My one Grandfather, and it never ceased to annoy my Father,voted Democrat without exception, he was a farmer his whole life.
Farmers union, farmers co-op etc. such elevator and gas stations were found in better than 90 percent of small towns in Minn. from top to bottom.
Small towns, and by small I am speaking of populations of hundreds not thousands, had at least one elevator, while many had two or more.
My hometown, the biggest in the county before I was 10 had a population of a little more than 5,000 people but had three elevatore, three railroads and a creamer.
Towns of less than 100 had their own creamery. (My father grew up right next to one , creamery and general store, while down the road , less than ten miles away was another bigger town, they had a store and a bar.)
This was all run by organized farmer groups, unions or co-ops which are similar systems to socialist groups anywhere.
Up North it was lumber unions, then the Iron Ore union , while out Western Minn. there were the beet and potato growers.
Members got their monthly or quarterly checks.
I do not know how far South or East this group think went but it was there.
