June 12,1914: What a year!

Little boys and teenage youths shot gophers and collected 3 cents for each tail.

Pigs sold for 5 3/4 cents a pound.  A hired man earned $1.25 a day, working from dawn to dusk.

Beginning in August of 1914, Canadians went to fight in the First World War. 

- 624,000 Canadian troops went overseas, 62,500 died in the war.      

Lloydminster was two communities.  There was a Saskatchewan town and an Alberta village.  Each organized its own municipal affairs.  Each had its own fair; Saskatchewan in August, Alberta in October.  The people danced and had their social functions in Wood’s hall, where the Heritage Centre is now.  They sang songs such as “Tipperary” and “Redwing”.

 1903 - Archie Miller’s dad and uncle built the first store, and lived in a covered sleigh until it was finished.  Then they lived over the store until Cummings and Cameron bought the store.  The Miller’s built a house where the C.P.R tracks now lie.  In order to lay the tracks the basement had to be filled in.  Archie Miller lived in a tent for 13 years, where the Co-op lumberyard now stands. 

 The second store built was H.B. Hall’s store. 

 On Church St., which is, 50^th St. now was the Baptist Church and the Old log Minster Church.  There were two hotels on the street, the Royal George and the Britannia.

 The banks in the small town were The Bank of Commerce and the Royal Bank of Canada.  People had little cash money yet there was a lot of produce on hand.

 There had to be some changes due to this situation.

 The First Co-operative:

The Barr Colonists knew all about co-operation.  Co-operative enterprises had been in England for 60 years.  They couldn’t have come on this venture to Canada and begin settling here without co-operation.  

The first co-op was very different from the one we have in Lloydminster now.  It was a project to make goods available to the people.  Two men organized the colonists into a co-operative. They were Nathaniel Jones and William Riddington, an immigration officer sent by the government to look after the people.  Food, farm equipment and building materials were the supplies they needed. 

The colonists were displeased with Mr. Barr as their leader and requested that Reverend Lloyd take his place.  He told them they could stop trading at Barr’s store and start their own.  “This is a free country.  Supplies came in from Saskatoon by ox wagon and then by horses which got them here faster.  They dispensed with Barr’s store with the help of Jones.  Miller’s store opened, followed later by W. H. hall.  The first Co-operative ceased to exist.  However co-operation was very much alive.  It was on the minds and in the hearts of the settlers.  Bush clearing and land breaking were heavy work and were made easier by co-operating. 

 When the colonists had grain and cattle to sell there was no organized method to market them.  This meant no money to buy supplies or equipment they needed.  There was no railway and no assistance from the government to help them sell their goods.

 By 1910 Greenwood and Blackfoot areas were talking about socialist ideas.  Prime Minister Laurier came to Lloydminster.  Stanley Rackham and Hollingsworth represented Greenwood to talk with him about terminal elevators, the Hudson Bay Railway, co-operative legislation, refrigerated cars (chilled meats) and locker plants.  The communities wanted federal legislation to allow organized co-operatives.  Already, the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association sold to the settlers bulk items, such as: binder twine, lumber, fence posts, nails and formalin.  The goods would be dumped in a farmer’s yard, and everyone came to pick up his order. 

 January 22, 1914, at a meeting at the North Battleford Annual Convention of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association there was a request made for the Saskatchewan Legislature to pass a bill calling for the establishment of wholesale and retail co-operative associations.  George Penson canvassed Lloydminster neighbourhoods to see what support there was for a local co-operative association.  In February, the Saskatchewan Legislature passed its Agriculture Co-operative Association Act.  On April 6, 1914, all local associations were notified to send two delegates to a convention at Greenwood School.  On Friday, June 12, the school yard was filled with saddle horses, buggies and carts bringing farmers from the Greenwood and North Gully districts.  W. G. Foote brought 8 or 10 delegates from Southminster in his wagon.  They traveled 14 miles in two and one half hours.  Twenty four people were there that day.  A memorial plaque hangs in the office of the Co-op store commemorating those founding members.          

Stanley Rackham was elected chairman.  He knew the advantages of having a Co-op in the district.  He knew the farmers’ cash flow was insufficient due to the uncertainty of good crops.  They couldn’t buy what they needed unless they were given credit.  Waiting until they sold their produce meant the prices would be higher or the goods unavailable. 

 The advantages, he told the farmers were:

- being able to exchange cattle and hogs for food and clothing

Mr. Penson moved and Mr. Almond seconded that a Co-op Association be formed in Lloydminster and District under the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association Act with a capital of $5000. This would consist of 200 shares of $25 each.  Ten dollars to be paid up giving them powers to act under section 5 of the new Act.  The motion was unanimously carried.  That day, thirty three shares were sold.  Six provisional directors were elected to serve until the first general meeting.    The Lloydminster Times carried an account of this meeting.  The Association was to be “ The Lloydminster & District Agricultural Co-operative Association” with the headquarters in Lloydminster.  The powers to include both the purchasing of supplies and the marketing of farm produce.  A collection of $7.60 was taken towards the organization expenses. 

 It was recognized under oath to be “The Lloydminster and District Agriculture Co-operative Association Limited.   The Incorporation fee was only $3.55.

 Stanley Rackham chaired the first meeting of the Co-op within the town limits on August 7, with a large number of people in attendance, as well as many non-shareholders.  Jim Almond, George Pensom, Stanley Rackham, Ernie Burton, George Foote and Peter Sermuks were the six directors elected.  W. Holland was the first auditor. 

Business decisions:    

• All shares must be paid before the shareholder received dividends

• Dividends to non-shareholders would be held until they equaled the value of one share then a stock certificate would be issued to them
• A person must pay 25% deposit when buying something from the Co-op and pay the rest in five days or lose his deposit
• This was a tough principle for the farmers who had so little money.  The private stores were extending credit. 
• The Co-op today is what it is, due to the tough principles and sacrifices in those early days.  

