31 Dec 1901
The matter of disposal of Butchers Black Mare adjourned for one month.
[I could not find the next discussion! Ed]

Miss Massom gave notice to leave our employ on Sat. Apr 26 '02 & the manager reported steps taken to supply the vacancy. Miss Rogers to commence at 7/- per week.
The action of Mr Haigh & Manager was confirmed.

CO-OPERATION—On Saturday evening, a public tea was provided in the Temperance Hall by the members of the Rushden Co-operative Society. After the tea a public meeting was held in the same place, when addresses were delivered by several members of the society and a gentleman from Northampton, on the benefit of co-operation.

PICNIC—On Monday the members of the Co-operative Society held their picnic in a field kindly lent by Mr. Daniel Dickens. There was a large gathering at tea, and in the evening the Temperance Band played selections of sacred music and for dancing. Cricket, quoits, &c., were also provided, and a large party were present. The society appears to be in a very prosperous condition, having declared a dividend to members of 2s. 6d. in the £ on the past quarter's cheques, after putting a sum to the reserve fund.

CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY—This society availed itself of the Easter Holidays to hold a tea and meeting on Tuesday in the Board Schools. Over 100 sat down to tea, and there was a large meeting afterwards, the chair being occupied by Mr. T Willmott. In addition to the chairman, addresses were also delivered by Mr A Scotton (who attended as a deputation from the Central Board), and Mr Panter, of Kettering (secretary of the district). Mr G W Button also recited "Nail your colours to the mast." The meeting, which was declared to be the most successful the society has ever held, was brought to a close with a hearty vote of thanks to the speakers.

CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY— The committee have been appointed Mr. W. J. Cure as manager of the society and Mr. Johnson, of Willington, Durham, as the book-keeper. Mr. Cure has been for the last two and a half years manager of the Queen street branch, in which position he has shown considerable business powers, while Mr. Johnson has acted as the assistant secretary of the Willington Co-operative Society.

A Dance was held on Saturday in the Co-operative Hall, Mr Busby (piano) supplying the music.
Mr Perkins and Mr Mead were the M.C.s.

Window Dressing—The Rushden Co-operative Society’s millinery window is a very charming example of perfection in window dressing. “The Dawn of Spring” is the title of an artistic effort which smiled with disdain at the large snowflakes on Friday.

The Rushden Echo, 21^st April 1916, transcribed by Gill Hollis

Runaway Horse - On Friday afternoon last, no little alarm was caused in Fitzwilliam-street by an incident that might well have been fraught with serious consequences. A horse, belonging to the Rushden Co-operative Society, and which was attached to a coal trolley, whilst standing at the top of Fitzwilliam-hill, took fright at something or other, and bolted down the steep declivity. A passing pedestrian made a plucky attempt to stop the animal and partially succeeded, but the heavily loaded vehicle on the steep gradient compelled him to abandon the attempt, and the horse and vehicle proceeded down the hill at a furious pace, and crashed into Mr. Jervis’s hairdresser’s shop at the bottom, smashing the window. The shafts of the dray were snapped off at this point, and the horse then bolted up Duck-street hill and along High-street to the station coal yard where the company has an office. The horse was quite uninjured and the damage to the dray was confined to the broken shafts. It is a fortunate thing that the driver was not on the dray when the horse commenced its mad career.

Rushden Echo, 30th November 1917, transcribed by Gill Hollis

The Gale on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday morning did a good deal of damage of a minor character in this district.  A heavy blind at the Co-operative Stores in High-street was blown down at about 3 a.m., and in its fall it smashed a large circular sheet of thick plate glass in the window of the outfitting department.  Under existing conditions it is practically impossible to replace the glass, and for the time being the window is boarded up.

The Rushden Co-operative Orchestral Band visited the V.A.D. Hospital on Tuesday, and gave an interesting programme............

We know nothing of this band - please can you help?

Soup Kitchen - Last night, at a meeting dealing with the food problem, Mr. G. W. Coles stated that the Rushden Co-operative Society had decided to open soup kitchens for the children and to sell the soup at as reasonable price as possible. The Society did not mean to make a halfpenny profit on it, their idea being that the children, at any rate, should have sufficient food to keep them warm.

A Soup Kitchen, intended mainly for the children of the town, was opened by the Co-operative Society on Wednesday and Thursday, and 36 gallons of excellent soup was dispensed at 3d. a quart. The kitchen will be opened (at the High-street stores) each Wednesday and Thursday from 11.30 to 12.30, until further notice.

The Co-operative Society will hold a Flower Show on September 10th, confined to members who have purchased their seeds from the society.

Mr. William Baker made the first loaf of bread for the Rushden Co-operative Society when they started that branch of activity in Crabb-street.

The Industrial Co-operative Society will on Monday next reduce the price of bread from 8d to 7½d, and it is understood that other bakers will make a similar adjustment.

