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Description
UAA Fonds 0165 · Fonds · 1966-1990

The Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative (ACHC) fonds document the history and function of the Cooperative, and its predecessor, the Campus Co-operative Association. The records span the years from the inception of the Co-operative in 1967, through its existence 21 years later when the records to that date were deposited with the University of Alberta Archives.

The records, largely textual, required a fair amount of sorting when received at the Archives. Papers were removed from binders, and duplicate records disposed. There was a lot of duplication of records, as individual executive members along with each ‘house’ in the Cooperative maintained a set of minutes, audited financial statements, policies and procedures manuals, along with forms for completing maintenance checks and house inventories. As well, the collection was weeded of financial ephemera (invoices, returned cheques, bills, etc) since summary financial records existed. An original listing provided by a then member of the ACHC aided the arrangement and description process.

The records have been sorted into ten series, including: the Cooperative Movement; Executive Committee Records; Minutes (Board and General); Financial Records; Membership Records, Property Management Records; Property Expansion Records; Legal Advice Records; Historic Records; and the Newsletter (The Cooper). Some of the series are very small, while others like the Financial records series and Property Management records series are necessarily arranged into sub-series to better organize the material. There is a complete set of minutes from the 1960s through to January of 1987. Membership records are particularly complete for the mid-1970s to the early 1980s; earlier membership records, particularly for the 1960s, are sketchier. The records are in good physical shape.

The Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative records reflect an interesting alternative to standard student housing arrangements available on the University of Alberta campus in the mid-1960’s. It was, writes Rod Olstad in a 1988 Gateway article, “the first organized, yet unofficial, co-ed housing at the U of A.” Principles of democracy were essential to the Cooperative, with their elected executive, membership votes on all matters of house policy and operation, and safeguards to protect individual members from potential financial liability, etc. Co-op members were instrumental in lobbying the University in 1973 to abandon plans to demolish much of the low-cost housing in the North Garneau neighbourhood, demanding instead that this housing be retained and renovated to ensure that low-cost, alternative housing was available for students.

The ACHC records can also be viewed as a part of the larger national Co-operative housing movement emerging in the same period. The unique living arrangement that is the Cooperative, with its accompanying problems and triumphs, is well documented in these records.

Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative
Cooperative Movement
Series · 1976 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The records in this series document the larger cooperative movement of which Assiniboia Cooperative was a part. The records are textual, and in good physical condition.

ACHC’s relationship with local, provincial and national Cooperative Housing Associations is documented in this series. Their membership in the Cooperative Housing Foundation of Canada, for example, is represented with annual general meeting minutes and conference documents. As well, this series contains records of lobbying activity undertaken by the Cooperative Movement generally.

The series title is based on the content of the records, and file titles are based on an original organization provided by Walt Fryers, an original charter member and Edmonton Technocracy contact person for the University Archives.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Executive Committee Records
Series · 1971 - 1983
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The textual records in this series contain files specifically maintained by members of the Cooperative’s Executive, also referred to, in earlier years, as the Board of Directors. The records are in good physical condition.

Executive members’ files contained in this series include those of the Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and General Manager (also referred to in some years as the Coordinator). The files consist of various reports, manuals, and printed forms and information. The Executive minutes are maintained in Series 3 along with the General minutes, and financial records comprise Series 4.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Financial Records
Series · 1967 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The textual records in this series document the broader financial management of the Cooperative, and include audited statements, bank statements, budget-related documents and ledgers and financial journals (many located in an oversize box). The records are arranged in chronological order within each sub-series and are in good physical condition.

Finances were very important to the Cooperative, and records were kept for membership shares and levies; mortgage payments, maintenance costs, and the myriad of expenses involved in operating several houses within a Cooperative structure. This is the largest series, and the records provide a good overview of the financial structure of the Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Historic Records
Series · 1966 - 1988
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

‘Historic records’ is a very small series, but interesting for its documentation of the early stage of establishing the housing cooperative. The records include correspondence, memoirs, conference information and news clippings. The files in this series were all originally titled ‘History/Archival’ and the papers are in good physical condition.