• Twenty-three shares were sold at this first meeting.

 The directors met and elected Stanley Rackham as the first president and George Pensom as the first vice-president.

 T.A.A. Wright

 They appointed T.A.A. Wright, “Alf” or “T.A.” as he was known, as manager.  T.A.  was from the Cockney area of London.  Having only grade three education he went to work as an apprentice in the shipyard at Brightling Sea.  At age twenty-one he was foreman in charge of the whole operation and over twenty men.   

He came to Lloydminster in 1905 settling into the first log house in the community, on 50^th Avenue across from the United Church.  He built the Canadian Bank of Commerce manager’s home on the corner of 49^th Avenue and 45^th Street, and the Stanley Rackham home just east of town, which is still standing. 

He tried farming on a homestead but he wasn’t suited for that career.  He learned much about the grain, livestock and farming industry.  His two sons helped out on the farm allowing him to manage the Co-op.  Together they established a good farm. 

In the slack periods he used his carpentry skills to build grain elevators for the Alberta Farmers’ Grain Company.  He worked with Percy and Hedley Manners and others who built some of the first elevators at Kitscoty, Blackfoot and Lloydminster. 

He knew nothing about selling before coming to the Co-op, but he was a persuasive, determined, ambitious and shrewd enterpriser who had a good head for business.  T.A. was paid $4 to work one day a week.  By the time he had worked eleven weeks he had built the job up to two days a week.  By the first of November he had worked twenty-three days.  During 1915 the job was three days a week; in 1916 it was a part time job paying $125 a month; by 1918 it was a full time job paying $2500 per annum. 

T.A. was a man of action, a thinker, a philosopher and the architect of the Co-op.  Business men Harry Messum and W.L. Cameron would be coming to work eight in the morning and see the coal oil lamp burning in the Co-op office and when they would be going home late at night the oil lamp would still be burning. 

            In 1914 he realized that he needed to keep accounts which would make it necessary to have an ongoing system of books.  He purchased the Alexander Hamilton Institute Business Course, which was recognized as the best correspondence business course of its day.  It covered every aspect of business in its twenty-four volumes.  Each volume had five hundred pages.  While he ate his meals he studied and took notes on everything he didn’t know and words he didn’t understand, so he could look them up later in the dictionary.  T.A. was shrewd and aggressive in the business of buying and selling and promoted the on going expansion of the organization.   

 The Six Directors:

 Stanley Rackham   Many capable men worked with Mr. Wright to guide the organization to a successful beginning.  One such man was Stanley Rackham, his visions and thoughts were transformed into actions He envisioned the co-operative association itself along with rural electrification co-operatives and home oil and gas heating co-operatives.  His dream was that all of these could be realized through the organized efforts of the ordinary citizen.  He was responsible for the original idea of the co-operative association.   

Stanley Rackham enlisted the co-operation of his neighbours to sell and ship livestock co-operatively as far back as 1909.  In 1910 he was delivering papers and lectures to the Greenwood Branch of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association on co-operative principles and methods.  He attended farmer’s conventions and conferences that were instigating and supporting government action for co-operative legislation. 

He attended the agricultural college at Aspatria in Northern England.    Through that school’s affiliation, he and another young man wrote the first agricultural examinations ever set by Cambridge.  They were the first agricultural graduates from Cambridge University.  It was his dream that stirred and united the local residents of Lloydminster to do something about organizing a co-op.  He was on the Board of Directors in three different periods from 1914 until his death in 1937. 

 George Foote (W.G.) was described as a “tough, tight-fisted and hard driving individual.”  He was of stiff Cockney upbringing, which led him to believe that since he had received no breaks in life, he would not extend any to another person.  He believed in co-operation, so much so that it was like his religion.  He had the ability to see the whole situation at once and thus to weigh the pros and cons of it accurately.

 George Pensom, a Gloucestershire man, had little formal education.  He had red curly hair with a temper to go with it.  If there was a problem, he wanted it cleared up before proceeding on.  Every issue must be clarified and any misunderstandings straightened out then and now.  Everyone on the Board must agree before he would let it rest. 

 James Almond, with his “Santa Claus” beard, was similar in character to Pensom.  Being the eldest director he had accumulated a little more experience.  He had more patience than Pensom due to his thirteen children.  He kept to his strong principles and could be firm when discussing an issue.  He was sent to Ottawa to personally interview Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier on the circumstances, needs and provisions of the Barr Colony farmers. 

 Peter Sermuks, with his family moved to Lloydminster.  Today, the city has a memorial of his craftsmanship in a handmade, five foot iron cross marking the grave of Delma Alpine, his fourteen-year-old daughter who was accidentally killed by a horse in 1919.  He was a deep thinking man, intensely loyal.  He seconded many motions and proposed a few.  When he made a motion everyone listened.   He proposed bonus money to be allocated to planning and building for the future keeping our buildings in the front ranks, including a first-class rest room for the ladies.  The rural women and children coming into town to do business would need such a facility.  He wanted the best building in town.  Sermuks proposed a hall for good music and recreation.  He proposed services that would benefit the whole community, and not always produce profits. 

 Ernie Burton, very little is known about him.  He represented Southminster and in 1920 moved to the U.S.A.      

- Mr. Dunning, the local agent for the Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator, shared his office with the new Association.  He asked that it would not be used for storage.  T.A.A. Wright, the secretary of the Co-op Association, had the office forms and stationary printed and bought office supplies necessary to set up business.  He placed an advertisement in the Lloydminster Times, to run three consecutive issues.  The ad read:

Lloydminster and District Agriculture Co-operative Association Ltd.

This Association is now organized for business.  Full information can be obtained from the secretary, Mr. T.A.A. Wright, at Mr. Daly’s office, Lloydminster, every Friday. 

Sam Daly was the manager of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the first bank in Lloydminster.

