Cultivating Ideas

By Mary Ridder

Roots of Change was one of those What if? that became a book. It began as a concept to write a series of short articles concerning cooperatives developing in Nebraska thanks in part to the support of the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center's staff and board.

Personally this book was an inspiration because I met people from all over the state who dreamed and worked towards the reality. That's a scary, financially difficult, and unusual thing to do.

The first group I interviewed was the Arthur residents who dreamed of opening a grocery story in their small community following a devastating fire in their previous store. This was a huge undertaking which began with the creative thinking of students at Arthur High School and their business teacher. Don't tell teens that entrepreneurism is tough. They're up to the challenge, as was the entire Arthur area.

Today, senior citizens volunteer their time to pick up foodstuffs in Hyannis, Nebraska to stock the Wolf Den, Arthur's co-op grocery market. Teens stop at the store on their way to a game. Young moms pick up milk and other necessary items. It's a community hub, communications center, and it is critical to Arthur's future.

My home town of Callaway faced a similar challenge recently when we learned that our grocery store may have to close due to their wholesaler's minimum order increases. Our population of 650 would have been challenged should the store have closed.

Value-added businesses are central to the future of our rural communities and the Arthur Wolf Den is a terrific example of this.

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You can learn more about Mary Ridder, author of Roots of Change: Nebraska's New Agriculture, on the Ridder Ranch website.