Manager Timothy Bury stands in the back office at the Farmers Cooperative store in Wright, thumbing through an old ledger book: its thick yellow pages still sturdy, cursive handwriting detailing the first meeting in February 1919 still legible.

"The farmers of Wright and vacinity (sic) met ... for the purpose of forming a company for the conducting of a General Mercantile business," it starts, the handwriting probably by A. Lundquist, who was appointed secretary of the new cooperative.

The writer goes on to detail other board members, including Anton Johnson, John Walli, G.A. Forgerson, Ol...