The Times also printed 500 copies of the following circular letter on the new letterhead:

The above Association is now fully organized and will appreciate your interest and support.  Our charter authorizes us to procure any supplies required and also to sell your stock or produce.  The value of the Association to you will be limited by the support it receives. Shares are $25.00 each, $10.00 payable on allotment.  The undersigned will be in town on Fridays to receive application and give information desired. 

 - By 1915, January 13, it was apparent that a building was needed.  The shareholders wanted their own building, so another 625 shares were declared open, the proceeds of which were to be used to buy real estate and a building.  The directors liked the property owned by J. Walters of Edmonton.  Today that site is just east of the Meridian Avenue and directly north of the railroad tracks where the lumber yard is located.  The lot ran from the tracks to the present 52^nd Street. 

 - On February 23^rd, 1915 at a meeting of the Board, William (Billy) Mackenzie offered his stable as a building for $100.00.  He was willing to be paid with one fully paid-up share and the balance could be paid at the convenience of the Co-op.  The board agreed to buy his stable if he would move it to the prospective site, when they obtained it.  He agreed to this.  Billy Mackenzie was so enthusiastic about the success of the Co-op that he guessed that it would be doing a half million dollars worth of business by 1918.  Billy wasn’t very far off the mark. 

 - The C.N. announced the track plan and the Co-op bought the Walter’s property and Billy moved his stable, to become the permanent home of the Lloydminster and District Agriculture Co-operative Association. 

 - Due to good lumber and coal sales two storage sheds were built in 1916.

 - 1918: Directors decided that a new store was needed and they should stock and sell groceries.

T.A.A. Wright was authorized to buy George Greening’s store and stock. 

 - Story recalled by Harry Messum concerning this purchase:

The asking price was $13, 600.The conversation went like this:

“Well George, I hear you are selling the store.”

“That is correct, Mr Wright.”

“Just what are you selling it for?”

“I’m asking $13,600, Mr Wright.”

“Well just consider it sold, George,” said Wright, passing a cheque over the counter.

“But this is only for $13,000, Mr. Wright.”

“Oh, come now, George! $13,000 cash always is better than $13,600 on terms.”

“But I’m asking $13,600, Mr Wright.”

“Now, now George!  You have things here that we’ll have no use for.  Your account books, your stationary, your receipt book - all these things we have no use for.  You can have them.  We’ll get our own.”

“But Mr. Wright, when a man sells his business, he sells everything, and I’m selling you everything and I’m asking $13,600.”

“Come now George!”  Reconsider; here is $13,000 on the barrel head.”

George Greening was incensed and his blood pressure was exploding.  He went through his ledger and accounts swiftly and systematically. He decided that his business was actually worth $13,607.50.  And that is what Mr Wright paid for it.

 - This store stocked not only groceries but also a complete line of outfitting equipment.  Outfitting was the early term for everything that wasn’t groceries, including hardware or saddlery. 

 - The Directors were anxious to build a new store.  They moved the Co-op account to the Royal Bank of Canada after a disagreement with the manager of the Bank of Commerce. 

- 1919 Peter Sermuks proposed that all bonuses be made to the building fund, putting the Co-op building “in the front rank” and giving full accommodation for all the Co-op’s needs.

 Customers were asked to save all counter checks for bonuses, and return same every three months.

People were asked to write down their ideas and wants and mail them in, in time for the annual meeting on Saturday, Feb. 28, 1919 where they would be discussed.

 Farmers were asked to state what quantities of the things sold in the store that they would require and buy through out the year.

The list they would choose from was:

barb wire, fence posts, plough shares, brace wire, groceries (we can sell case goods now), paints, blackleg vaccine, gopher poison, salt, coal, gasoline drums, stock & storage tanks, cement, household utensils, woven wire, corrugated roofing & siding, cereals, hardware, well casing & pipe, flour & feed, lumber & building material

 Implements:

buggies,    harrow cart,      cream churns,     plows,     cultivators,

incubators,     steel eveners,     wood eveners,     garden tools,     pumps,         

mowers,     manure spreaders,     drills,     rakes,     wagon gears

disc harrows,     grain grinders,     wagon boxes,     diamond harrows,

fanning mills,     farm trucks,     lever harrows,     cream separators

 A few of the prices :

Groceries:      Pure lard, 3lb. $1.15;      5lb. $1.90

Bacon,  29c up

Ham, 36c per lb.

Honey, 10 lb. pail $3.35

Syrup, 10 lb. pail $1.25

Jams, Wagstaffe’s $1.00

Purity flour, $6.50 per 98 lb. bag

Samson flour, $3.80 per 98 lb. bag

Rolled oats,  $2.45 per 40 lb. bag;   $1.25 per 20 lb. bag

Holland herring,  $1.90 per kit

Cut bone, 4c per lb.;   $3.75 per 100 lb.

Oyster shell 3 1/2c per lb.; $3.25 per 100 lb. 

Other Items:   Pump jacks, $11.75 double geared;   $10.00 single geared      

Tank heaters, $9.25

Cement $1.35 per 100 lb. bag

Salt $4.85 per barrel;   Pressed blocks .90c;    Dairy butter salt $1.15 per 50 lb. bag

Hydrated lime, 65c per lb. sack

Empire wall board, $37.50 per M.

Medussa waterproofing, 20c per lb.

Empire wood fibre, $1.00 per 80 lb. sack

Heating: Stove coal was used to heat the homes.  They were encouraged to buy the coal in the summer and store it in a dark water-tight shed.  This would cut down the cost.  The Co-op had an expert engineer available to visit the homes to advise and solve heating problems at no cost to the customer. 

The new store:

Directors approved the building of a new store at the cost of $5000.  However they had to wait for increased capital.   Then in March the Scott Brothers were dissolving their partnership and  selling their  Northern Hardware store Mr Sermuks, Mr Steele,  T.A.  and Frank Jones formed a committee to investigate and buy the store and stock.  The total price was $31610.27 for the “best built store in town.”  Now the Co-op was in the “front ranks” of businesses in Lloydminster.  With the aid of a fifteen thousand dollar bank loan from the Royal Bank the property, stock and equipment all became the Co-op’s.

