The collection has been arranged in three series: General Records of Consolidated Badger Cooperative, Corporate Records of Companies Merged with Consolidated Badger Cooperative, and Visual Materials. Together the series document fairly well the milk production and dairy products distribution operations of the cooperative in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The history and activities of the CBC are well illustrated in the files of general news clippings; clippings about the strikes of 1947 and 1949; anniversary programs, brochures, and articles created and collected for the cooperative's 50th anniversary; a file entitled “Early Thoughts on Improvements,” 1928-1931; transcripts of oral history interviews of George F. Baumeister, Joe Duffek, and Ed Engebretson; and an award nomination, press releases, and speech of Baumeister's. Additional information about the history of the cooperative may be found in the file of real estate transactions (Box 6, Folder 17), which records acquisitions of dairies and firms, mergers, purchases of equipment, funds raised and loans, and real estate transactions considered and rejected. Most of this information was compiled from the cooperative's minutes. The “general files” in Box 1 contain a variety of form letters, articles, and printed and near-print material.
Printed annual reports of the cooperative span the dates 1931-1983, and are supplemented by lists of directors and officers. The financial records of CBC consist only of annual financial reports, 1931-1961. Records of lawsuits and other legal transactions consist of legal documents, notes, correspondence, and related material concerning business-related activities and lawsuits, and real estate sales.
On two reels of microfilm are minutes of the cooperative's annual and board meetings, with articles of association and by-laws drafted in 1929. Minutes of annual stockholders' meetings also include ballots for election of directors, resolutions, financial statements, and minutes of periodic board meetings for the early years. Later files contain only minutes, financial statements, and some financial records of district meetings. The minutes of district meetings do not consist of formal minutes, but rather are ballots, attendance lists, and notes. Some minutes are available only on microfilm; originals of the minutes are in private possession.
There is a small file of CBC newsletters, 1950-1952, entitled “Badger Personalities” (formerly “Badger Personnel- ities”), which supplement the complete run of “Badger Briefs” newsletters, 1931-July 1984, available at the University of Wisconsin's Steenbock Memorial Library.
CBC production records are comprised of a summary document listing various milk production totals for 1931-1980, and annual summaries, 1943, 1945-1983, listing production, use, and sales totals for milk, powdered milk, cream, condensed milk, ice cream mix, butter, and cheese for CBC departments and branches.
The union and labor records include a lengthy run of standard labor contracts and documents related to agreements between CBC and Teamsters' Union locals throughout the CBC pickup and delivery area. There are a few records, mainly clippings in the historical files, and memos written during negotiations, pertaining to the 1949 strike. Concerning contract negotiations, there are files and contracts and contract proposals, correspondence, memoranda, notes, seniority lists, and similar materials, mainly generated by CBC officials during labor negotiations or at a time of shutdown or consolidation of facilities or delivery routes. There are files regarding local union #328, Escanaba, Michigan, which negotiated with the Asselin Creamery Co., a division of CBC; CBC Fluid Milk and Manufacturing Divisions; Hancock Dairy, Hancock, Michigan; and CBC-owned plants in Seymour, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Appleton, West DePere, Sturgeon Bay, Iola, Marshfield, and Shawano.
Corporate Records of Companies Merged with Consolidated Badger Cooperative include a variety of materials concerning several Wisconsin and Michigan dairy plants. There are a few organizational records, such as articles of incorporation and corporation record books (containing basic organizational record books, which contain basic organizational records and minutes) for Outagamie Milk and Produce Co. and Shawano Creamery Co. For Asselin Creamery Co., Bancroft Dairy, Bridgeman-Russel Co., Central Dairy Sales Cooperative, Gehl Dairy Farms, Hancock Dairy Co., Hergert Dairy, Melody Dairy Inc., Portage Cooperative Creamery and Westfield Cooperative Dairy, and Rice Lake Creamery Co., there are mainly audit reports and CBC-created records of each company's financial condition at the time of merger. These financial records include such information as accounts payable and receivable, production and sales records, employee data, and other basic accounting details.
The Visual Materials include photographs and films. The photographs, 1940s-1970s, document dairy production and meetings of Cooperative members. The films, 1930s-1978, document the Consolidated Badger Cooperative and Morning Glory Farms’ products, facilities, activities, and history, including footage of the first strike at Badger Co-op, butter production, dairying, and discussion panels on agricultural issues.
