John Deere Dealership advertising mirror thermometer

Can you tell the age of this by the phone number?
It is 9 3/4" x 43/4" damage to the mirror but the glass, frame, and litho are fine.
I was reading that by 1900 we had gone to 4 digits?
Mikey

 

Looks 1920s or 1930s. Is the John Deere information printed on a sticker? Does it look original?

Debora

 

The only internet reference to W.T. Knudson is in the 1950s. For instance, he became acting mayor of Salem in 1951. Of course, he could have been in business well before then.

Debora

 

Here he is in 1945 as an "independent dealer." Age 38. So your mirror could be a bit later. 1930s-1940s.

Debora

 

Cool. I think this is his grave? Salem Township South Dakota.

 

Yeah. That looks right. Here's mention of his business. Implying it was later rather than earlier. But as to date of telephone number and much of anything else, there's just not a lot of information on that part of the world.

Debora

 

I'm laughing. I really have to get a life, right?

Debora

 

You're Special!

 

Yeah. Yeah. And you've got a bridge to sell me, right?

Debora

 

Special Agent Debora, always up to the task for finding info and other stuff.
well done!

 

Looking at that census card..."Insane", "Idiot"

We've come a long way.....for the better!

 

Notice the space for checks alongside "Read" and "Write?" Still W.T. Knudson only had an 8th grade education.

Debora

 

yep

 

Safe to say 40's with all the information from our Special Agent.

 

Just for a reference to the midwest. . .in the 50s our phone # in WI was 116.

 

Thank you. That's helpful -- and what I suspected. The population of Salem was in the thousands in the first half of the 20th century and I read that farms there didn't get wired for telephone until the 1950s. So a low number wouldn't necessarily indicate age.

Debora