I hope that you had a very blessed Thanksgiving.

As we enter the traditional Holiday season I am reminded of one of my favorite stories, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Like much of Dickens' literary work, this story was set in England at the height of the Industrial Revolution. As he wrote in "A Tale of Two Cities":

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...

The 19th Century was a time of great change. The industrial revolution had transformed society in many ways. A great textile industry had arisen in England, built with machines such as the spinning mule, the flying shuttle and the power loom, and the work previously "put out" to rural families had been transferred to the vertically integrated mills. The working class struggled to survive, most aspects of their lives controlled by the company. In some of the cities of England, life expectancy was only 21 years!

Dickens finished A Christmas Carol in 1843, the same year that weavers in Rochdale held an unsuccessful strike in an attempt to better their condition. The following year, in 1844, these same weavers formed what was to become the first successful cooperative, The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers.

After a slow and sometimes painful start, the Rochdale cooperative grew to include both stores and manufacturing facilities, and the cooperative model became widely accepted in England. Over the ensuing years co-ops have been established around the world and are present in virtually every facet of modern society.

In its 1997 survey, the USDA reported that 3,791 farmer cooperatives generated a net business volume of $106 billion. AFCNA is part of a vital and vibrant component of American agriculture, and we owe much to the trail blazers that preceded us.

One of the cooperative principals first formulated in Rochdale was, "Pure, unadulterated goods with full weights and measures given." AFCNA has worked hard to remain true to this founding principal.

A perfect example is our Extreme Alpaca™ Socks. These are, in my opinion, simply the best socks made today.

When I gave a pair to my brother over the Thanksgiving day weekend, he had them less than five minutes before my sister-in-law was wearing them and he was asking for another pair. This is the same scenario I had when I sold a pair to my supervisor. He came back a week later and said, "John, those socks you sold me were really something else. My wife took them, but you can get me another pair, can't you?" Quality like that speaks for itself!

If you haven't tried these socks, you owe it to yourself to do so. And if you want to give a gift that pleases almost anyone, these are an excellent choice indeed! I am confident that you will find the same quality in all of the products offered by your Co-op!

In closing, let me extend my wish that this Holiday season is peaceful and joyous for you and yours.

Sincerely,

John Merrell, President
Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, Inc.