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INUVIK - The CIBC Inuvik branch celebrated with the community this past month.

The branch, known as #03999, has been a part of the community since 1958.

This is the Inuvik bank in 1958, when the branch opened. In honour of the town's 50th anniversary, the bank donated money to the community greenhouse. - photo courtesy of CIBC

To commemorate the event, the bank held an open house and had some giveaways for the community.

The Inuvik greenhouse society received a cheque for $2,500 towards programming.

Garden society chair Amanda Joynt said the donation is welcome and thanked the bank for their support.

"We are very fortunate to have CIBC in our community supporting the charitable sector," said Joynt.

"Their financial support to the society is yet another example of their interest in enhancing lives in our community."

Bank manager Barb Deslauriers said the bank is proud to serve the community and wants to stay a part for generations to come.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to provide financial services to our clients since 1958," said Deslauriers.

Deslauriers has been with the Inuvik branch since 2002 and has been with the bank for the past 25 years.

"CIBC believes in giving back to the communities where we live and work. We are proud of the role played by the bank and our employees in supporting community organizations that serve Inuvik and the whole Mackenzie Delta area. It is our pleasure to make this donation today to the Community Garden Society of Inuvik."

The original location of the bank was not on Mackenzie Road as it is known now.

When the community was first starting to gain momentum, the bank's location was on what is now Veteran's Way.

Elder Elijah Allen remembers the branch office back in the late fifties.

Allen said he recalls his work would always keep him from visiting the bank himself.

"I was working out at the airport at the time," said Allen. "I could never get to the bank while it was open."

Allen said with the help of friends and family who were closer to the location of the bank, he got his banking needs dealt with.

Allen remembers the old site for the bank, when it was located near the river, along with other Inuvik staple businesses.

"Hudson Bay was also near there at that time," said Allen. "It was a small town then."

In 1959, the school opened in Inuvik, which meant a change in the layout of the town.

"When the school opened, it was the same year as the Mackenzie hotel," said Allen. "That was the year the bank moved to main road."