The Co-op was originally conceived to be a producer-consumer co-operative.  Its charter said, “to market the livestock...which the shareholders may produce, and to purchase farm supplies... under the co-operative plan”. 

Looking at the Co-op today, it is nothing but a consumer co-operative.  Seventy-five years ago, though, it was solely a producer co-operative that peddled a little coal and lumber on the side.

 The old-timers speak of the three stage development of the co-op, the livestock-producer stage, the producer- consumer stage and now the strictly consumer phase.

 Sales comparisons:   

In 1914, the total sales were $6,100, of that were livestock sales of $4100.

In 1919, the total sales were $378,000, of that were livestock sales of  $299,000.

 - Consumer sales and service was begun .

- At first, the Co-op was stocking 6 horse halters at a time, valued at $1.65 a piece.

- Then a carload of Ontario apples.  These apples cost the Co-op $582.50 and netted $701.25.  They came in 150 lb. barrels and sold from $4.50 to $5.25 a barrel. 

- Next three carloads of coal (Humber stone coal).

- Then two cars of lumber from the Riverside Lumber Mills in Calgary.

 The objectives of the consumer Co-op has always been to supply goods and services as efficiently and economically as possible, returning the savings to our members on the basis of patronage.  Then the emphasis was on serving the community. 

 Problems within the organization:

Tough times after the First World War

Suspicions existed between the various characters

Founding Fathers began to leave the Board and their replacements perhaps were not as strong and visionary

When a department registered a loss, suspicions arose as to what was going on.  Was it pilfering?   Was it mice eating up the profits?  It was true the mice spoiled many flour and sugar sacks.  Was it poor accounting?

Attempts to solve the problems:

A new accountant, S.F. Lows, a South African, was hired.  The accounting system was a tedious and laborious, time-consuming system of counter-checking.  Mr. Lows started to suspect T.A.’s  honesty.  Soon he was making direct charges against T.A. Wright.  Mr. Wright could explain and answer every charge to the Board.  However, a Chartered Accountant, O.J. Godfrey, from Indian Head, was hired to investigate the operations of the Association and the reliability of T.A. as manager.  The report was never made public to the shareholders, but Stuart and Colin Wright gave a copy to the editor of the Lloydminster Times.  It was a vote of confidence in Mr Wright as a manager.  However, pressure for his release was mounting and he eventually resigned.  There was much disagreement among the members over this and the President of the Board, I. J. Steele resigned.   Many realized that Mr. Wright had left a great legacy on which to build the future Co-op.   

1924, Employees, who had never been given holidays, no sick days paid for, were given fourteen days holiday after one year of service, with the pay and time allowed left to the manager’s discretion.    Paychecks were to be issued monthly, rather than semi-annually.  An employee was to be paid full pay for one week of sickness in a year, but only half pay for any time missed in excess of the week.  There were no further changes until 1947, when Scotty Davidson retired, and the idea of superannuation was introduced. 

 A proper relationship between manager and board, and staff and shareholders was set up.  In the Godfrey report were recommendations to solve who was boss and where each person fit into the organization fulfilling their responsibilities. 

The staff was responsible to the manager, the manager was responsible to the directors, and the directors to the members and to be faithful co-operative customers.   

 A new manager, Howard Jones, came to the Co-op.  He was a whiz at figures and finances.  Mr. Jones proposed a new system of bookkeeping and reporting and detailed it to the firm of Mowat and Mctavish.    This firm agreed to audit the association’s records for an annual fee of $300.  To regain the confidence and business of the members he wanted a patronage bonus declared. This helped to boost the sales.  By 1926 business had grown and slowly expanded to a total of $339,525.

 Due to Mr. Jones’ wife’s illness he surprised the Board with his resignation.  This is when Scotty Davidson came to fill Jones’ position as manager and secretary-treasurer in1927.  His salary was $3000 per annum with a bonus of $500, provided the profits were as much as those of 1926 at the close of business in 1927.  A bond of $5000 was to be furnished. 

 Scotty Davidson: was born August 3, 1876 in Scotland, just eight years after the organization of the Scottish Co-operative Movement in 1868.  His grandparents raised him, as his parents had died very young.  Scotty fetched the groceries that paid the dividends that built the “wee hoos” he was raised in. 

After leaving school he was apprenticed for six years in a shipbroker’s office in Aberdeen, spending the next ten years in the chartering and feed businesses.  Following this he was the Aberdeenshire representative for the Molassine Meal Company until he left for Canada in 1909. 

Scotty arrived in Edmonton on April 1, 1909.  He traveled for the Canada Dry Soft Drink Company for a year, followed by two years of service with the wholesale fruit firms.  In 1913 he got a job with Revillon Wholesale Ltd., and was the sales manager from 1914 to 1920.  After a two year stint in the insurance business he moved his wife and family to Vancouver where he was sales manager for the Gregory tire and Rubber Company until 1927, when he came to Lloydminster.  At age 51 Scotty became the manager for the Co-op; this was a feat as he had only been given six months to live before coming to Canada with tuberculosis.

During the twenty one year span of working for the Co-op he earned the esteem, confidence and respect of the community.  Scotty was the man the organization needed for the troubled times that lay ahead during the thirties and forties. 

 Expanding the Business under Scotty’s Leadership:

- A building to house all the departments under one roof (1927)

   Plans drawn for a new addition to the Northern hardware Building, west of that store,     having a new front, full size basement, stock elevators, a mezzanine floor for offices and     restrooms.

            Tenders were called and A. J. Adkins of Westlock won with the lowest bid of  $11,040 and the contract was signed on August 25.  Mr Adkins bid proved to be too low; when completed in February the building cost $13,793.47.  This was a difference of $2,234.68.  The factors causing the increased costs were,- the cold weather, which created higher consumption of coal, the cost of sand and gravel was higher and the amount spent for the water was enormous. 

