To: Miss Dena Berends(?) from Srona K(?). 1908
Dear Cousin,
I received your card a quite a while ago and think it is just beautiful. How are all the folks. We are all well so far. Got a letter from Katie S this morning and got a postal from Cousin Clara Friday. Must close. Bye always.
Sincerely,
Srona K
I’m not sure why, but 1908-1910 are some of my favorite years to collect postcards. I think because the modern world that we know was just beginning to emerge, and people lived life without the shadow of two world wars hanging over their head. That being said, I’ve already dropped 1908 into history on previous blogs, but in case you missed it, I’ll give a quick run down.
The year 1908 was a leap year. Teddy Roosevelt was president. Robert Peary began his attempt to reach the North Pole, Henry Ford rolled out the Model T, and the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. These are the “good” things.
August of 1908 also saw the Springfield Massacre; an event in Illinois where a white mob of 5,000 attacked a Black community by burning down homes and businesses, eliciting violence, and lynched or shot eight people, including an 84 year old man who’s only crime was his 30 year marriage to a white woman. This massacre resulted in the displacement of 2,000 Black men and women, and was the “catalyst” of creating the NAACP.
I’m sure the writer and recipient of this postcard knew a little something about the events playing out on the national stage, however I also have to assume that their lives were fairly isolated, especially since I believe them both to be 20 or younger (based on handwriting and marriage status).
Lake Park, Iowa is still a small, rural community situated near Silver Lake and sitting on the edge of the Iowa and Minnesota border. There was a school, banks, lodges and farms, and in 1900 the population was around 540. We can assume that by 1908 it had grown, but probably only by a hundred or two people.
Harris Iowa is only about 7 miles to the west of Lake Park, so fairly close. The cousins likely had opportunities to see one another, but they fact they sent postcards and letters indicates a strong familial bond. The names on the postcard are also a mystery to me. I’m fairly certain the recipient is “Dena” but I can’t quite make out the last name. Further more, our sender looks to be Srona, though perhaps it could be Serena or even Nona. It’s one of those mysteries that haunt me and over time I hope to be a better reader of these names.
I love the front of this postcard, as it’s one of my most interesting. It’s an imbedded picture of two men on a body of water. One is in a boat with his hands on a long rope that continues off frame, and one is standing in the water. Both face away from the camera, their eyes set on the body of water in front of them and perhaps their mind already preparing themselves for the day ahead. Titled “A Chilly Morn” it’s a beautiful photograph. One filled with longing and quiet solicitude.
You can see from both the front and the back that the photo has been embedded into the postcard. This is a printed postcard (as you can see on the back) and therefore not a “real photo” postcard created by the sender. However, the indentation patterns are unique, and I can’t seem to find anything quite like it on the glorious world wide web. If you have more knowledge of postcards than I do, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I hope the cousins remained friends and sent beautiful postcards for the remainder of their lives.
“A Chilly Morn” Front of postcard.
Hipstory 