Oberlin Consumers Cooperative Records

Collection

Identifier: RG 31-029

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records of the Oberlin Consumers Cooperative document the history of this socio-economic organization, which operated on the Rochdale principles of cooperation. The records include the articles of incorporation and bylaws, minutes, financial records, administrative files, correspondence, contracts and other legal documents, subject files, building project files, printed matter, and non-textual material.

The records span the history of the Oberlin Consumers Cooperative (OCC) from its incorporation in 1940 through its dissolution in 2000. The bulk of the records, however, date from the 1980s and 1990s. There is no documentation of the OCC during its years as a student organization at Oberlin College, 1937-40, prior to its incorporation with the State of Ohio.

Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws in Series I document OCC's governing principles. Included are copies (1940 and 1952) of the Articles of Incorporation, and the original and amended constitution and bylaws (ca. 1940-97). The bylaws files include proposed revisions and the final, approved versions.

Meeting minutes in Series II provide insight into OCC's activities over a fifty-nine year period. Minutes of the Board of Directors (called Trustees prior to 1988) record financial status, personnel issues, expansion plans, and educational, social, and charitable activities. Changes to OCC bylaws, major initiatives (new business ventures, building and rehabilitation projects), decisions about membership rebates, and donations to community organizations through the Causes fund were decided at annual and special membership meetings. Supporting documents for board and membership meeting minutes, 1988-2000, provide additional details about topics discussed at meetings. A handful of board and membership meeting minutes from OCC's final years are lacking.

Board of Directors files in Series III contain information about the Board and its responsibilities. Of particular interest are lists of Board members (1983-2000) Board manuals (1990s), and material relating to training and retreats for Board members (1987-97). The files also contain documents concerning Board policies and procedures (ca. 1986-96), notes and reports (1990s), correspondence and statements regarding actions taken by the Board outside of meetings (1988-90, 1999), and files relating to the dissolution of the OCC (1999-2000).

Administrative files in Series IV include material about staffing, store management, and the day-to-day operation of the OCC stores. The bulk of the files date from 1986-2000. Only a handful of documents date from the thirty-five year tenure of James F. "Bill" Long as general manager. Long was known for clearing out non-active files, and was concerned chiefly with maintaining financial records. Files relating to specific departments and administrators (e.g., General Manager) contain correspondence, meeting notes, and reports. Files relating to CUBPaC (College and University Bookstore Partnering Concept, Inc.) record that company's management of OCC and the problems that led to the termination of the management agreement. Topical files, 1988-99, deal with areas such as policies and procedures, store layout and signage, and staff training.

The project to build a new bookstore building at 37 West College Street is well documented. Series V. Building Project Files contain information about the planning, design, building, and responses to the completed building. Of interest are reports by Creative Design Concepts (1986), John Greenberg and Associates (1990), and Barber and Hoffman, Inc. (1991) which led to the decision to build a new store rather than renovate the previous building. Files relating to the project architect John Martine, Integrated Architectural Services (IAS), contain correspondence about design and historical preservation issues, as well as the IAS contract, schedules, and estimated cost statements. Additional material on the planning and building process may be found in the Building Committee files in Series VI, and earlier renovation/rebuilding proposals involving Oberlin College are in Series XIV.

Series VI. Committee Files gives some idea of the various committees that helped guide the Board of Directors' decisions. These files, however date primarily from 1983 to 1999, and in general they do not proved complete documentation for the committees' activities during that period. The Building Committee (1990-93), Education Committee (1952-58, 1983-97), Finance Committee (1945-46, 1988-99), and Long Range Planning Committee have more substantial documentation. In contrast, committees such as the Coffeehouse Committee (1983) and the Faculty Advisory Committee (1999) are represented by only one or two items. A comprehensive look at the roles and activities of OCC committees would require an examination of the Board of Directors' minutes. The file "Early Education Committee" (1952-58) includes information on the Co-op Food Store and the Jack and Jill children's store.

Series VII. Contracts, deeds, and leases for property owned by OCC illustrate the Coop's expansion efforts from the 1950s through the 1990s. Included are deeds for A.G. Comings and Son bookstore, Haylor's bookstore, Jack and Jill children's store, Campus Restaurant, the Coop Food Store, and the Co-op Center (82 South Main). Leases for outside businesses operating in OCC owned premises include Bead Paradise II, Zilch Florists, and the Village Green Shop.

