• c.—
Dorothy M. Bell, Editor
-i *v 1
Fairner, Alaska I . .(
Published pvery {Friday ot -Palmer, Alaska, for the iataruska Valley
fmiers’ Co-ot>erati*g Association for the ,purpose of giving news of tl
Farmers» co-operati«g Association for the ,purpo
Associati ons t'orlc, Problems, and Accompi&snnients.
the
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♦*, i • ' 11 *1
*? “> [/• 'Z 'progress! Guid-e-^ecenBei}
U . / ' ■ -h ' v . .' *1944'
The following article is taken from the Progress Guide for December
1944 and'is.reprinted■here by.permission of the Progress Guide lublish
ing 'Cojhptrriy{t — (Continued from last week.)
Cloqv t Cooperative-and its individual members take for granted —
while oe Udders arc amazed at their outstanding record in administrative
reform—community fund, '.'ar Bond and Red Cross ' collections, and Civic
. improver nt# Having tasted the advantages of doing for themselves,
they are not dicouragcd by the average citizen's inability to influence
politic"! rnd civic affairs—tho "lct-somebody-elso-do-it" attitude \
through ukai local control slips into tho hands of corrupt or power
hungry :.ou, The members of Cloquet Cooperative not only eare about
the welfare of the community as a whole, but they do something about it.
You e n see tho strength of the Cloquet Cooperative Society not only
in the personalities and day to day living of its members but in .the
amrmins quantities of tangible goods and services they have provided
fo . themselves. They own, operate, and benefit by: four retail stores;
ten warehouses; a service station and garage; a credit union; education
al service; burial association; insurance agency; end a canter of .enter
tainment which includes a theater, auditorium, club rooms rn5. summer
camp, *
The ■four retail stores owned and operated by the peopl of Cloquet
arc as -ttf:ctivo and officiant as. any a truly metropolitan city could
boast of, Haro you will find any kind of merchandise you doc ire, of the
finest, uality, at a cost so moderate ae. to compare favorably with the
best of non-ceopcr-'tivc .stores. Much of the. fresh* meat for tho spark
ling ra t-market’s in ea’cn of the four stores *and the fresh fruits and v
voget\bl s, supplied ahd displayed in tempting variety, are purchased
from nc.i iboring Termers’ cooperative marketing associations,
* Practically 'll of tho rest of Cloquet Cooperative’s merchandise
bor.Ys • Co-Op label and is purchased from .Central Cooperative Viholc -
sale ox Superior, ’ 'is. Hare Cloquot buys goods which arc coopcrativ ly
distributed:, a complete line of groceries; coffee roasted in a Co-op
roasting plant; bakery goods from a cooperative bakery; household
suppli. : ; the clothing for Cloquet Cooperative Society’s two clothing
depart: ats; hardware and paints; roofing and-building supplies; feeds
ana flour; tires end automobile accessories.
Cloq1 t is the largest share-owner in, end also the largest single
purchas r fr^n, Central Cooperative Wholesale. The Society’s members*
there!' re, b' nef.it not only fr >m the price reductions, n cooperative
merchandise end the superior quality of cooperatively manufactured p
products, but also fr m rebates .enjoyed throuth share-ownership in
Central Cooperative './holosalc, which approximate V11,000 annually.
But his is not all. Cloquet is also the largest part-owner of Tri
col Coop -fative Gil Association, from which the gasoline and pil for
Cl quet’s modern filling, station and garage are obtained. Here'car
o./ners from the entire area have their cars serviced and overhauled,
and after the war they will again be able tq buy the new automobiles
and trucks displayed on the shining* floors of the garage show room.
TK3 0 0113 III AT ICN of zestful pursuit of life and .persistent ..at.t ck
upon its problems is an inheritance from the Society’s founders..One of
these vr s John Partanen. One moment you could hoar his laugh booming
into every corner of ./orkmen’s Hall, and the next the would be earnestly
addressing his fellows, urging thorn to '!act together” and, free thorn
sclvos from tho poverty and dobt that were making a wretchedness a.
their lives. That was in 1910, when most of t.hs inhabitants of. Cloquet
were Finnish immigrants working in tho sawmills and eking out a miscrabl
exist cnee with what was lc'ft to thorn, after they paid the exorbitant
prices charged by local private stores. (To bo concluded.next week)