The Rushden Echo and Argus, 1st April 1949, transcribed by Jim Hollis

When Rushden is Lit Up - Rushden’s biggest sign, the words “Shop at the Co-op” in three-foot high letters that could once be seen for miles, is completely out of action. The neon tubes are cracked and broken, gas has escaped and the red paint has peeled off the background. The sign uses 11,000 volts, and though it is to be repaired, it is doubtful if it will be in working order for some time.

A small neon over the Co-operative provision department is in better condition, as the paintwork has already been dealt with and the glass did not catch the blast of the bombs which fell in Alfred Street and shattered much of the glass in the large sign. [extract from a longer article]

CONTRACT AWARDED
RUSHDEN Society has been awarded a contract for the internal decoration of 64 houses for the U.D.C.

Two Rushden coal merchants said that yesterday's snowfall made people realise that winter was really here. Said Mr. R. R. Griffiths, secretary-manager of Rushden Co-operative Society: "We find the first fall means an increase in demand. Last year when there was no snow, there was no panic — but now we are busier."

ENTERPRISE PAYS AT RUSHDEN
Over 1,500 packets of CWS biscuits were sold within hours by two enterprising young Rushden Society grocery assistants, Mr Peter Peacock and Mr David Thompson, who set up a stall in the office entrance on dividend day.

Growth of the Co-op talk to fireside
MEMBERS of the Highfield Men's Fireside were given a talk on "The Co-operative Movement" last night by Mr. R. R. Griffiths, managing secretary of the Rushden Co-operative Society.

"When the Rochdale pioneers started it in 1844 there were 28 members," said Mr. Griffiths. "Now the British, Co-operative Societies have thirty million members. There are now 30,000 shops plus 4,000 mobile shops. In these shops, more than half the nation's families spend £1,000 million a year.

"The Rushden Society started in 1876, has over 8,000 members who spend almost £1 million a year in its shops. They receive £1,000 per week in dividend.

"The CWS, with 50,000 employees, is the biggest trading concern in the world," Mr. Griffiths said.

Mr. Griffiths's talk was followed by many questions from the members of the Fireside. The chairman was Mr. George S. Green. An epilogue was given by the minister of the Highfield Baptist Church, the Rev. A. R. Braybrooks.

Schoolboys help to deliver the goods
SCHOOLBOYS on holiday have been making a big contribution towards keeping local delivery services on schedule in the Rushden and Higham Ferrers district today.

Normally they help only at weekends. While this weather persists their help every day is a great assistance to regular roundsmen,

Mr. B. Crane, a proprietor of a Rushden bakery, said that deliveries were more or less on time because of the help being given by the schoolboys. A spokesman for John Coleman Ltd. the Rushden and Higham newsagents, said that the snow had hardly affected newspaper deliveries. All the newsboys had been able to complete their rounds without too much difficulty.

Stuck
Rushden Co-operative Society's milk and bread delivery services were running about an hour late this morning. However, all deliveries are expected to be completed despite the weather. One of the society's milk floats was stuck for about an hour in the car park in Rectory Road this morning, but after several attempts the vehicle was eventually freed.

WITH THANKS
RUSHDEN Urban Council has accepted with thanks an offer by Rushden and Higham Society to provide a chain of office for the wife of the new council chairman, Mr. R. R. Griffiths, who is secretary-manager of the society.

The chain will be used on civic occasions.

Date with Royalty
CHIEF Official of Rushden Society, Mr. R. Griffiths, attended last week's Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Griffiths, who was accompanied by his wife, was representing the town's Urban Council, of which he is chairman. He said that he had been lucky enough to be placed very close to the Queen. Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths were among more than two thousand other guests.

With the Queen were the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon and the Duke of Gloucester.

Cicely is playing the leading role in this year's Rushden Amateur Operatic Society’s Christmas pantomime, which will start a week's run at the Ritz Cinema, Rushden, on January 8.

In the show, the coach will be pulled by two small ponies.

CO-OP STREAMLINE PLANS ATTACKED
They won’t work, says chief
Mr. R. R. Griffiths, managing secretary of Rushden Co-operative Society, today described the proposed merging of Northamptonshire's 19 Co-operative societies as "beyond the realms of practicability."

He claimed that if the Co-operative Union’s merger plans went through “Co-operation as we know it in this area will disappear”.

However Mr. Griffiths pointed out that the final decision on amalgamation would rest with members of each society. [From a longer article]

Bin plea rejected
TWO firms have written to a council asking for an increase in the number of dustbins they can have emptied free. The requests have been refused because East Northants council's health committee foresees "considerable administrative difficulties.''

The East Northamptonshire Co-operative Society, and Bernard Potter (Insurances) Ltd., of Rushden, had both asked the council to increase the amount of domestic waste collected from their premises.

Under its present system the council collects two bins free a week, and charges 10p for each additional bin.