ABSTRACT
The cooperative store in Oberlin had been started by students of Oberlin College in 1938 to provide themselves with better laun~ dry service than was then available and to obtain lower prices on books and study materials. It grew and attracted enough members from townspeople and local farmers to put in a line of groceries in 1941. For a time it prospered, moving frequently to better loca~ tions, but in 1948~49 the organization had suffered a setback. Its financial status had deteriorated, apparently due to poor manage~ ment, and it failed to obtain loans to buy a locker plant and a new location for the store. The manager resigned, and the Co~op Board of Directors began hunting for a new man. They were put in touch with Long, and he agreed to take the manager's job on a temporary basis.