 - By the year 1929 the total amount invested by the Co-op in buildings and real estate was $66,158.

    Cash and inventories  totaled $83,000.

Total salaries paid were $6,797.          

 ·                    Disaster: August 19, 1929 everything burned down in the “great fire”.  The lumber yard and the buildings just north of the tracks were the only properties left.  This was heart breaking, after using temporary buildings for so long, and to have their own permanent building for two years and see it go up in smoke.  The Britannia Hotel property was bought for $4,500 for use until a new building could be built.  A total of $76,771 was collected from the Insurance Co. 

 - A new store was to be built by C. M. Miners Construction Company of Saskatoon.  It was 117 x 100 feet, at an estimated cost of $36,000.  It was to be finished in three months.  Due to the crash it was very difficult to obtain a mortgage of $20,000, but eventually after traveling over the country Scotty obtained a loan of $15,000 from the    Bank of Commerce in Regina.  The Bank of Commerce in Lloydminster was the “keeper of the purse” for the Co-op for many years. 

 - 1930, a new store and the Co-op made $36,000 profit and had 572 shareholders.

   Livestock sales slipped to the point that a decision was made to dissolve the livestock  department. 

 - Co-op concentrated on the sale of lumber, coal, hides, implements, binder twine, groceries, outfitting, hardware, and saddlery.   

 - The effects from the drought and depression in the early thirties showed lower sales.  By  1934 expanding began again, by building the Hillmond Branch.  Sales and savings went   up. 

 - Trends were changing, the “Outfitting Department” changed to “Men’s Wear’ and “Ladies Wear,” the more accepted terms. 

 - Since the Co-operative Act had been passed, local associations had experienced difficulty in purchasing regular supplies from commercial wholesale firms.  The retail merchants were opposed to what they saw as unfair competition of group purchasing by farmers.  A co-operative wholesale enterprise seemed the answer.  The first of this kind was the trading department of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association, which emerged under legislation arising out of the Agricultural Credit Commission of 1913. 

A venture by the Co-operative Union to incorporate a whole society under the Companies Act. The Saskatchewan Wholesale Society Ltd. came into being in 1929.  Scotty became the first president of this wholesale society.  Later, the name was changed three times, the last, Federated Co-operatives Limited in 1955, as it is known today.  Scotty is described in the history of Federated Co-op, as “one of the most colorful characters...in the Co-op movement. A man who was immaculately dressed, polished in his manner.”  On June 25, 1942 Scotty was honoured by the Co-operative union of Canada.  In recognition of his services an illustrated address was presented to him which read in part:

We, the Co-operators of Saskatchewan, honour you as an esteemed citizen of the province and for your valued services to the Co-operative movement.  More especially do we appreciate the leadership given by you to the movement in your community as manager of the Lloydminster and District Agricultural Co-operative Association for fifteen years, and your contribution to the movement in this province as president of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Wholesale Society during a period of organization and planning which assisted greatly the successful development of the society in recent years.  Also we value those same qualities for leadership and service which have enabled you to make a most important contribution to the welfare of your community as a whole.  May you enjoy good health and happiness which comes from service to your fellow man.   

 Scotty continued on as manager of the local Co-op until March, 1948 when he retired at the age of 73 years.   Superannuation was definitely needed.  Scotty had struggled and worked hard for the co-op but now he would have nothing to live on.  The board voted to give Scotty a pension of $5,000, to be given at a rate of $100 a month.  Now every employee had the privilege to contribute to and receive a superannuation.       

There came an end to a fabulous era of history.  The curtain fell on the first act of what had been an interesting, turbulent and successful drama.  Many of the original and early directors were deceased, retired, or getting too old to carry on with the work of the Co-op. 

 New Management: Scotty made a plea on behalf of the staff who had given valuable and devoted service that before taking in an outsider to fill the vacancy, consideration should be extended to old employees.  Also the Board decided to separate the positions of manager and secretary-treasurer. 

James L. Kinney, a local hockey hero and manager of the Hardware Department was appointed manager.  Ruby Gibbings was appointed secretary, and Les Loader, the long-time accountant, became treasurer.

Some New Directors: were Les Foote, Tom Rackham, Bill Newman, Mel Clark and Chris Andersen, the sons of the pioneer co-operators.  These men had grown up with the Co-op and it was their responsibility to continue to operate the Co-op as efficiently as possible.  Chris Andersen was appointed president of the Board. 

 Changes under Kinney’s leadership:

- an agreement with the government on fair income tax assessment and a reprieve form the past unfair taxation. 

- 1952, (Feb.) The store was redecorated.

- Approval to build a new wing , the grocery addition.  The Credit Union wanted to build with the Co-op, however, the co-op financed it to keep it as a Co-op store.  The new building opened on July 5, 1954.  Office space for the Credit Union was allowed but it soon ran out of space.

- Kinney directed the board to ward expansion into the field of furniture and appliances, which could be housed in the basement. 

 -By 1954 the organization was in serious trouble.  Kinney and the Board had lost communication and discipline with the staff.  They had been too lenient in permitting drinking on the premises.  A loss of control resulted in power cliques and staff favouritism. 

A committee was sent to Saskatoon to interview the Personnel department of Federated Co-operatives Limited.  After their visit they started an “investigation and re-organization” which resulted in Kinney’s resignation, and Gibbings followed.  Andersen sent a letter to the membership to explain what was happening.  He also acted as manager until A.B. Heeney was hired.  This term was short as Heeney as a reformed alcoholic soon fell off the wagon. 

 -When Heeney and D.R. Dean ,secretary, came houses were at a premium.  This is when the Co-op started to build houses at the suggestion of these men.

- Colin Sandhurst succeeded Heeney as Manager in 1954.

Sandhurst had gained considerable experience working at the Hudson’s Bay Company in Winnipeg.  However he did not have a co-operative background.  This proved to be his undoing. 

