“Fetch Your Little Pigs on Thursday” – Hokes, PA (1921)

This postcard story connects two small communities in southern York County, of south-central Pennsylvania.

Mr. Clayton Kaltreider lived in Hokes, a small settlement in southern York County -not far from the Maryland border.

I cannot find an historical document related to Hokes, except that it had a post office from 1880-1934.

MapQuest shows a dot on the Lineboro Road, south of Glenville and just north of the intersection with Hokes Road.

https://www.mapquest.com/us/pennsylvania/hokes-pa-283377919

In August of 1921, Clayton received a postcard from Levi B. Dubs.

Mr. Dubs mailed the postcard from Brodbecks, a community in southern York County, about 14 miles south of the city of York.

Brodbecks had a post office from 1891-1981.

Hokes lies about 3.3 miles south of Brodbecks.

The face of the postcard is an interesting drawing of soldiers.

The illustration is titles, “The Charge”, and the soldiers are shown as they leap over a wooden fence.

The scene does not portray a battle, so it may be a representation of training or maneuvers.

(The poses resemble an artist’s sketch book or manual – I am not sure that a serviceman would leap with arms extended and his body wholly exposed, as the figure on the right is portrayed.)

I cannot find an artist’s initials or a publisher’s mark.

On the reverse, we learn about a York County commercial transaction.

It appears that Levi Dubs was raising pigs for sale.

Levi wrote to give Clayton an advantage in selecting the “little pigs”.

Levi suggests, “if you want to have first choice”, then “you should fetch your little pigs on Thursday evening”.

It seems that another buyer, the Kopps, will fetch their piglets early on Friday morning.

One hopes that Mr. Kaltreider took advantage of the information shared by Mr. Dubs, and that he took possession of his choice of piglets by Thursday evening.

I am ignorant of the economics of raising pigs, but assume that Mr. Dubs was successful in his enterprise.

GENEALOGICAL NOTE:

There are a number of Kaltreider households identified in genealogical records of York County.

Clayton J. Kaltreider was born in 1891, the son of Henry R. Kaltreider (1849-1931) and Mary Jane Smith (1851-1916).

Clayton was the last of nine children -he had two brothers and six sisters.

At 22 years of age, Clayton married Allie Mantilla Stauffer (who was 18) in Glenville (York County) on January 31, 1914.

The couple had one daughter, Ethel Romaine Kaltreider.

Ethel married Harvey Edwin Gladfelter in York, on June 4, 1939.

Clayton died in his 62nd year in 1952.

Allie Stauffer Kaltreider died in 1976, at age 79.

Clayton and Allie are buried in the Jefferson Cemetery.

Ethel Kaltreider Gladfelter died in Hanover, Pa in 2007 at age 92.

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