OCC did not maintain a central correspondence file. The correspondence in Series VIII was discovered scattered throughout the OCC records and was brought together by the Archives. This correspondence is organized into board correspondence, external correspondence, and internal correspondence. Board correspondence is a sampling of letters written by the general manager, education director, or Board president to notify and update board members about OCC business; similar correspondence may be found in the supporting documentation for board meetings in Series II. External correspondence contains both incoming and outgoing communications with individuals (including members and customers), Oberlin College, local and national organizations, and government agencies (primarily concerning taxes). Internal correspondence consists of administrative memorandums on topics such as staff meetings, procedures, and employee bonuses.

Annual financial reports, dated 1941-42 and 1944-99, provide an overview of OCC's growth and periodic financial troubles in Series IX. The 1942-43 gap may be filled in, to some degree, by ledgers and tax records from that time. In addition, balance sheets and other financial statements dated April - September 1999 provide information on OCC finances following the final, March 1999, annual financial report.

The membership's interest in improving the Co-op's financial footing and expanding the business are documented by certificates of indebtedness and promissory notes, 1942-73. A similar program of loans from OCC's membership was also undertaken in the late 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, OCC maintained investments through firms such as Merrill Lynch and the Westin Financial Group. Also of interest in the OCC financial records are a 1999 real estate appraisal of the 37 West College Street bookstore and financial ledgers dated 1942-47 and 1960-65. The 1960-65 ledger includes accounts for the Coop Food Store and the Pen and Pencil Restaurant (later called Campus Restaurant).

Legal files in Series X contain documents relating to bylaws revisions and to lawsuits. The bulk of the series consists of the contents, dated 1988-93, of a binder maintained by OCC labeled "Bylaws and Legal Info." The files also include correspondence with Laddie Lushin, a Vermont attorney specializing in cooperatives, 1988-92; Roy L. Turnell of the firm Thompson, Hine and Flory, 1989; and Frank Carlson of the law firm Coey, Bennett and Carlson, 1996-98. The firm Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook and Batista handled the OCC lawsuit against CUBPaC, Inc., and the sale of the Coop Bookstore building to Oberlin College. Series IV Administrative Files contains additional material relating to the lawsuits which resulted from the termination of the CUBPaC management agreement.

Series XI. Membership files provide insight into the make-up of OCC's membership and how the membership and the administration interacted. Membership records are incomplete and are available only for 1940-58 and 1988-99 (span). Three volumes record the townspeople, college faculty, and a modest number of students who became permanent members from 1940 to 1947; certificates of indebtedness are also recorded in these volumes. (Comprehensive documentation of certificates of indebtedness is found in Series IX Financial Records.) An additional membership ledger (disbound) lists members from 1942-58. Membership lists for 1988-99 include information such as address, date of initial membership, and status (student, faculty, or other).

Member handbooks and brochures describe the organization's commitment to the Rochdale Principles of cooperation. These publications emphasize both the benefits and the responsibilities of membership. Membership notices, 1945-86, contain correspondence and proposals sent to members. These documents include meeting announcements, proposals for expansion, and information about member investments, and they were one of the primary methods used to keep the membership informed. A 1996 program allowing members to volunteer for OCC projects in order to receive discounts is one example of OCC's efforts to expand member involvement.

Series XII. Personnel files contain information about employees and benefits provided by OCC. Topics include personnel policies, benefits, pay increases, bonuses, and pension (SEPP and 401K plans). Payroll and income tax withholding records, 1953-88 (span), provide employee names for this period.

Advertising for OCC merchandise, programs and events is found in Series XIII. Publicity Files. These files also include news clippings and copies of publications containing articles about OCC. Of particular value to the researcher is the OCC newsletter Oberlin Cooperator, 1983-98 (some issues missing); files relating to production of the newsletter, 1987-99, are also included. The first issues of the earlier newsletters Oberlin Co-ops in Action (1953) and The Co-op Letter (1981) are found here as well. Guest books record visitors at special events, 1988-95.

