Wisconsin Stories: Camp Co-Op

When Wisconsinites couldn't get what they needed, they'd roll up their sleeves and do it for themselves, forming cooperative businesses. From farm supply stores to the utilities that electrified the countryside, co-ops have played a big part in Wisconsin's history. And viewers might be surprised how many products today are made by co-ops.

This episode features Kamp Kenwood, a Farmers Union summer camp in Chippewa County that teaches kids cooperative principles and how to run co-ops. | watch video clip

Westby, settled by Norwegians, is called Co-op City because of its large concentration of cooperative ventures. Wisconsin Stories focuses on the Westby Cooperative Creamery, which took a big risk in order to survive. | watch video clip

In northern Wisconsin and across the upper Midwest, Finnish cooperatives were a force in the earlier part of the 20th century. The Finnish co-ops had to make some tough choices when Communists tried to claim the ventures for their own. | watch video clip

In the Bayfield area and other parts of rural Wisconsin, electrical cooperatives brought power to the countryside when no one else would. | watch video clip