TIGHTWAD, Mo. -- Here in this town of 63 on Missouri 7 in eastern Henry County, the cheapest thrill for frugal people is having their picture taken in front of its little bank. Don Higdon and company recently reopened Tightwad Bank, where your checks advertise your penny pinchiness to your debtors and creditors.

Come Christmas, you can also send a message to those chintzy relatives that two can play their game. You can use your Tightwad credit card.

The bank capitalizes on a charming name that once drew $2.2 million in deposits from people who live coast to coast.

This town started out as Edgewood because of its location where the edge of the prairie bumps into the woods and hills of the Ozarks. Local legend has it that the name changed to Tightwad because of a transaction over a watermelon.

It goes back to long-gone storekeeper/gas station owner Ernest Parks. A customer wanted to buy a watermelon but needed to leave it at the store until later. When he returned, Parks had sold the melon to someone else for a higher price, and the first customer proclaimed Parks to be a tightwad.

A reporter and videographer couldn't find any watermelons on a recent visit but Tightwad Café serves a fine Rueben sandwich. Down the road, the new line of souvenir shirts is out just in time for summer tourists.

Tightwad Bank is accepting new customers but its Website won't be ready until fall.  The owners say there's a delay in getting secure high-speed computer service at the bank’s remote location.  Its phone number is 660-477-3500.