Improvements in three years:

- In three years he rebuilt the sloppy organization to a sound business venture. 

- A compulsory savings plan that guaranteed member investments in the Co-op was established. 

This system is still in place today, it is largely responsible for members continuing to purchase Co-op bonds and debentures, which enables the association to expand.             - The accounts receivable were reduced and improved the credit system.- Inventory was cut back.

- Staff benefits were introduced; staff received a ten percent reduction above cost on purchases; sick leave benefits were given one week for each year of service, on-accumulative, with a maximum of one month in any year to be effective from date of employment. 

- A coffee bar was added in 1955. 

- Farm supply department began with the stocking of fertilizer. 

- Bulk plant was moved and improved.

- A service station was added. 

- Harness department died, the equipment was donated to the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon.  However the service of binder canvass repair was offered until the use of table augers on combines became widespread.       

- Expansion of the lumber yard brought forth the purchase of the Marshall Wells warehouse for $25000.  The Bank if Commerce lent the money for six years at 5 3/4% per annum. 

 Sandhurst was not a Co-op manager.  He didn’t understand that being officious and totalitarian was not filling the job required of him, that of a coach to a team of department managers.  In 1957 the Board was faced with resignations again, including Sandhurst’s, who threatened to do so if the Board listened to the managers’ grievances. 

Once more Chris Andersen would be the acting manager of the Co-op. 

 Leon Doucet was appointed manager of the Co-op, September 1, 1957.

Doucet, as a young pilot officer dreamed of being a manager of a Co-op Store some day.

  His father had been the manager of the Makwa Co-operative Store and he had worked in the store after school.   After his discharge from the Royal Canadian Air force he completed a three-month preliminary course on Co-operatives in three weeks. 

Doucet, aged nineteen, took over the management of the Domremy Co-operative Association, and served four years there.  From 1949 to 1951 he was a roving Regional Manager and Stores Supervisor, This job entailed traveling around to twenty-six associated stores and forty bulk stations in the northeast part of Saskatchewan.   

In 1951 as roving Regional Manager stationed in Nipawin, he managed a group of local Co-ops which because of financial difficulties had signed management contracts with Federated.  Some of the duties and responsibilities included meeting the different local boards, recommending corrective measures.

In the spring of 1954 Doucet became Operations Manager with the Saskatoon Co-operative Association.  During his employment in Saskatoon he took an advanced Management and Administration Course at the University of Saskatchewan. 

When he applied for the position in Lloydminster, he wrote:

I am well aware of some of the problems your Association has to contend with; I think I have the administrative ability, training, experience and drive to do the job you and your members have a right to expect from the management of a retail Co-op...I am confident that I can work harmoniously with staff and Boards and get the job done to the satisfaction of members.  

 Progress under L.J. Doucet:

- fresh meats into the grocery department

- new modern produce counters were installed

- lumber and hardware departments were re-organized

- staff discounts and special privileges were replaced with a comprehensive medical plan

- the Board wanted staff to be treated like other members of the Co-operative Association

- in 1958 the third co-op drug department in Saskatchewan opened in Lloydminster

Back in 1939 it became illegal for a grocery store to stock aspirins, cough syrups and other patented medicine, Scotty Davidson wrote a letter to the Saskatchewan Pharmaceutical Association requesting information regarding the formation of a drug department.  The reply stated, “all directors would have to become qualified druggists, and besides the Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Association did not see what the Co-op wanted with another drug store when there were already two in operation in Lloydminster.”

After government investigated the problem eventually legislation was passed giving Co-operatives the right to have drug departments, provided there was one qualified pharmacist in attendance.  In 1953 Sherwood Co-op in Regina opened the first one; in 1954 the second one opened in Saskatoon Co-op when Doucet was operation manager and Eric Hughes was general manager.  

 - lumber yard got a face-lift; a new building was erected and opened by the Honourable T.C. Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan, on November 5, 1958

-  in the same fall brought the bulk plant to its present rail-side position

- in January 1959 trucks hit the highway, transporting bulk fuel for the Co-op

- also in this year the drug department and cafeteria both had to be expanded

 Doucet presented a five year plan for the Board to make major decisions,- to tear down the old store and rebuild, or renovate the old premises.   At an expense of $13,000 the Board allowed Doucet to employ a Chicago firm of department store engineers to prepare a detailed study of the Lloydminster trading area.  The report stated that the present building could be renovated and that the prospects of development were such that the Co-op should venture forth with a quarter-million dollar expansion and renovation program.

- renovations began in February of 1960

pillars were torn out, wooden beams were replaced with steel

the building was rewired, new fixtures added

store front remodeled

departments were relocated

air conditioning installed

10,000 square feet added to the basement to stock merchandise

more checkouts in the grocery department

- 1962, the barber shop and beauty salon were completed

 This same Co-op, including the S. Hall Building would become the “Heritage Centre” in 1988, a tribute to the co-operative spirit in Lloydminster.

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 Co-operation by Amalgamation:  

Regional development became evident in the 1960's.  In Saskatchewan smaller co-operatives had started co-operating with the Associations in the towns of Swift Current, Yorkton, Unity and Lloydminster.  This produced amalgamations.  Some people believed that in the next fifteen or twenty years, there would only be twenty large co-operatives in the province, with each having a well- developed network of stores in nearby smaller centres servicing the people co-operatively wherever practical.  Without this network the smaller Co-ops would disappear.  

 In 1934 residents in the district of Hillmond asked the Lloydminster Board about building a branch in Hillmond.  There was no money to build extra stores, however Scotty didn’t want to stifle the hope and desire.  He proposed that if they could raise $1000 worth of capital, then the Lloydminster Co-op would build them a store in Hillmond.  The money was raised, the store was built.  One member was to sit on the Lloydminster Board, and it was Bill Newman’s father.  For 18 years he never missed a meeting even though he had to drive a team 20 miles each way.

