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1970
– 1979
The 'me' decade was a relatively stable period for MCS,
and one marked by continued expansion, construction and consolidation. Sydney
got a fully modern distribution facility with a new 40,000 square-foot warehouse
in 1970 and, three years later, work began on a new feed mill for New Minas, as
well as a 50,000 square-foot addition to the Moncton warehouse.
Yet there were occasions when issues created division among MCS board
members, and the most notable division of the early 1970s occurred over the
issue of direct charge stores. By this time, there were more than a half-dozen
direct charge co-ops located throughout the region, and stores were exerting
pressure on MCS to put more promotion behind the concept. Support was pretty
much divided along generational lines. McEwen and Dernier were opposed to the
idea, but future GM Nestor Charuk believed it would be well received in urban
centres instead of the traditional format. Another future GM, Lloyd Horton, also
expressed support for the concept, but it wasn't long before some of the
detractors came around. Speaking at the opening of the Simonds Co-op in 1973,
Dernier, ever the pragmatist, said how pleased he was to have been involved in
the full launch of the direct charge concept.
Meanwhile, 1971 saw a final break with a proud past as McEwen took full
retirement from the organization. Despite the move, his name would figure
significantly in MCS's immediate future. Proceeds from the sale of his house
were used to establish the McEwens Seminars in 1972 to further co-op education,
so named in recognition of McEwen and his wife, Merle. And, four years later,
the McEwen Centre, a major addition to the home office, was completed, further
exemplifying the enormous contribution McEwen had made to the success of MCS.
As the United States dealt with the fallout from Watergate, and the
succession from Nixon to Ford, MCS also found itself dealing with a change in
management. The change occurred without any attending controversy, but with some
sadness, as Horton took over as general manager from Dernier who passed away in
1974. Although more conservative than his predecessor, Horton recognized the
immense opportunities afforded by technology to support and grow the wholesale
business. Perhaps that openness to technology led to the installation of MCS's
first mainframe computer that same year. He would also oversee the completion of
many major initiatives launched by Dernier, including the development of
Atlantic Peoples Housing Ltd. and the subsequent construction of Peoples Park
Tower, a senior's apartment complex, in 1976.
Jack Walsh pointing to an artist
rendition of Peoples
Park Tower
prior to construction
Peoples Park Tower turning
of the sod
Horton also oversaw the completion, in 1974, of a new feed mill - the largest
and most modern in the region - for Truro. Other highlights from that year
include MCS's incorporation under the Canadian Co-operatives Association Act as
Maritime Co-operative Services - as required by the new act - and the
Agricultural Division's decision to open a purchasing and brokerage office in
Winnipeg, garnering a seat on the Winnipeg Stock Exchange. The following year,
the Co-op College established an Atlantic regional office, ensuring that co-op
executives could now obtain training in the region tailored to meet the very
unique demands of doing business in Atlantic Canada.
In July 1978, with the world fully in the grip of Saturday Night Fever, MCS
took another major step forward and adopted a new name: Co-op Atlantic. The
change reflected the organization's growth from a Maritime Provinces-based
co-operative network to one that extended throughout Atlantic Canada, and Co-op
Atlantic would fully capitalize on that new name in the 1980s.
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1970s
- 1970 - First major Canadian oil spill at sea occurs at Chedabucto as the Arrow, a Liberian tanker runs aground, polluting 200 kilometres of Nova Scotia's shoreline.
- 1970 - Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act during the October Crisis.
- 1970 - Monday Night Football debuts on ABC, becoming a prime-time institution.
- 1971 - All in the Family debuts on CBS.
- 1971 - The Nova Scotia Legislature becomes the first provincial Legislature to be broadcast on TV.
- 1972 - The Beachcombers debuts on CBC for a 19-season run.
- 1975 - The Fifth Estate debuts on CBC.
- 1976 - Atlantic Lottery holds its first-ever draw.
- 1977 - Elvis, the king of rock and roll, dies.
- 1979 - Antonine Maillet of Bouctouche, New Brunswick, is the first North American writer to win the most prestigious literary prize in the French speaking world - Prix Goncourt - for the novel Pelagie-la-Charrette.
- 1979 - Oil is discovered at the Hibernia field on the Grand Banks.
- 1979 - Anne Murray wins Grammy award.
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