Newspapers Are Not the Only Places to Sniff Around “Fur” Stuff

Local newspapers are not the only place to look for ancestral tidbits. In December of 1916, Albert Cawiezell of Davenport, Iowa, advertised that he was willing to exchange one 22 caliber rifle for skunks or ferrets.

Aside from the colorful reference, it indicated where Cawiezell was living at the time the advertisement was placed. In some situations that could be a big clue.

Cawiezell didn’t want just any skunks. He wanted scentless skunks.