As we celebrate Women’s History Month and 50 years of cooperation, we are so grateful for the influential women that help make Seward Co-op the hub of community that it is today. As we look towards the future, we reflect on the past, in reverence, of the women that helped build our foundation.
Annie Young
Annie Young’s legacy in the Twin Cities is far-reaching. From her work with cooperatives to the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, she was woman of both ideas and action. Her early experience of starting a buying club to feed those she was living with in Sioux Falls, S. D. prepared Annie for the work she would ultimately do at the People’s Warehouse at the height of the Co-op Wars. She was very involved in the struggle against the CO and was instrumental in the founding of DANCe, the Distributing Alliance of the Northcountry Cooperators.
After years spent developing educational programs, building membership at what is now known as Bluff Country Co-op in Winona, Minn., Annie moved back to Minneapolis to fill the role of Membership Coordinator at Seward Co-op. Not only did she boost membership, but she established the membership number system that’s in use in Seward Co-op stores today. Later, she served as the president of our board of directors. Although she passed away in 2018, Annie Young’s impact on our co-op, and in the City of Minneapolis, is one that will be felt for years to come.
