Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's....
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- There are 7 posts — by 7 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Kay Schoenwetter at 2009 May 15 07:14 UTC
My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? Does anyone have any photos of it? Thanks! sara Bergen, Powderhorn
Hi Sara, Yep, Powderhorn was located in what is now Mayday Café. It closed in the mid 1990s, after several failed years as a worker collective. I was on the board of the coop when it finally closed. I recommend that you get the excellent book, Storefront Revolution by Craig Cox from the Mpls Library. it details the events of the co-op wars of the early to mid seventies, including the violent battles at coops like Powderhorn and Seward. Also check out Alexandra Stein's Inside Out, in which she chronicles her years as part of the underground Marxist group the CO, one of the parties in the co-op wars. -Susan 32nd St and 16th Ave
-----Original Message----- From: <email obscured> <email obscured>] On Behalf Of <email obscured> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:15 PM To: <email obscured> Subject: [Mpls-PoHo] Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's.... My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? Does anyone have any photos of it? Thanks! sara Bergen, Powderhorn Sara Bergen Powderhorn, Minneapolis Info about Sara Bergen: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/sarabergen View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7eGDMqyTI1pFjeAkZjkZWM ----------------------------------------- To post, e-mail: <email obscured> Use "Reply-to-All" via e-mail to post publicly. To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on" in subject, then send to: <email obscured> More information about Minneapolis Powderhorn Neighbors Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-poho E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net
<email obscured> wrote: > My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. It was indeed located where May Day is now. It was still there when I moved into the neighborhood (late 1988), because I remember donating a computer to be sold at a fundraiser. IIRC (I wasn't living in Mpls at the time, but had friends who worked at the coops), the split between coop factions was somewhat stronger than a question of canned goods. Among other things it involved a violent takeover of the coop warehouse (by a group that were known to their detractors as "the Stalinoids" that included former CM Dean Zimmerman). I recall that as late as the early '90s there was a Stalinoid coop on 26th St. just west of the freeway that sold, among other things, cigarettes "because the people want them". > Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? I _think_ it was there when I first lived in Mpls in 1971, because I have vague memory of volunteering there. But I couldn't swear to that. I don't have any personal knowledge, but think it closed for much the same reasons that many other coops closed. The coops were always horribly undercapitalized, and depended on a workforce that was ideologically committed enough so that they'd work for almost nothing. On the other hand, the big stores started carrying similar products (bulk, organic), and the coops couldn't compete on price. (There was always an ideological divide between coop people who stood for purity and organics, and the coop people who stood for low prices.) In the '70s I ran a similar coop in Chicago, and the wholesalers who dealt with small stores were very expensive.. sometimes we'd make runs out to the 'burb where the first Aldi's was, and buy stuff retail there, because it was cheaper than our wholesalers. People became less idealistic, less willing to volunteer, less willing to shop at coops, now that they could get similar goods elsewhere.
Dave
quick link to history/records: http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/P2021.xml also referenced in north country coop records: http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00074.html haven't found any photos, yet. i had forgotten about the 'wars'....thanks for the historical reminder. best wishes, cheryl luger nokomis east “I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.” --- Jonathan Swift
> Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? A contributing factor to the closure (or so I've been told) was the comprehensive reconstruction of Bloomington Avenuebetween Lakeand 38th Streets in 1991. They tore itapart down to the cobblestones and trolley rail. Traffic access to the businesses at the intersection(which included a SuperAmerica on the SE corner) was significantly restricted. Maybe others know if the impact of the reconstruction was more myth than history, but it seems to coincide with the timeline. And, yes, I used to shop there. Bulk molasses! Patrick Ciernia 3200-block of 15th
________________________________ From: Dave Garland <email obscured>> To: <email obscured> Cc: <email obscured> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:53:35 PM Subject: Re: [Mpls-PoHo] Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's.... <email obscured> wrote: > My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. It was indeed located where May Day is now. It was still there when I moved into the neighborhood (late 1988), because I remember donating a computer to be sold at a fundraiser. IIRC (I wasn't living in Mpls at the time, but had friends who worked at the coops), the split between coop factions was somewhat stronger than a question of canned goods. Among other things it involved a violent takeover of the coop warehouse (by a group that were known to their detractors as "the Stalinoids" that included former CM Dean Zimmerman). I recall that as late as the early '90s there was a Stalinoid coop on 26th St. just west of the freeway that sold, among other things, cigarettes "because the people want them". > Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? I _think_ it was there when I first lived in Mpls in 1971, because I have vague memory of volunteering there. But I couldn't swear to that. I don't have any personal knowledge, but think it closed for much the same reasons that many other coops closed. The coops were always horribly undercapitalized, and depended on a workforce that was ideologically committed enough so that they'd work for almost nothing. On the other hand, the big stores started carrying similar products (bulk, organic), and the coops couldn't compete on