The Subject Files in Series XIV include topics such as business ventures considered by OCC, charitable giving within the community, OCC history, long-range planning, and OCC's relationship with Oberlin College. There is no documentation of OCC and Bill Long's involvement with the formation of OSCA.

Series XV provides a moderate amount of information relating to the Bill Long Foundation, the charitable organization established to honor OCC's long-time manager. These files focus solely on the relationship between OCC and the Foundation, and do not contain information on Foundation's grant-making activity. Included are files relating to the formation of the Foundation and correspondence concerning OCC's financial commitments to the Foundation.

Series XVI holds plaques and certificates. Series XVII, Non-textual Records, contains artifacts, audio and visual recordings, drawings, and photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1896-2002
Creation: Majority of material found in 1940-2000
Other: Date acquired: 00/00/2001

Creator

Oberlin Consumers Cooperative (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Some items restricted as noted on inventory.

Administrative History

A Brief History of the Oberlin Consumers Co-operative and Its Businesses by Albert J. McQueen

The Oberlin Consumers Co-operative (OCC) was into its 59th year of existence as a legal entity when the Co-op Book Store, its one remaining business, closed in November of 1999. The origins of OCC go back to 1937, when a group of students and professors organized a discussion group that in January 1938 developed into a buying club for toilet articles and cosmetics that also implemented a contract laundry service. In 1939, the group also took over the student book exchange from the YWCA. In May of 1940, following a series of meetings between town and college people, a genuine consumers cooperative, OCC, was incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio. Membership was open to persons from the college and the community, as well as area farmers. Persons could be either lifetime members for $5.00 per person or student members for 50 cents per school year. Additional capital was obtained through the sale of certificates of deposit to members.

The guiding cooperative ideology for OCC was always based upon the Rochdale Principles propounded by the 1844 pioneers in Rochdale, England, who established the first successful cooperative businesses in history. These principles are: (1) open, voluntary membership - anyone may join; (2) democratic control - election of the board and decisions on major issues by members are made on a one member, one vote basis; (3) limited returns on capital - to discourage speculative investments in cooperatives and stress true cooperation; (4) non-profit operation - to prevent persons from profiting personally, any profit ("surplus") is (a) used for development of the business, (b) used to benefit the public through services, or (c) returned to members in proportion to their purchases; (5) ongoing education - to have a strong foundation, cooperatives must educate their members and the public in the theory and practice of economic and democratic cooperation; (6) cooperation among cooperatives - to strengthen the cooperative movement co-ops should work together at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

From its humble beginnings, over the years OCC operated businesses of several kinds: bookstore, laundry and dry cleaning service, children's clothing store, grocery store, Greyhound Bus ticket agency, credit union, and restaurant. This meant much moving and relocating. In June of 1942, OCC opened a store in a space it rented at 23 South Main Street (now the site of Campus Cleaners), where it remained until 1952. The front half of the store was devoted to the sale of food. The rear of the store was divided into two sections: one half to a dry cleaning agency and the other half to books and school supplies. Between 1942 and 1949, OCC struggled to stay alive as it tried different lines of merchandise and sought new members in the community.

James F. "Bill" Long, who had been organizing farmer cooperatives for the Ohio Farm Bureau, was hired as OCC manager in February of 1949. A hard driving, no-nonsense person of strong cooperative values and keen business acumen, he sparked a series of moves in the business district and in a western section of Oberlin and generally improved the financial status and service capabilities of OCC. Having to share textbook sales with Haylor's Bookstore, Bill immediately began a program to increase food sales, which succeeded so well that before long the food operations needed larger quarters. In December 1951, the OCC membership accepted an offer from local builder William Gaeuman to build the first supermarket in Oberlin, the Co-op Food Store on West College Street, now the site of Dean's Family Store. Capital for the expanded store, which opened in August 1952, was raised via member certificates of deposit and bank loans. The store was an outstanding early success, as indicated by the fact that patronage rebates to member customers, based upon sales, totaled about $40,000 between 1953 and 1957. But with the coming of competitive supermarkets to Oberlin, notably IGA and Fishers, the good times waned. Thus, in 1964 the OCC Board approved the sale of the building to another commercial enterprise.

