Category: Photographs

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

“You can’t get away from the fools”: Dust Bowl, Outlaws, and Dunderberg Peak

To: Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Peck. From: George, 1934

Dear Gertrude and Edgar,

Here we are up in a higher mountain range than ours. There are a great many little lakes in the neighborhood that are said to have fish but we have had no luck, people everywhere. You cant get away from the fools. I expect to be home in about one week, but am not sure yet. We are having the wonderlus(?) good time.

Goodbye,

George

The summer of 1934 saw one of the worst droughts in history of the United States. All I need say is “dust bowl” to conjure up images of what life was like for those living in the midwest. “Black blizzards” reared up, their effects deadly for those in the dustbowl states, but thier dust also reached as far as Chicago and New York.

On May 23 of 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed on a highway in Louisiana. In June, John Dillinger was considered public enemy number one, and Adolf Hitler used his political power to murder opponents in the “Night of the Long Knives.” In the wake of all this, at least prohibition was over and people could drink about their worries.

In the midst of Depression Era trials and tribulations, it’s difficult to imagine people going on vacation. From the time we learn about the Depression we are inundated with pictures of great sadness and poverty. We don’t typically think of fresh mountain air and crisp lakes teeming with people. Yet, this postcard provides a snippet of what living life was like in 1934.

Dunderberg Peak is situated in the Sierra Nevadas on the border of California and Nevada. Google Maps says it’s roughly 61/2 hours from Los Angeles. Obviously, it’s unclear whether George and his companions drove, took a train, or both. However, I suspect it was still quite the trip for them. What’s interesting to me is that he wasn’t sure when he was returning, exactly. Is this because he was out of a job? Was it a summer vacation? It’s strange in today’s over scheduled era to have the flexibility to return in “about” a week.

Additionally, how many times have you heard recently that something is simply “too” crowded? I feel like I hear it all the time. In the social media era where places and experiences go viral everyday, it feels like all the “good” places are inundated with “fools you can’t get away from.” Yet, here is a card sent in the middle of the Depression that’s got the same gripe as so many of us. Like I say all the time, our lives are so similar to those who have come before us. It never ceases to amaze me.

I wasn’t able to easily find Gertrude or Edgar Peck, though I’m short on time so I admittedly didn’t look super hard. However, it’s nice to know that George’s marvel at the beautiful nature that surrounded him, as well as his annoyance at crowds, will echo across history and remind us that we are all connected.

Front of Postcard

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Education family Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

1951 Split Rock Lodge Vacation: A Glorious Retreat

To: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gilwar(?). From: Selena and Harry, 1951

Dear Harry,

Split Rock Lodge is a glorious place. You ought to try it for a vacation. How are all five(?).

Lots of love,

Selena and Henry

In 1951, the United States was embroiled in the, perhaps lesser ‘known,’ Korean War. Which, of course is an extension of the Cold War. Harry Truman was President, and the world had officially entered into the nuclear age. On March 29, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of espionage, The King and I opened on Broadway, and All About Eve won best motion picture at the Academy Awards.

In July, 4,000 whites in Cicero, