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1940
– 1949
In 1940, the CLC(M) changed representation on the
management board - making it a board of directors - and grouped the region's
co-ops into seven geographic zones. Yet these changes were overshadowed somewhat
by the profound transformation that resulted from the war between England and
Germany. The CLC(M) became the contact for millions of tonnes of Maritime bacon
products shipped to Great Britain, and these shipments renewed interest in
centralized coordination for the region's co-ops in all areas of business. When
the war commission announced that it would only negotiate with one Maritime
co-op, the CLC(M) was selected to take the lead.
These developments suggested that McEwen's vision for a strong Maritime
network of co-ops might finally catch on, but that dream suffered a considerable
setback in 1941. Cape Breton co-operatives, looking to strike out on their own,
established Cape Breton Co-operative Services (CBCS) and took over operation of
the Sydney branch. The move - approved at the 1941 AGM - followed parallel
developments in the region, such as the five-store Eastern Co-operative
Services, founded by co-ops in the counties of East Pictou, East Guysborough and
Antigonish. Similar operations also took shape in communities like Amherst and
Madawaska, which were both CLC(M) members.
Maritime Co-operative Services Ltd. (MCS)
and
Co-operative
Farm Services (CFS) - Record Street property
in the 1940's.
Despite these developments, and the closure of roughly 100 small village
co-ops and credit unions throughout the Maritimes between 1936 and 1946, there
were indications that the co-op concept was catching on. This created growing
pains for the CLC(M), albeit positive ones. The Mechanic Street warehouse was
now too small to serve the region's needs, so the CLC(M) acquired land on Record
Street for a new warehouse and office facility in 1941. That same year, the
CLC(M)'s Moncton retail unit, formed in the mid-thirties, received its co-op
charter and became Co-operative Farm Services (CFS) - later Co-op Centre and,
today, CCC-Co-op Centre/Co-op Basics. This allowed CFS to diversify as a
full-service central. More important, CFS marked the beginning of CLC(M)'s
management agreement when McEwen assumed the role of CFS manager. To this day,
co-ops throughout Atlantic Canada continue to sign agreements with Co-op
Atlantic for the organization to identify and hire management for individual
co-ops.
But the growing success of the CLC(M) was best reflected in the
organization's financial performance. Thanks to increased wartime demand,
livestock sales consistently broke records month after month. By 1942, the value
of livestock sold through the CLC(M) had risen to $731,997 from $72,400 in 1932.
Writing in his Maritime Co-operator column that year, assistant GM Roy Grant
informed readers that September-November 1942 represented the heaviest trading
season in the history of the organization. By 1944, the CLC(M) achieved total
sales of $3,378,302 and, after reorganizing into eight geographic zones, adopted
a new name in 1945 - Maritime Co-operative Services Ltd. (MCS) - to incorporate
the subsidiaries.
1945 Annual General Meeting
With the end of the war, McEwen attempted to revisit his bold vision for a
unified co-op network with The Maritime Plan. Unfortunately, the plan, drafted
in 1946, was tabled for two years before it quietly died. On a more positive
note, two future general managers joined MCS during this time. W.D. Dernier
became manager of the Feed Department in 1947 and Lloyd Horton joined the Farm
Chemicals section in 1948. The end of the decade saw a new feed mill open in
Moncton, efforts by Dernier to organize a fleet of trucks and bulk feed
deliveries, and the return of PEI to the organization in 1949. That same year,
J.E. Walsh became president of MCS - a position he would hold longer than any
other president. By now, the organization had grown to more than 100 employees
and was in desperate need of a new home. Fortunately, McEwen had prepared for
such a development.
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1940s
- 1941 - Charlottetown native Carl Burke launches Maritime Central Airways, which became Canada's third-largest
airline in the mid-1950s. He sold it to Eastern Provincial Airlines in 1963.
- 1942 - The Caribou, the Newfoundland to Nova Scotia ferry, is sunk by enemy action, killing 136 passengers.
- 1942 - Casablanca, which would win Oscars for best picture, director and screenplay is released.
- 1946 - The Bluenose hits a reef and sinks off the coast of Haiti.
- 1947 - MV Abegweit, PEI's most-beloved-ever car ferry is launched, prompting a school holiday
and bringing almost half the Island's population out to tour the boat.
- 1948 - Following two years of a National Convention, Newfoundlanders vote to join Canada by a slim
margin.
- 1949 - Newfoundland joins Confederation, although some would swear Canada joined Newfoundland.
Canada's 10th province also gets its first premier, Joseph R. Smallwood.
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