News: Milan (Dorchester Co-op Meeting - 1924)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Baehr, Deising, Miller, Nixdorf

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 2/19/2014

Originally published in the Milan Sentinel, Wednesday, February 20, 1924

13th Annual Meeting Held

The 13th annual meeting of the shareholders of the Dorchester Cooperative Company, one of our prominent growing institutions, was held at Esser’s Opera House Wednesday and was well attended by the shareholders.

The business session was called to order by President Otto Baehr and after the reading and adoption of the minutes of the last annual meeting, President Baehr offered the officers report.

In his plea for more unity, cooperation and trade-at-home spirit to reach his goal - a yearly average patronage amounting to $400 per shareholder - he showed that time is coming, although slowly. In 1922 the average patronage of the shareholders amounted to $230. In 1923 it reached an average of $250.

In 1924 this amount should almost be doubled.

The report of A.P. Miller, chairman of the Education Committee, and financial report of Secretary Gus Nixdorf were both read and adopted.

At this time manager Frank Deising was called in. His remarks were confined mainly to the store and patronage obligation of the shareholder. He showed conclusively that they could save money by trading in their own store and getting the eight percent stockholder’s rebates instead of send their cash out of town and the community.

The ever welcome news from the women folks that dinner was ready to be served caused a flutter among the men folks.