{"id":1365,"date":"2020-02-26T14:23:19","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/?p=1365"},"modified":"2021-01-21T11:35:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T16:35:48","slug":"post-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/2020\/02\/post-script\/","title":{"rendered":"By The Minutes: Post Script"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

It is now 2020 and so many things have changed since our mutual began 145 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life for our insureds was very different back then. The only means of travel was by foot or horseback. People used cash to pay for their purchases. They communicated by speaking in person or writing a letter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we drive our cars from town to town within minutes. We seldom use cash; instead we pay by checks, debit\/credit cards or EFT (electronic funds transfer).\u00a0Our communication options include phone, email, texting and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life for our mutual 145 years ago was also different. Back then, company records were handwritten and stored in a large heavy safe.\u00a0Our mutual would assess the policyholders for money to cover its property losses.\u00a0Wisconsin laws allowed each mutual insurance company to insure property in only five townships within one county. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Forward Mutual stores its records \u201cin the cloud,\u201d as we refer to our electronic file management.\u00a0It charges advance premiums to policyholders and purchases reinsurance to cover its property losses. And as of January 1, 2020, Forward Mutual is a non-assessable mutual, meaning it can insure property throughout the state of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Insurance Chapter 611).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there have been many changes! I can\u2019t help
wondering if the 35 members that formed Watertown Mutual and the 31 members that formed Ixonia Mutual could have foreseen the companies they started to be the strong and active mutual it is now 145 years later? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we celebrate the success of these two mutuals and what they are today, we must also give credit to the nine individuals who served as secretaries for Watertown Mutual and the 11 who served as secretaries for Ixonia Mutual. They kept the minutes, to be sure, but they have also served as historians and preservationists. To have 145 years of our mutuals’ minutes is amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beside the minutes, credit needs to be given to two books to which I frequently referred.\u00a0 \u201cHeritage of Ixonia\u201d by Alida and Carl Jaeger for the Town of Ixonia history and photos and \u201cThe Towns Mutual\u201d by James \u201cCliff\u201d O\u2019Donnell for the history of the town mutual industry in Wisconsin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am proud of Forward Mutual\u2019s history. I’m sure the founders and the many who served as directors and officers would be equally proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the future holds for Forward Mutual, the company minutes will continue to serve as its history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read more!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By the Minutes: Introduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1872 Watertown Mutual Founded<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1875 Ixonia Mutual Founded<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing the Capitalizing of Two Early Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mutual\u2019s First Claim<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Dairy in the Late 1800s<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1879 Early Challenges for a Young Mutual<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ixonia Mutual\u2019s First $1000 Loss<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1885 A Year of Neighbor Helping Neighbor<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes of Bylaws<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Dairy Heritage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insuring Automobiles<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taxes, War and the English Language<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting the Community\u2019s Fire Protection<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Board Directors and Their Meetings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standardization of Wisconsin Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of Electricity, Radio and Foxes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Annual Meetings Over the Years<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tumultuous 1930-1940s<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How a Major Disaster Affected Extended Coverage and Reinsurance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surviving the Big Dogs in the 1960s<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing Agents to the Mutuals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accounting Over the Years<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Centennial Anniversaries<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutual Offices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mutual Managers and Staff<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing Confidence in Financial Strength<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entering the Era of Computers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1990s, Advancement and Angst<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Start of the 21st Century<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concord and Watertown Merge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ixonia Mutual and Watertown Mutual Merge and a New Company is Formed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting the Stage, Moving Forward with a New 2020 Vision<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Forward Mutual<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post Script<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By HOWARD WIEDENHOEFT It is now 2020 and so many things have changed since our mutual began 145 years ago. Life for our insureds was very different back then. The only means of travel was by foot or horseback. People used cash to pay for their purchases. They communicated by speaking in person or writing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-history","7":"category-mutual","8":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"forwardmutual","author_link":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/author\/forwardmutual\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1365"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1762,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions\/1762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forwardmutual.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}