To: John Henker(?) From: S.D. 1922
Dear friend,
Come over Sunday and see our new man and we will go swimming. Haven’t much time guess I’ll stop. Good by till next time.
Your friend,
S.D.
In 1922, Warren Harding was President, the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered by Howard Carter, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, and the California Grizzly Bear was hunted to extinction. It was a time of prohibition, speakeasies, flappers, consumerism, and a relative softening of social standards. You might even say it was the bee’s knees.
I imagine it must have been a thrilling time to be a young person. Although pay was still low and working hours were still long, the uptick in production in the wake of World War I meant that things were affordable. A young person could afford to live on their own and had free time to spend co-mingling with friends.
S.D. and John Henker (though it could be Henher?) likely wanted to take advantage of everything that the “roaring” 20’s had to offer them, which is evident in the note. It seems S.D. lived with roommates and got a new one, as he’s telling John to come over to see “our new man”. S.D. had a new buddy and he wanted to introduce the new buddy to the old.
Hugo is only twelve minutes by modern car to Forest Lake. Yet, S.D. chose to send a card by post on Monday, June 19. This tells me that despite their proximity, both men were probably busy working or maybe even going to school. They also lived far enough away that they wouldn’t cross paths. And, although there were telephones, it was probably difficult or annoying to use one. Thus, the postcard.
As for the actual people involved, I couldn’t find them. Since all I have are the initials, S.D. will forever remain a historical mystery for us. Same with John. I tried a few variations of the last name. Henker, Hencher, Henher, even Herher. Alas, it was to no avail.
There is a current John Henker living in Minnesota and I’m inclined to think that the last name is Henker, but I can’t be for sure. Especially since S.D. didn’t have the clearest handwriting. He frequently made spelling mistakes (tim instead of time, gesss instead of guess, fridend instead of friend). I don’t think that he was a bad speller, I think he was writing quickly and simply muddled some words.
Ah well. Maybe I’ll have better luck finding people tomorrow. As it stands, I think this is a wonderful postcard to a friend, and conjures images of warm summers, cool swims, and a gang of jolly fellows enjoying one another’s company.
Front of Postcard: Successful Farming’s Modern Fire Proof Plant
Hipstory 