The Hillmond Branch serviced that community from 1934 to1964.  It was more like a department of the Lloydminster Co-op, it didn’t produce savings for the Lloydminster Co-op, but it did break even, and provided a real service for the people of Hillmond. 

One of the problems for Hillmond was that a qualified and experienced manager was not keen to move to a small town.  The board and directors could see that the operation could not continue.  Declining volume and declining population made it impossible to spend the money needed for improvements.  Businesses were dying, people took their business to Lloydminster.     

In 1969 the store closed.  Doucet reported to the Board that the Lloydminster Association would recover the total book value of the inventory, making the loss in the area of $3500.  The store was later sold for $450.  By operating as a branch of the Lloydminster Co-op, all the member shares and equity were protected at no loss to those members.   The same held true in later years, when Marshall, Marwayne and Lashburn closed.

        When Marwayne expressed a desire to amalgamate Doucet made his report to the Board, the Board decided “that the Association adopt the policy of viewing all proposed amalgamations with adjoining Co-ops with an open mind and work towards amalgamations with these Co-ops wherever it was advantageous to both.”

 Neilburg and Marsden Boards also expressed their interest to amalgamate.  The Lloydminster Board agreed that the three Co-ops could be amalgamated in 1961 if the grassroot membership in those branches supported their board members, and whether they would support the Co-op in the branch town.  Meetings followed in each branch and all branches voted in favour.  The Lloydminster membership voted in favour on June 7, 1961.       

 Marwayne Co-op: was formed in 1945.  Harry Hillaby was the first president. 

- first store which had been purchased , burned down in the spring of 1954; farm granaries were used to keep business in operation

- new building completed in fall 1954

- amalgamation with Lloydminster C-op August 1, 1961

- amalgamation with United Farmers Association which would allow them to provide bulk petroleum service

- By 1970s  the business was not a feasible proposition; September 28, 1974 the store and the bulk petroleum station closed ; Lloydminster Bulk Petroleum Department serves Marwayne customers now

- store was purchased by Lawrence Perks; is still operated by Perks

 Marsden Co-op: January, 1945 Mel Lavold sold his store to the new co-op and it was in business, under the supervision of the Federated Co-op Limited..  The local men knew the advantages of member-owned businesses, as they had been directly involved in the organization of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.  Also, they were aware of the success of the Credit Union Movement.

- free labour was given by the members in the building of the house for the manager. 

- in 1948, the manager was George Edwards; he earned a salary of $41.00 a week, and paid $6.00 a month to rent the Co-op house.

- in 1961, the Co-op amalgamated with the Lloydminster Co-op.

- one director served Marsden and Neilburg Co-ops.  Each branch had a committee of three to serve as liaison between the members and the central board.

- this Co-op saw many changes, modern fixtures and electronic diskette recording cash registers, increased sales over the years; renovations were completed in 1987.

 Manitou Lake Co-operative Association, Neilburg Co-op     

- 1939, thirty members at a membership fee of ten dollars helped to form the Association to be affiliated with the Federated Co-operatives in Saskatoon.

- sold coal the first winter, then in the spring started distributing petroleum.

- bulk petroleum was hauled from Calgary; the drivers would follow what they thought was the road, only to end up in six miles of sand near Yonker.

- on the map was a faint line from Senlac to Neilburg that could only be navigated with a buckboard and two good horses.  A three thousand gallon semi-trailer, fully loaded, had a real problem.  The drivers often had to walk quite a ways to enlist the services of local farmer, who needed six or seven horses to pull the trucks onto firmer ground.  Federated advised that they provide their own delivery service and a farmer, Peter Grant left the farm to do this.  

- World War II took trucks off the road; there was no rail storage and the supply soon ran out. 

- 1946, fuel was hauled from Regina; the Board had to decide to have larger storage facilities as the suppliers were not reliable.

- members invested substantial amounts of capital to finance large tanks.

- tanks had to be filled in advance requiring the members to put up advance payments for the summer’s fuel.  The Co-op insisted on cash sales, on a thirty day basis.

- in 1949, farming was changing from horses to tractor power; the co-op started to sell farm machinery, swathers, pull-type combines stock parts and cultivator shovels.

- in 1950s, young people didn’t go into business because they believed they wouldn’t be successful; older people retired and many businesses closed.

- then co-op started quantity dividends to larger co-ops leaving the small outlets with what was left and so it became necessary to amalgamate.

- The condition was: Lloydminster build a grocery store in Neilburg and take over the co-op lock, stock and barrel.  Membership and their equity were transferred with the agreement that all the assets in Neilburg be kept operating. 

- The store was built in 1960 and had a walk-in freezer for meat and is operated by Lloydminster Co-op.

Additions: 1975, farm supply and petroleum building was opened; larger tanks erected, a propane storage supply outlet and self-serve gas pumps opened.

- 1985, construction of a bulk plant to store 1, 750 tonnes of fertilizer, at a cost of $200,000 including equipment. ( using the Rancan Fertilizer Blending System - uses a blender where fertilizer is blended by computer to specifications and augered into a vehicle outside.)

- 1988, a basic lumber inventory was added, an addition of 40x40 feet to the warehouse provided the space for it.

- 1989, store was renovated and expanded and the parking lot was paved.

As Phil Freeston, a long time co-op member and believer so convincingly put it,”It’s by pulling together, consolidating our capital and organizing our purchasing power as a community that we can keep our town alive and economically viable.”

 Maidstone Co-op: incorporated in 1914 about the same time as the Lloydminster co-op.

- after a few years it closed.

- reorganized in 1945

- began as a hardware store but soon added groceries.

- 1946, a dry goods department was added.

- 1947, it handled bag fertilizer, one of the first to do this.

- each time a new department was added the members and directors were asked to put up money for stock and facilities

- 1949, a change of management took place when it was found that no records had been kept accounting for the business of the new co-op.

