Karl Theodore Butzbach was born
on April 16, 1855 in Butzbach, Germany. His education in Germany was
very limited and only consisted of a few years, grammar school through the
eighth grade. Although somewhat uneducated, he did find a suitable
job. Gardening was his first and last love and he found work as head
gardener for the Turkish Ambassador to Germany.
In 1886 Great-Great Grandpa immigrated to the United States,
arriving in Astoria, New York, on Long Island, in August of that year.
Here he became a gardener for the Funke and Poppenhusen estates. After
working at these estates for approximately 10 years he earned enough money
to buy eight lots of land. He then constructed a dairy farm on that
land and began selling milk, cream, and pot cheese. My Great-Great
Grandmother ran this well-remembered dairy house, sometimes into the early
morning hours.
Great-Great Grandpa ran his dairy farm with 40 to 50 cows was
considered until the laws were changed and the maintenance of his cows were
considered illegal. He then took his dairy business to College Point,
New York for a number of years, where it was just as popular. He was
remembered, by the children of College Point as the "Santa Claus Milkman"
because of his long beard and humble manner.
While spending most of his time with his dairy farm, he also found
time to work on his large vegetable and flower gardens. On June 8,
1936 he died at the age of 81 but he always left an impression on everyone
he met.
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