The Washington herald., 1922-12-15
|LOFFLER COMPANY
| PLANS CELEBRATION
Has Served Eleven Billion
Meals Since Founded,
so Years Ago.
TO OBSERVE ANNIVERSARY
Wife Aided Husband When He
Carried His Meats to Mar.
ket in Basket.

Right here in Washington there Ii
an outstanding example Of genuine
romance in business.
The A. Loffler Provision Company.
Inc. Of Bennins. d. c.. will celebrate
tomorrow its fiftietn anniversary as
hosts Of men, women and children.
who during the last fifty years par
took of almost IL 1.000. .000, 900 meals,
reckoning the average population as
200. 900. That Is, one person in fifty
years would eat s4.750 regular meals.
Andreas Loffler came across the
sea to Washington in the late sixties,
after a. careful training In the cater
er's art of meat-glazing. as well as in
the preparation Of meats for the
table. A few years later. q young
woman arrived in this country from
abroad to visit her aunt, who con-
Quoted Ninth-street restaurant
that happened to be next door to the
provision establishment where Lof-
fler was employed.
VOYAGE WAS EVENTFUL.
The young woman, Catherine, had
experienced an eventful voyage.
The vessel she was on was cap
tured and taken to an enemy naval
station. For almost a month Cath
erina was held prisoner. Then the
vessel escaped, but fire broke out
in the ships hold and had to be
oil "a n Navu Ynrk
There was q scarcity of drinking
water, also.
WASHINGTON, when Catherine
reached it. was little more than
provincial city with a number of
rural features. Pennsylvania ave.
nue. was> partly a dirt rialto, and
partly a shallow lake. To avoid the
mire, people often had to cross on
tall stepping stones. Sheep, cattle,
geese and goats wandered or grazed
along the towns future avenues.
On the day after his marriage tc
Catherine, the young man began
a provision business Of his own
near the Potomac river. Fifty
years ago. in 1872. all meat was
handcut. Later. enormous rocker
knives were installed. These in
time gave way to knives operated
on blocks by horsepower. From
the time that he got up at 2 O'Clock
in the morning and carried his
meats to market in a basket. Mrs
Loffler aided Andreas with her own
hands. So busy was she that I,
was sixteen years before she at.
tended Washington theater.
SPECIALIZED IN SAUSAGE.
AS soon as Mr.. Loffler took over
the Ninth street establishment OF
MS wife's aunt. Mrs. Ebel, he be.
gan to specialize In sausage making
In the old country" he had been
acquainted with the processe. OF
making 400 varieties Of sausage in
one city. --'
The popularity Of the Loffler sail.
sages enabled the firm to purchase
place on Georgia avenue. then
known as Brightwood avenue. near
the old toll gate.
1t was two years after the firm
moved to Georgia avenue when
morse cars began to run I'm that
direction. Passengers were 80 few
tnat the car often would wait oblig.
lngly for one to catch I'D.
The Lofflers built one of Wash.
lneton's first iee-making plants.
MOVED TO BENNING.
In 1915 the sausage plant wa,
moved to Benning, d. c. The av.
erage yearly output is 10000 hogs
1000 cattle. 10000 lambs and 5000
calves. Thirty-six different pork.
products are made there. Every
day 1000 pounds of sausage are
distributed locally, and every week
5000 cans Of sausage are shipped
elsewhere.
Loffler weekly local sales Of lard
average $4,000 pounds. bacon 9O 0oo
pounds. and hams. $4,000 pounds
More than $50 workers are EN-.
ployed. and a fleet Of twenty motor
cars distribute the products.
The plant is managed by An.
drew Loffler. Charles A. M. Loffer
has direction. Of the Center Market
of the firm.