Freight delays sent parties of drivers to collect new Fords. A May 7, 1920 notice names C. Loeffelholz in a Detroit party. A June 11 report names Charles and son Wilbur returning with cars from Milwaukee. In July, Charles, his wife, Wilbur, and Henry Lange joined another Detroit party, leaving Friday and returning Monday without mishap. 28
One May notice jokes that two unnamed drivers protested speeding charges in “Podunk,” or another small town. It does not identify Charles as one of them. The notices preserve both the working journeys and the local newspaper's humor. 28
Advertising the Ford
The firm's advertisements reveal what buyers were being told. A late-1917 clipping compared current prices with 1914: a Touring Car advertised at $360 against $490, and a Sedan at $695 against $975. These are the printed figures, not modern purchasing-power comparisons or a complete account of delivery charges. 32
In December 1918 the dealership urged advance orders while production recovered after the war. Its notice said orders should be placed at the showroom because there were no salesmen to call on buyers. The advertisement supplies a contemporary setting for the delivery difficulties reported in 1920. It does not establish that every shortage had the same cause. 33
A September 1919 advertisement promoted the Sedan as an enclosed family car, with seating for five and electric starting and lighting. Its emphasis on weather protection is especially readable beside the garage photographs and the fire department's early open vehicle. The advertisement shows the model being sold; it is not evidence that a particular family member owned that car. 34
The Auditorium
The upstairs theatre was another business requiring equipment and attention to its audience. A January 26, 1917 newspaper notice announced the brothers' purchase of a Simplex De Luxe motion-picture projector, driven by an electric motor in place of hand operation. The improvement was presented as a benefit for Auditorium patrons. 31
The firm's own voice survives in the motion-picture trade press. A review of The Slacker in Motography, March 23, 1918, was signed Loeffelholz Bros., Auditorium Theatre, Cuba City. It declared:
“This picture broke all records. You cannot get another picture to beat it. Boost it big.” 30
The comment is short and commercially direct. Its interest is the audience response and how another exhibitor might promote the picture. It places the brothers within a wider exchange of film-business information, beyond the local building and its repair shop.
A July 1920 report describes the replacement of the building's gabled front with a square top. An October program shows the changed facade and a particular week's entertainment: Lila Lee in The Cruise of the Make-Believes, an episode of Ruth of the Rockies, The Great Air Robbery, and a grand ball with Karrmann Orchestra. Film admission was advertised at fifteen and twenty-five cents. 29
The family in a parade
A patriotic float photograph adds another family presence. The local historical caption identifies Hannah Loeffelholz Laird, Charles's daughter, among those on the dealership's decorated Ford float. Flags and bunting surround the vehicle, with the business visible behind it. The parade's exact date and Hannah's position are not supplied. 25
The photograph belongs with the delivery notices and the theatre program because each shows the firm as part of a public occasion. Relatives traveled with it, appeared in its celebrations, and lived in a town where the same building served work and recreation.