One day at Fire Station #1, two well dressed men from Washington DC tried to convince the fire fighters that they would save money by starting a credit union instead of paying exorbitant interest rates for loans at banks. Twelve men out of the 33 stationed there would have to invest a quarter each to start the organization. Frank Barletta threw in the third quarter, "but before it stopped spinning, the room had emptied. It took begging, pleading and a little threatening to get 12 firemen to ante up". On April 9, 1935 Houston Texas Fire Fighters Federal Credit Union was granted a federal charter by the National Credit Union Administration in Washington DC to open for business. Total assets were $3 - kept safe in a locked drawer of a roll top desk and insured by the full faith of the United States government.