There is no requirement for banks to be closed on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, but since 1983, the anniversary of MLK’s birthday has been a federal holiday.
The need for a bank being open on holidays is lessening because of Internet banking and ATMs. Bank branches in grocery stores might remain open as a courtesy to the landlord, but for the most part, closing down a business on a business day is only done because of an emergency or out of respect.
In the past, banks in Eureka Springs have unlocked their doors on MLK Day, but not posted financial transactions until the following day.
This year was different.
There are only four individuals in our 243-year history who crowd that Federal Holiday designation: Christopher Columbus, who obviously wasn’t an American; George Washington and Abe Lincoln who had their birthday holidays combined in1971; and Martin Luther King, Jr., who for the past 36 years has had the sway to stop mail delivery one day a year.
If we had our way, we’d take away Columbus’s Day and have a second MLK Day, but since we can’t, we simply thank the banks of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for making us unexpectedly proud to call this place home.