Three of the six files in this series relate to the Students’ Union Co-operative Housing Committee, headed by Students’ Union executive member Glenn Sinclair. This committee sought to encourage student-owned housing co-operatives, and played an important role in the establishment of the Campus Co-operative in 1967. The two files entitled ‘members’ words’ consist of miscellaneous papers and reports around memoirs and short histories of the Co-op written by past members. These files were retained by the Board of the Cooperative for their own reference. Finally, there is a file of copied news clippings of articles written about the Co-op, or of interest to the membership.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Series · 1966 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The textual records in this series document a range of topics that were originally marked on the files as ‘legal advice/issues’. Included are correspondence, court documents, and legal papers around incorporation, reincorporation, etc. The records are arranged in chronological order and are in good physical condition.

The records in this series span a period of 20 years, and touch upon many areas with some connection to legal issues. There are the incorporation papers, the memorandum of association, bylaws and supplemental bylaws, and legal papers related to the 1981 name change. As well, there are files related to small claims court actions, member loans and grievances, and house document books containing master copies of various Cooperative policies and procedures.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Membership Records
Series · 1970 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The membership records include lists and addresses of members; signed membership agreements; letters of notice when members are leaving the Cooperative; financial records related to membership, and printed information.

This is a smaller series, and the records are primarily concerned with the years from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The membership financial documents have information on names of members, houses they lived in, and rents and various other payments made. Signed membership agreements (1977-1985) represent the formal agreement signed between a new house member and the Cooperative, and are arranged alphabetically by the member’s surname. Other records include the notices correspondence and some membership committee documents.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Minutes: Board and General
Series · 1967 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The administration and running of the Cooperative was dependent upon a voluntary executive and involved membership, and meetings were the forum for all matters of concern to be discussed and decisions made. The general meetings were held semi-annually, and board meetings monthly and the resulting minutes are arranged in chronological order. The records are in good physical condition.

The minutes are complete, with a full run of general and board meetings from 196[7] to January, 1988. The minutes retained for this fonds were those kept by the recording secretary, and some annotation occurs. Early minutes were hand-written, while post-1960s minutes were typed. Supplementary meeting documents are included as attachments to the minutes.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Newsletter
Series · 1980 - 1985
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The Assiniboia Cooperative produced their own newsletter which they titled The Cooper. The paper is sometimes annotated, and the issues vary in the quality of their condition.

This series is comprised of issues of the Cooperative’s newsletter, 1980-1985. It was an internal document, but included some advertising, and notices of community events. Each house in the Cooperative received issues for their residents to read, and it served as a means of advertising the Cooperative to any outside persons who picked up a copy of the newsletter.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Property Management Records
Series · 1967 - 1988
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The textual records in this series document the various aspects involved with maintaining the Co-op houses, both rented and owned, by the membership and executive, particularly the General Manager. The records are arranged in chronological order within each sub-series and are in good physical condition.

This is a larger series and has been arranged in the following sub-series: Utilities; Taxes; Insurance; Rentals/City of Edmonton; Leases and Liaisons with the University of Alberta; House Maintenance; House Inventories; and Specific House records. There is detailed information about the insurance coverage the Cooperative had with the Co-operative Insurance Service (CIS), and information related to various programs (CHIP, RRAP, etc.) used to make improvements to Co-op properties. An interesting set of papers relates to the Co-op’s relationship with the University and issues around future development plans for North Garneau. Members of the Co-op sat as representatives on the North Garneau Management Committee, and lobbied for saving the University’s North Garneau houses from the bulldozer. The specific house records are interesting for what they reveal about life in a Co-op house; included in these files might be shopping lists, member advertisements, duty schedules, and maintenance records of activity.

The series title is based on the contents of records.

Series · 1967 - 1987
Part of Assiniboia Community Housing Cooperative fonds

The textual records in this series document primarily the activities of the Expansion Committee, charged with searching out potential properties for the Co-op, and placing bids on houses for purchase. The records are in good physical condition.

The records in this series focus on activity around the planned purchase of new houses for the Cooperative. Several files relate to specific house purchases, and include appraisal reports, legal correspondence, tax assessments, and agreements to purchase. There are also several files entitled: “Houses – Failed to Purchase”, with information on why some house purchases did not occur. Finally, there is information gathered by the committee on topics such as mortgages, the Edmonton real estate market, and house-for-sale advertisements.

The series title is based on the contents of records.