountains took advertisements out to welcome the NSCCU, and there was a very good turnout at the opening. The NSCCU also encouraged residents to become members by offering a chance to win either a season’s dual mountain ski pass or a summer of windsurfing. Though all members from any branch were eligible to enter the competition throughout June, it was two Whistler residents, Fred Lockwood and Heather McInnis, whose names were drawn by Willie Whistler at the beginning of July.
The NSCCU did not remain in its Village Square location for long. Over a weekend in December 1984, everything in the branch (including the safe) was moved to its current location on the Village Stroll. Over the past 40 years, other financial institutions have opened branches in Whistler, though none as portable as the Bank of Nova Scotia’s trailer.