price. (There was always an ideological divide between coop people who stood for purity and organics, and the coop people who stood for low prices.) In the '70s I ran a similar coop in Chicago, and the wholesalers who dealt with small stores were very expensive.. sometimes we'd make runs out to the 'burb where the first Aldi's was, and buy stuff retail there, because it was cheaper than our wholesalers. People became less idealistic, less willing to volunteer, less willing to shop at coops, now that they could get similar goods elsewhere. Dave David Garland Powderhorn, Minneapolis Info about Dave Garland: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/davidgarland View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4WAEAa6ktNiksir7R0hZND ----------------------------------------- To post, e-mail: <email obscured> Use "Reply-to-All" via e-mail to post publicly. To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on" in subject, then send to: <email obscured> More information about Minneapolis Powderhorn Neighbors Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-poho E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net
Paula Gilbertson was the Coordinator for a while at the Co-op. It was where Mayday is now. There have already been a couple of books about the co-op struggle, one by Craig Cox and one by a woman who was active in the CO, the Marxist organization seeking to make the co-ops more working class and less petit bourgeois. I wrote a pamphlet in which I criticized the CO for being left-dogmatic. The CO fell apart and by 1976 it had seemingly evaporated. Ed Felien, Editor/Publisher Southside Pride 3200 Chicago Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 612 822 4662 <email obscured>
-----Original Message----- From: <email obscured> <email obscured>] Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:15 PM To: <email obscured> Subject: [Mpls-PoHo] Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's.... My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? Does anyone have any photos of it? Thanks! sara Bergen, Powderhorn Sara Bergen Powderhorn, Minneapolis Info about Sara Bergen: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/sarabergen View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7eGDMqyTI1pFjeAkZjkZWM ----------------------------------------- To post, e-mail: <email obscured> Use "Reply-to-All" via e-mail to post publicly. To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on" in subject, then send to: <email obscured> More information about Minneapolis Powderhorn Neighbors Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-poho E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.12.11/2089 - Release Date: 4/30/2009 5:53 PM
I moved to the Cities in the fall of 1975, and Powderhorn Coop was my first experience of coops -- in the middle of the coop wars. However, Powderhorn did survive that and I was a member around 1980-1981. I agree with the person who wrote that it likely folded for the same reasons many other coops did, mostly economic, but also too much reliance on volunteers and burn out among the full-time staff (which may have just been the manager(s), I'm not sure. Kay 30xx 10th Ave. S. P.S. I never introduced myself when we switched to e-democracy, and I tend to lurk: My husband and I have lived in our house since 1987 -- it's the only place my 19-year-old son has ever lived! I was a block club leader for awhile; unfortunately, our block club fell apart when I burned out and the other two co-leaders moved away. I'm also a Morris dancer, and my husband is the person who brought English-style mumming to the Twin Cities.
-----Original Message----- From: Ed Felien <email obscured>> To: <email obscured>; <email obscured> Sent: Thu, 14 May 2009 2:22 pm Subject: Re: [Mpls-PoHo] Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's.... Paula Gilbertson was the Coordinator for a while at the Co-op. It was where Mayday is now. There have already been a couple of books about the co-op struggle, one by Craig Cox and one by a woman who was active in the CO, the Marxist organization seeking to make the co-ops more working class and less petit bourgeois. I wrote a pamphlet in which I criticized the CO for being left-dogmatic. The CO fell apart and by 1976 it had seemingly evaporated. Ed Felien, Editor/Publisher Southside Pride 3200 Chicago Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 612 822 4662 <email obscured> -----Original Message----- From: <email obscured> <email obscured>] Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 1:15 PM To: <email obscured> Subject: [Mpls-PoHo] Powderhorn Food Co-op in the '70's.... My folks were over last night and were talking about how my dad used to take my brother and I to the Powderhorn Food co-op. He thought it was either housed where the MayDay is currently or on the SW corner of 34th and Bloomington. He recalled that once when he took us to go shopping there were demonstrations in the street between two co-op factions---one wanted the co-op to remain as is and one wanted to expand offerings to include canned goods etc. Anyway, did any of you shop there or do you have any knowledge of how it started and why it closed? Does anyone have any photos of it? Thanks! sara Bergen, Powderhorn Sara Bergen Powderhorn, Minneapolis Info about Sara Bergen: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/sarabergen View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7eGDMqyTI1pFjeAkZjkZWM ----------------------------------------- To post, e-mail: <email obscured> Use "Reply-to-All" via e-mail to post publicly. To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on" in subject, then send to: <email obscured> More information about Minneapolis Powderhorn Neighbors Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-poho E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database: 270.12.11/2089 - Release Date: 4/30/2009 5:53 PM Ed Felien Info about Ed Felien: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/edfelien View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/1SPBBaA8e0Wu0GrTGTBN8d ----------------------------------------- To post, e-mail: <email obscured> Use "Reply-to-All" via e-mail to post publicly. To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on" in subject, then send to: <email obscured> More information about Minneapolis Powderhorn Neighbors Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-poho E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net
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