06/15/2023
The Don’t Worry Club
This is a true tale. A Hillsboro resident presented a coin to me that appeared to be an old, enlarged copper penny. The text was clear and read “COMPLIMENTS OF THE FIRST STATE BANK HILLSBORO, TX” on the front of the coin. The following sentence encircled the rim – “MAY THE FOUR WINDS FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE HEAVENS EVER UPON YOU GENTLY BLOW.” That proper, lofty language is pleasing to the ear. ‘What is this coin?’ I pondered.
The First State Bank of Hillsboro, TX opened 1909 at the southeast corner of Waco Street and Elm Street (a building now occupied by Frenkie’s Pasta & Pizza). The First State Bank quickly merged with Hill County State Bank in 1915 and it merged again with Farmers State Bank of Brandon, TX in 1929, keeping its original name each time. The First State Bank merged into Central Bank & Trust Co. in 1931, ceasing to exist in name.
So, based on The First State Bank’s existence, we can deduce that this coin was most likely made between 1910 and 1930.
The back of the coin is much more provoking, at least at first glance. Although you cannot see it in this picture, it’s a sw****ka. Let’s contextualize it with historical significance –
For thousands of years the sw****ka has been symbolically used by Asian cultures. Even Eastern Europeans used it. This symbol was particularly important to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Like most symbols with four protrusions, the sw****ka has mostly represented balance or categorical order. Throughout human history, the sw****ka symbol was culturally co-opted, again and again, until that German guy ruined it. Yes, it’s startling, but we can appreciate that the arc of human history extends beyond the last 80 years.
So, the back of the coin is the interesting part. It depicts a sw****ka, with the text “GOOD LUCK” and “MEMBERSHIP EMBLEM OF THE DON’T WORRY CLUB.” Within the hooks of the sw****ka are the images of a horseshoe, runes, a wishbone and a four-leaf clover.
Once lived a man named Theodore F. Seward, a Yankee who made a career in all things music - playing, conducting, teaching, textbook writing and lecturing. He also peddled the ideology which produced the Don’t Worry Club.
Theodore wrote a book in 1894 titled The Don’t Worry Philosophy, or, The School of Life: Divine Providence in the Light of Modern Science. The book addresses more serious issues like the coexistence of science and divinity, but the idea of ‘don’t worry’ is what took hold; so much so that a national movement formed around the idea. Local clubs organized, the movement grew, and eventually a national Don’t Worry Club was established. The club had no initiation fee and no exclusions or requirements on who joined. The club’s rules were published in a 1901 The Hartford [KY] Herald article, and two of those rules follow: “1. Cultivate a spirit of gratitude for daily mercies and 2. Realize that worrying is an enemy which destroys happiness.”
Commerce soon capitalized on the idea of ‘don’t worry’ by marketing on it. One example was the creation and distribution of Good Luck coins for advertisement purposes. Butchers, pharmacies, lawyers, theaters, tailors, dry goods purveyors, candy makers, haberdasheries, and many others would produce them. Banks were no exception.
The backs of all Good Luck coins are generic. It is a mystery why they say ‘Good Luck’ and why these four images were chosen. Not once does it say ‘good luck’ in Theodore’s book. The fronts of these coins vary. All display a business name but some display a quote while others offer a discount with presentment of the coin. Good Luck coins were produced sometime between 1900 and 1930. By the mid 1930’s, Don’t Worry Clubs had all but disbanded.
It’s unclear if Hillsboro, TX had its own Don’t Worry Club or if local businesses simply capitalized on the movement. A 1904 article from The Waxahachie [TX] Daily Light advertises a discounted Cotton Belt train trip to St. Louis for the World’s Fair. Apparently, the trips were so well-run that the patrons called the excursions the “Don’t Worry Club Excursions.” A 1911 article from the same paper asks readers to join the Don’t Worry Club. If you joined, you could “…stop all worry as to what to get for that relative or friend for Christmas…” The article proceeds to list the many items Spalding & Macartney can sell you. A 1915 article from the same paper reads, “Comparatively few farmers belong to the Don’t Worry club; after this year’s crop is “laid by,” they begin to worry about next year.”
By the 1930’s references to the Don’t Worry Club had become comical. For example, a 1935 article from the Marion [NC] Progress sarcastically reads, “Ysabel – What is Mrs. Yapper fretting about now? Mitzi – About the paper she has to read at the meeting of the Don’t Worry Club tonight.” And a 1938 article from Washington D.C.’s The Evening Star quips, “Sometimes, when a man joins the Don’t Worry Club, the rest of his family has to look for membership in the Hard Luck Association.”
Culturally, this movement was significant. But when we consider its eventual monetization, I’m more inclined to think that what started as an ideology dissipated into a marketable idea.
It's a neat artifact. We appreciate you sharing it!
This story appeared in the Thursday, 6/15/23 edition of Hillsboro’s The Reporter Newspaper.
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