With the opening of the Co-op Food Store in 1952, the book operations were moved to 11 North Main Street where the old Oberlin Inn was located. Two years later the College demolished that old Oberlin Inn to build the current Inn, and the bookstore was moved to 29 West College Street. About two years later, that building was purchased by the owner of the Ben Franklin Store and Powers and Dawley, who evicted the Bookstore. OCC then purchased an old house on East College Street, demolished it, and built the first new downtown retail building in many years, now the site of Rax Restaurant. The new store opened in December of 1956, initially as a bookstore only. In 1958, OCC purchased the Jack and Jill children's clothing store and moved it to the basement of their new building. A dry cleaning service was added and the store also sold some housewares. Also in 1958, OCC took over the local Greyhound Bus Ticket agency and operated it for about ten years.

The location of the new store had the commercial disadvantage of being on the eastern edge of downtown, requiring students to pass by many other stores before getting to the Co-op. A site closer to the College was seen as highly desirable. Thus, in 1959, OCC bought the Comings Bookstore building at 37 West College Street, in close proximity to the College. The move was made in 1960. The Comings building was divided into three sections: the Comings store, the Campus restaurant, and Walter's Shoe Store. The partition between the restaurant and the bookstore had to be removed so that the restaurant space could be converted to a text and general book department. The expensive renovation of two-thirds of the basement for a separate textbook department occurred much later, in 1979. In order to get possession of the restaurant room, OCC financed a location for the Campus restaurant in the corner bank building. Bill Long and other OCC leaders initially had hoped to demolish the Comings building and build a new, modern bookstore on the site. A financial plan was developed that would involve Oberlin College buying the property, erecting a new building, and leasing it to OCC for 20 years. The College administration rejected the plan on two occasions.

In 1960, the East College Street store that OCC had built was sold to the National Association of College Stores, and all book operations were moved to the Comings building acquired the previous year. When OCC sold the Co-op Food Store in 1964, much of the proceeds from the sale were used to buy the Campus Restaurant, which was, in turn, sold in 1965 to Fred Owens, an African American who had managed it for OCC. By that time, the children's clothing store had been sold, and the credit union was no longer operating. For 34 years, 1965 to 1999, the bookstore was the only business of OCC. But with steadily growing earnings, OCC did attempt to diversify its business and educational activities in 1983, with the purchase of the former Oberlin Pro Hardware building at 82 South Main Street (now the site of the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant). The building was to become a Co-op Center to house several new cooperative businesses including a food store. The interior of the building proved to be less adaptable than originally believed and to require extensive and quite expensive renovations to be made fully usable. Thus, plans for new co-op ventures failed to get off the ground, and the building was sold in 1986 at a loss of over $100,000.

OCC members and leaders were strongly committed to educating the public about cooperative principles and being of service to the community in helpful ways that went beyond commercial offerings. Bill Long, manager for 35 years (1949 to 1984), was widely admired as exemplary of the very best of cooperative and civic virtues oriented to community service. He took many initiatives in the community for efforts such as strengthening education and care for children, helping the needy, and facilitating minority businesses. He made the Co-op Book Store an "equal opportunity employer" long before federal guidelines were formulated for affirmative action. Bill served several terms on City Council, which included time as Council Chairman. Under his leadership in 1950, the OCC Board approved the allocation of some money to help with the formation of the first student co-op at Pyle Inn. The student co-ops and OCC worked closely together for a number of years.

Following the Rochdale Principle of cooperatives being non-profit in character, OCC adhered to the practice of returning "surpluses" (designated portions of profits) to customers who were members as "rebates" based on total purchases by each person for the year under consideration. With Bill Long taking the lead, this approach was supplemented in 1971 by a system of charitable contributions. The membership voted in a policy of making annual distributions of designated surpluses to worthwhile community organizations such as Head Start, Oberlin Early Childhood Center, the Oberlin Public Library, the Oberlin Hot Meals Program, and the Oberlin Community Services Council. Every spring when the annual meetings were held at the end of OCC's fiscal year, the membership would vote on Board recommendations for allocations to such specific "causes". The Oberlin Co-operator for October 1983, reported that during the 12-year period between 1971 and 1983 over $100,000 had been contributed to community causes.

