PUTNEY — One of the oldest food co-operatives in the nation was started in Putney.
In 1941, on the eve of America's entry into World War II, more and more resources were being devoted to the war effort, and growing one's own food became a necessity.
Putney residents responded preemptively, and formed the Putney Co-op, making it one of the oldest co-ops in New England. Only the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society in New Hampshire, founded in 1936, is older.
According to the Co-op's official history: “To get needed supplies, a group of Putney residents led by Carol Brown formed the Putney Co-op according to the Co-operative Principles. Cash raised from selling member shares was used to rent a store front (purchased in 1944), obtain goods and hire staff.”
For years, the Co-op was near the Putney General Store on Kimball Hill, and according to 30-year part-time employee and local resident Annie McBroom, “it had a different personality...mostly because of its placement in the town.”
“It was small and it was before computers,” McBroom said last year on the occasion of the Co-op's 70th birthday. “Because of our location, a lot of elderly Putney residents lived within walking distance and a lot of the clientele were from Windham [now Landmark] College.”
In time, the Co-op outgrew its downtown location and in 1992, its membership voted to move the store to its present site on Carol Brown Way, near the junction of Interstate 91 and Route 5.
McBroom recalls marking prices by hand using magic marker instead of a price gun “on every can and box.” She said “inventory in those days was a lot looser than it is now.”
“On Sunday morning, the board of directors would do inventory and guesstimate 'there's about 8 pounds of rice, and about 5 pounds of something else,” McBroom said. “Everything got a lot tighter at the new store when we got computerized.”
Today, the store and deli offers a diverse collection of products, but its operation is still rooted in the principles of its founders.