Maynard author and historian David Mark will speak about the long and storied history of food cooperatives that existed in Maynard, from oldest to most recent. 

With the grandiose name “Order of the Sovereigns of Industry,” the first co-operative society opened in 1875. Renamed “Riverside Co-operative Association,” it lasted to 1936. Newly arrived Finnish immigrants asked that Riverside hire Finnish-speaking staff. Rebuffed, they started the Kaleva Co-operative Association, later to become the United Co-operative Society of Maynard. In time, United added a bakery, diary delivery, ice delivery, a fuel oil company, gas station and credit union. At one point in time United was one of the ten largest co-ops in the country. Kaleva/United was in business 1907-1973, closing after the immigrant descendants assimilated and moved away. 

The arrival of supermarkets - with their own parking lots - also contributed to the demise of co-ops. However, the Assabet Co-op Market, Powdermill Road, Maynard, opened its doors in May 2023 with over 2,000 members, so we are once again a co-op town.