Title: Wisconsin Co-operative Milk Pool Records
Inclusive Dates: 1928-1943

Creator:

• Wisconsin Co-operative Milk Pool

Call Number: Mss 26; PH 3373; Micro 1128; M2004-256

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (4 archives boxes and 1 volume), 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), and 71 photographs; plus additions of 0.8 c.f.

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of the Wisconsin Co-operative Milk Pool, a farmers’ marketing cooperative consisting of local pools grouped in county pools and in turn in one statewide pool. Among the records are materials documenting the activities and impressions of the co-operative's field representative, effects of the Milk Strike of 1933 on the co-operative's leadership, and the co-operative's dissolution.

Note:

Portions of this collection are available only on microfilm.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00026

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The Wisconsin Cooperative Milk Pool was incorporated, on April 7, 1932, as a non-stock association under Chapter 185 of the Wisconsin Statutes, The Pool was established to promote “reasonable profits” for the farmer through legislation and collective bargaining. The Pool expected to belong to a National Cooperative Milk Pool which never materialized. In spite of the absence of a national organization, the Pool participated in the Farm Holiday milk strikes of 1933.

On August 6, 1934, the Milk Pool Products Cooperative was formed to direct the manufacture of products in the Pool plants, its purpose being to market the products by controlling the supply through warehousing. In 1963 the Milk Pool and the Milk Pool Products cooperatives were combined.

The Wisconsin Dairyman's News Cooperative (incorporated October 22, 1934) was established as a subsidiary of the Pool in order to more effectively run the Wisconsin Dairyman's News, the official Pool paper.

The Wisconsin Cooperative Milk Pool consisted of chartered county pools which in turn were made up of chartered local pools. Membership was also granted to individuals. The Board of Directors was elected at the annual conventions, and the Executive Committee members and officers were selected from the Board.

Despite attempts at collective bargaining, quality control, product warehousing, and advertising campaigns; the Pool was unable to improve the economic status of the farmers. The result was a decline in membership which in turn led to insolvency, in spite of a loan for $145,000 made by First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee in 1939. During the ensuing liquidation process, begun in 1940, a petition was filed by this same bank calling for the involuntary bankruptcy of the Pool. The issue to be settled, in what seems to be a landmark case, was whether or not the Pool was protected from forced bankruptcy by its special status as a non-stock, non-profit cooperative under Chapter 185 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Apparently, the result of the decision affected the distribution of the Pool's assets to farmers and to the bank. The case was decided in favor of the Pool at the district court level, but this decision was reversed in the Circuit Court of Appeals in 1941. An appeal by the Pool to the Supreme Court was refused, and the final distribution of assets was completed in 1943.

Additional information may be found in the State Archives Series 747, State Department of Agriculture, Marketing Cooperatives.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Mss 26, PH 3373, Micro 1128): Original Collection, 1932-1943
• Part 2 (M2004-256): Additions, 1928-1941

Acquisition Information

Original Collection presented by Henry F. Dries, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 1968; Mrs. Harry Jack, Appleton, Wisconsin, 1967; and Paul Weis, Waunakee, Wisconsin, 1967; Additions presented by William A. Hoglund. Accession Number: M67-26, M67-267, M68-56, M2004-256

Processing Information

Processed by F. Gerald Ham's class, Summer 1968; Margaret Hafsted, November 11, 1968; and Debbie Anderson and Ann M. Hokanson, September 1987.