After 35 years of employment with OCC, Bill Long retired at age 71 on January 7, 1984, his birthday. Under his leadership, OCC had grown to be a vital part of the Oberlin community, for both its civic and social contributions and its business and commercial roles. To honor Bill and to lift the direct responsibility of OCC to fund and administer the annual distributions, the membership voted in 1989 to establish an independent tax-exempt public foundation and to endow it, over a three-year period, with $100,000 worth of Co-op assets. All members of OCC automatically become members of the foundation, a totally separate legal entity from OCC. The Bill Long Foundation carries on OCC's tradition of charitable giving in the community.

The Co-op Book Store was a thriving and highly regarded business in the 1980s. But as 1990 and the 50th anniversary of OCC approached, concerns mounted about certain decrepit conditions and space and other limitations of the bookstore building. Since the store moved into the building in 1960, a number of renovation projects had been carried out. Yet the realities of potentially serious structural problems, unusable space, and high upkeep costs were very much in evidence. Thus, in 1989 the Board began exploring and planning to deal with building needs, initially focusing on renovation of the building. Early in that process, a highly recommended Cleveland firm of consulting engineers was engaged to do a thorough evaluation of the structural condition of the building. The engineers concluded that structural problems of the building were of such a serious nature that consideration should be given to either constructing a new building or undertaking total renovation of the building.

Intensive study and consultations with members, townspeople, representative of relevant organizations, and professionals were carried out. A number of preservationists argued strenuously for retaining the historical character of the old Comings building so that it might qualify as a candidate for being listed on the National Historical Register. However, it became increasingly evident that, whatever building plan might be chosen, either all or most of the old building would need to be demolished. The decisive factor was that professionally estimated costs of total demolition and building a new building (about $2 million) came in significantly lower than either of the options of building in such a way as to save the historically significant north and west walls or to save the front section of the building. At a well attended special membership meeting in April of 1991, a decisive vote was made to construct a new building. Careful financial projections had supported the feasibility of undertaking the project.

During the year-long construction period, the business was moved to Westervelt Hall (now the New Union Arts Center). In an upbeat mood the new Co-op Book Store opened in the summer of 1993 in its sparkling new 3-level building with such features as an elevator, a cafe, a copy center, offices, a computerware area, and copious spaces for text and trade books, gifts, clothing, music and records, supplies, and storage. From outer appearances the business seemed strong, but the harsh realities of negative balance sheets began right away to take a toll on the business. Along with such factors as the unexpectedly high costs of moving and operating during an unsettled year, restocking and running a much larger operation, and the interest payments on the loans for construction, there was also the burden on students of growing inflation in textbook prices, the appearance of a mega-bookstore (Borders) within easy driving distance, and the advent of on-line book selling, which seems to have had a strong appeal to students. In 1993 the loss was about $100,000, and by 1998 it had risen to roughly $430,000. With the financial situation becoming increasingly woeful, the Board, in April of 1998 - without a vote of the membership - entered into a 5-year contract with a business consulting firm, CUBPaC, Inc. of Columbia, Maryland, to provide management services in hopes of turning around the fortunes of the struggling store. Basically the contract required CUBPaC to provide certain management services and to buy and own the store's inventory, while OCC would pay monthly management fees and buy back the inventory within five years. Serious disagreements between the two parties over services provided and the payment of fees led CUBPaC abruptly to forbid the sale of any of its inventory, under threat of legal action. Thus it was that on November 9, 1999, without warning, prospective customers were confronted with signs on the two store entrances: "The Co-op Bookstore is CLOSED Until Further Notice." The Board took legal actions against CUBPaC and the College, which reportedly had an agreement with CUBPaC regarding the inventory. In the spring of 2000, OCC sold the bookstore building to Oberlin College and then voted to dissolve.

February 20, 2000, revised July 1, 2002

Note written by Albert J. McQueen.

Extent

19.95 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The records of the Oberlin Consumers Cooperative were received from Richard Riley, Liz Burgess, Karen Long, and Allison Gould in eight accessions in the period of August 2001 to August 2002. Additional materials covering 1999-2000, relating to the closing of the cooperative, were received from Samuel Goldberg in 2004.