Sister Ann, the Young Co-operators Club and Me

Paying tribute to an organization that inspired the dreams of many young writers

- Carol MacKay

In 1975, I joined The Western Producer’s Young Co-operators Club and mailed in stories, poems and letters to be published in the pages of the newspaper. This writing club was first started in 1927 by Violet McNaughton, the women’s editor of the Saskatoon-based farm newspaper. Within just a few short months of its startup, the Young Co-operators’ Club pages developed into a writing community where children and teens could debate politics, talk about books, send in their original poems and stories, and discuss other topics of interest.