Mss 26	Part 1 (Mss 26, PH 3373, Micro 1128): Original Collection, 1932-1943 Physical Description: 2.0 c.f. (4 archives boxes and 1 volume), 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), and 71 photographs  Scope and Content Note The Wisconsin Cooperative Milk Pool records document the Pool's activities from its inception in 1932 through its bankruptcy in 1941. The collection has been arranged in the following series-- administrative records, correspondence, publicity, financial records, and dissolution materials. The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS series contains a file of legal documents including the articles of incorporation, by-laws, and constitution. The bulk of the series consists of minutes from general meetings, Board of Directors and committee meetings, and informal local meetings (Field Meetings and Reports). The earliest minutes are glued into a volume in chronological order, and are indexed on the first page; however, some are missing. The Field Meetings and Reports, 1933-1940, document the day-to-day activities of the Pool. There are also reports on conventions and conferences, membership records, and a historical outline and chart (1935) showing the relationship of the Milk Pool Products Cooperative to the Producers Cooperative Association. The CORRESPONDENCE series consists of general correspondence, circular letters, Milk Pool Products Cooperative correspondence, and Harry Jack's personal correspondence. The bulk of the general correspondence is for the period from 1932 through 1935 and concerns policies, financial matters, and organization. Principal correspondents are Henry F. Dries, secretary and head of field work; Walter M. Singler, president; Anthony Sanna, general manager; Harry H. Jack, vice-president for the Milk Pool Products Cooperative and later president of the Milk Pool; and Ruth Broucher, secretary to Walter Singler. The PUBLICITY series has been organized into broadsides and leaflets, 1933-1939, and speeches and news releases, 1933-1939. Much of the publicity seems to be directed toward the Pool's members rather than toward non-members. A microfilmed scrapbook containing clippings, 1932-1939, provides extensive information on the early days of the Pool during the milk strikes as well as documentation of the leadership struggles following the strikes. Selected scrapbook pages have been preserved in their original format. In addition, the series contains photographs of a variety of Wisconsin Milk Pool factories and cooperatives; these photos show both interiors and exteriors of the buildings. FINANCIAL RECORDS contains auditor's reports, including one for the Milk Pool Products Cooperative when it was independent from the Pool. The series also includes two private surveys commissioned by the Pool; financial statements; a 1933 cooperative annual report; annual reports of the Pool factories, 1934-1940; cheese receipts, 1937-1938; producer and marketing agreements, [1932-1936]; and a record of salaries and expenses, 1935-1939. The series DISSOLUTION MATERIALS contains a copy of the loan application the Pool filed with First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee; a financial summary prepared prior to liquidation; liquidation proceedings; and bankruptcy proceedings. In the liquidation proceedings file is Harry Jack's correspondence with various attorneys and advisors and correspondence between the Pool's attorneys and the courts, as well as letters regarding claims filed against the Pool. The bankruptcy proceedings file consists of legal documents about the case and includes transcripts of testimony about the Pool's activities.
	Series: Administrative Records
Box   1 Folder   1	Historical sketch and organizational chart
Box   1 Folder   2	Articles of incorporation, constitution, by-laws, legal documents, 1932-1935
	Minutes
Volume   1	General minutes, 1931-1935
Box   1 Folder   3	Board of Directors, 1933-1940
Box   1 Folder   4	Committees, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1939
Box   1 Folder   5-8	Field Meetings and Reports, 1933-1940
Box   1 Folder   9	Milk Pool Factory Representatives, 1939, 1940
Box   1 Folder   10	Conventions and conferences, 1933, 1937-1940
Box   1 Folder   11	Members of the Pool, 1933-1940
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1-8	General correspondence, 1932-1941
Box   3 Folder   1	Circular letters by the Pool, 1933-1940
Box   3 Folder   2	Milk Pool Products Cooperative correspondence, 1934-1935
Box   3 Folder   3	Harry Jack personal correspondence, 1935-1940
	Series: Publicity	⇧
Box   3 Folder   4	Broadsides and leaflets, 1933-1939
Box   3 Folder   5	Speeches and news releases, 1933-1939
Micro 1128	Scrapbook of clippings, 1932-1939
PH 3373	Photographs of exteriors and interiors of member factories
Mss 26	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   3 Folder   6	Auditors' reports, 1934-1940
	Surveys
Box   3 Folder   7	By W.P. Jones, [1935?]
Box   3 Folder   7	By C.L. Christensen, 1937
Box   3 Folder   8-9	Financial statements, 1932-1941
Box   4 Folder   1	Annual report, 1933; check-off balances, , 1933, 1939
Box   4 Folder   2	Factories - annual reports, 1934-1940
Box   4 Folder   3	Cheese receipts, June 1937-June 1938
Box   4 Folder   4	Producer and marketing agreements, [1932-1936]
Box   4 Folder   5	Salaries and expenses, 1935-1939
	Series: Dissolution Materials	⇧
Box   4 Folder   6	Loan application, 1939
Box   4 Folder   7	Financial summary, 1940
Box   4 Folder   8	Liquidation proceedings, 1940-1943
Box   4 Folder   9	Bankruptcy proceedings, 1941
M2004-256	Part 2 (M2004-256): Additions, 1928-1941 Physical Description: 0.8 c.f. (3 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1928-1941, consisting of records compiled by Paul Weis who served as Treasurer for the Milk Pool as well as Treasurer/Editor of its publication, the Wisconsin Dairyman's News. Records of the Wisconsin Co-operative Milk Pool include financial statements, by-laws, legal proceedings, reports, and meeting minutes (1932-1938). The correspondence from and to Weis include correspondence with government officials and Cooperative members documenting the many issues with which the Milk Pool was concerned including the Milk Strike of 1933. There are also records of Weis' farm, Crawford County Farms Company Inc., as well as correspondence and other materials related to published articles in the Wisconsin Dairyman's News.	⇧
Box   1 Folder   1-4	Meeting minutes, 1932-1938 Scope and Content Note: Includes financial statements, by-laws, and legal proceedings.
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   1	General
Box   2 Folder   2	Harry Jack
Box   2 Folder   3-9	Paul Weis, 1928-1941
Box   2 Folder   10	Miscellaneous
Box   2 Folder   11	News clippings
Box   2 Folder   12-13	Reports
Box   3 Folder   1	Wisconsin Dairyman's News, correspondence
Box   3 Folder   2	Wisconsin Dairyman's News, articles
Box   3 Folder   3	Crawford County Farms Company, Inc.