02051700
The form is not related to it's contents. First we look at the form itself.
It seems that Christian's dairy had a name, "West End Dairy" and a phone number, "Buffum Phone 5-U" I have never seen such a phone number before. Where or what was Buffum?
I looked it up.
Buffum refers to the "Buffum Telephone Company", a private telephone company operating in Fulton until 1912. Rather successful, I'm told. It had operators. I suppose you called the operator and asked for "5-U", as if the operator didn't know about the West End Dairy, or C. C. Hofmann.
The dairy was (only) 1 mile west of Fulton. This is the only printed form I have from Christian Hofmann. He must have used an old form to write out some unrelated material after the dairy business was over, but only just after.
Antonia had some trips paid for by her father. She seems to be rather well traveled for a farm girl in Fulton just after the turn of the 20th century. First she went to California. I think she wrote a letter we still have from there.
The way I read it, she went to Switzerland in October, 1911, March of 1912, and again in October 1912. Very likely she visited Chris' relations there.
When I looked up the spelling used, Schweitzerland, I found out that it was the German spelling of Switzerland. I also ran into some Mennonites. CCH is associated somehow with the Mennonite groups. He may have married one of them. He may, himself, be of Mennonite extraction. There were Mennonite migrations from Switzerland to Missouri in earlier days (1860). And Daniel Ulrich was "Pennsylvania Dutch", which is often Mennonite.
And, finally, Tony went to Chicago for twelve bucks.
Altogether a fascinating piece of paper.
More Unanswered Questions: How did CC make ice cream? Did the dairy business end before 1910? The statement date blank suggests that that printing was to cover the years 1900 through 1909.