Draft:Saline Valley Farms

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Saline Valley Farm (SVF) was a 1930s experimental cooperative, in an area of York Township, in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Harold Studley Gray, grandson of the first CEO of Ford Motor Company, was born in 1894. He held a Master's degree in Economics from Harvard University. Harold purchased the original tract of land (596 acres) just South of Saline in the Fall/Winter of 1930-1931, with the specific intent to create a Cooperative Farm. He had seen “co-ops” during his missionary work in China and felt that the idea of a cooperative might work well to ease difficult times during the Depression.

The purchase included the original farmhouse at the corner of Milkey Road and Ella Lee Lane, barn and silo, abandoned garage, hog house, windmill, cistern, workshop and old poultry house. A valley, through which Acton Creek wound, was full of brush and brambles. The first employees – Harold and Marion Vaughn - arrived with their two sons, Robert (age 9) and David (age 6) on April 4th, 1932. The Vaughns would be the General Managers and moved into the original farmhouse. Harold Vaughn had a degree in Horticulture and Marion in Music.

Together, the two Harolds and Marion put the wheels in motion to make Harold Gray’s utopian dream a reality.

Within a few years, the farmhouse had been remodeled, other buildings updated and new buildings erected. This included a store to sell their products with a recreation hall above it, a new creamery, large livestock barns, poultry barns, carpenter shop, boiler house, garages and additional residential homes. Acton Creek was dammed up and Lake Ella Lee was created.

By 1934 the SVF group had a total payroll of 52 employees. Operations were carried out with machinery wherever practical, utilizing both horse and tractor power. Harold Gray was a proponent of implementing the latest farming technology and techniques.

The farm products were extensive and included: peaches, apples, pears, raspberries, cherries, rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, beets, corn, beans, peppers, honey, and maple syrup. They raised and sold chickens and eggs which included pedigree stock and hatching eggs. They also had cows, pigs, and sheep. They sold all these items fresh, both in their retail store and via trucked home/store deliveries. They also processed them into jelly, jam, fruit pie filling, fruit juices, pickles, chili sauce, milk, cream, butter, ice cream, and canned meat, fruit and vegetables. They grew hay, straw, alfalfa, field corn, and made silage for the livestock. They raised and sold horses.

In the early years, SVF had to overcome the perception that their organization was Communist. It seemed the term "cooperative" was confused with term "Communist". To shift the mindset and demystify the organization, SVF invited the outside community to participate in their social events.

Approximately 20 resident families worked and socialized together. Each family had their own home or apartment on the property. If they had an extra room they sometimes sublet to a single employee or a young couple. In the early 1930s, hostlers came from time to time and stayed for short visits in extra rooms in the original farmhouse. For many years, SVF simultaneously operated as a working cooperative farm and a youth hostel.

In 1937, a Board of Director's was formed. It consisted of 1/3 elected residents of SVF, 1/3 appointed by Harold Gray and 1/3 representing customers. The Board of Directors spent a year and a half working on a plan to reorganize the Corporation into a Cooperative Corporation.

In 1940, a proposal of the Board of Directors (BOD) called for setting up Corporation under the Cooperative Laws of Michigan with 3 classes of stock for sale to 3 types of investors. Class A – stock for employees, Class B - stock for investors and Class C – stock for customers. Each class of stock would elect 3 members of the BOD and each stockholder would have one vote regardless of number of shares held. The new Corporation would lease the property of the old Corporation.

Generally speaking, between the early years and the 1950s, products were introduced or phased out if not profitable. Neighbors could purchase empty cans and provide their own produce to be canned at a nominal cost for their own use. Employees came and went, families grew, and the Great Depression waned. WWII took a bite out of the available workers. As a group they worked hard together and played hard together! They had community picnics, SVF picnics, Harvest parties, Christmas parties, skating parties, hay rides, bonfires, movie nights, special guest speakers, live music, dances, bbqs, games nights, taffy pulls, 4-H groups, home movies, baseball games, plays, ladies teas, and a hunting club. They were known to take group outings to Ann Arbor for cultural events. They celebrated weddings, births/birthdays, graduations, and had farewell parties.

By the time WWII came to an end, better paying jobs opened up in the area. More opportunities arose, some families moved on and some bought their own farms. In 1953, it was decided that the livestock and farming part of the operations were no longer profitable and eventually all the livestock and equipment was sold. In January of 1959, the SVF Directors asked for the Saline Valley Farms Co-op to not be dissolved by a decree of the court. As a result, a receiver was appointed to wind up the affairs of the Corporation. Fields and barns were leased to neighboring farmers (some of whom had worked on SVF) and SVF homes were rented as new tenants were found.

Around this time Saline Valley Farms officially became an American Youth Hostel (AYH). The delivery bays attached to the store were converted into a large kitchen. The dining area occupied the store space and the canning factory became the lounge, bathrooms and counselors chambers. The attached barn became the dormitories (boys upstairs and girls down) for AYH visitors, church groups, scout groups and other organizations.

The owner, Harold Studley Gray, retired and put the property up for sale in 1969. Since then, the land has been the property of The Teamsters Union and other various developers. In the 2000s, Guenther Homes began developing the site into a large residential community.

References

Cameron, James K. (April 2004). Voices over the Valley. Saline, MI: McNaughton & Gunn, Inc. p. 231.

ISBN 978-0974480114
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