- under Louie Tellier’s leadership the store was moved to its present location.

- 1955, the co-op showed a profit of $12.00.

- 1960, a lumber yard was built; lumber, hardware and building supplies were consolidated into a farm supply outlet.

- summer of 1965 approval for Maidstone and Lashburn Co-ops amalgamation with the Lloydminster Co-op.

- 1966, a bulk fertilizer plant was put in across the highway from the lumber yard; also fuel pumps were set up as part of the lumber operation.

- due to shrinking trade the lumber department closed and three years later the bulk operation closed for the same reason.

- With strong support upgrading and renovations were completed in 1989.

 Waseca, a leader in Co-operation:

- Many immigrants settling in Eldon Municipality had come from England around 1906, knew of the successful co-ops in the British Isles.  They knew how the co-op could bring goods and services needed and how buying bulk could save the members money.

- in 1914 the first bulk purchase , a train carload of apples arrived.

- a shed stored the purchases

- 1915, The Annual Meeting reported that sixteen carloads of merchandise, consisting of lumber, coal, wire, apples, twine, and groceries had been distributed since 1914 annual meeting.

 - January,1917, reported the amount of business done in the past year was $30,502.40, three times the amount of the previous year. 1916 was the most important year in the history of the Association.

- other merchandise sold were consisted of nineteen and a half carloads of cattle and hogs shipped.

- 1917, Eldon Co-operative handled groceries, clothing, hardware, & farm equipment.

-after World War1 business deteriorated, the Co-op was liquidated

-1940 members formed another Co-op

-1943 it amalgamated with Wilton

-1965 the Wilton Co-op Association amalgamated with Lloydminster Co-op.

It is still a struggling operation, it counts on their members being loyal to the business. 

 The Lashburn Co-op formed under the banner name of The Wilton Co-operative Trading Association Limited.  It worked against many variables and Lashburn was not able to overcome the odds.  Travel became easier and more people drove into Lloydminster or North Battlefield to stock up on necessities, see the sights and take in a movie.  The history of this Co-op began on June 14, 1914.  January of 1984 the Lloydminster Board decided to close the Lashburn store and to suffer the losses, rather than keep it open and lose more.   

The Marshall Co-op Store was built on the corner of Main Street and Railway Avenue and opened on July 17, 1917. 

-1917 was a dry year

-1918 frost made for a poor crop

-the store was robbed twice, once in march and again in June

-loss of cash was $276.00

-1921 sales of $23,810 and savings for the members of $1406.76

-1928 expansion to accommodate the increase of sales

- 1934 the Canadian Bank of Commerce closed in Marshall

-the Co-op became the paymaster for the Saskatchewan Wheat pool

- 1934 a fire started in the hardware store three doors from the Co-op and ended up destroying one side of the Main Street

- no time was wasted, August 28^th the Co-op opened for business in another store

- 1936, October 30, a newly built Co-op store opened its doors for business

- managers kept the business going until the fall of 1968; 54 years of service

- the building was sold to Bill Topott and was moved to his farm

 Petroleum Services - A Profitable Business

- plans were started as early as 1944 at a shareholders’ meeting where T.W. Barmby from the Regina Co-operative Refinery addressed the members

- 1947, Barmby submitted plans to the board for building a bulk plant and the filling station on the east end of the lumber yard property

- 1948, The Lloydminster Co-op began to retail and distribute oil and gas, under the management of Jim Kinney

- at a cost of $23000 the directors gave the go-ahead for the bulk plant, service station, and all tanks, pumps and delivery truck

- the deal fell through until 1949 Federated negotiated a deal with Canadian Oil(White Rose) Company to have Lloydminster Co-op supplied from Edmonton

- 1949, October 29, the bulk plant opened

- fire regulations required it to be moved just north of the city limits; later it was moved back to the railway site on 50^th Avenue and 52^nd Street

- 1989, construction started on a new Agro-Centre at 52^nd Street and 45^th Avenue, and the bulk plant was moved to this site in 1990

- The Lloydminster Co-op invested in some trucks to haul fuel, and opened a double bay service station in February, 1957

- the service station was completed with the assistance from Federated Co-op

- 1965, an explosion at Meyers Quality Dry Cleaners damaged the Co-op Service Station

- 1966, purchased the arena property at 50^th Street and 48^th Avenue; the city obtained approval from the Arena Board - a straight swap; the Co-op agreed to build a new arena for the city at a cost of $50,000 

- the Board decided to build a three-bay station, plus a coin wash and truck bay

- Federation approved installation of an illuminated sign at $4000,as well as paving costs $21000 to the estimated cost of $86000

- the service station began pumping gas on November 10, with a staff of six

- official opening was on April 24, 1967, the same day as the opening of the Feed Mill

- the operation was a success; they continually updated the service with such items as a tow truck, wheel alignment equipment, 1000-gallon tanks, an automatic pump and a bottle -fill warehouse

-the station was fully modern

 The Bulk Plant

- distributed petroleum to the surrounding area as well as the Co-ops in the small towns

- a transport had been purchased to keep up with demand

- by 1969 Leon Doucet, general manager, recommended phasing out transporting petroleum because Federated had ten transport tractors and were transporting petroleum products and savings to be made in trucking had declined

- April, 1971 management proceeded with a Petroleum Agreement with Husky

- 1980, a deal with Federated Co-operatives to supply petroleum as of March 1; the deal lasted one year, and Lloyd Co-op went back to doing business with Husky

- 1983, caught in a price war between the major companies; Gulf Oil was offering reduced prices in the form of cash rebates; these were equivalent to the amount the Co-op paid in dividends and volume rebates to members

 - Doucet reviewed the marketing policy and negotiated an adjustment in price

- the Board agreed to a rebate to members of an additional 1 cent per litre volume, repayable to members in the spring of 1984; this was in addition to any other volume rebates currently in effect

- 70% of the rebate had been negotiated with Husky, the other 30% would be absorbed by the retail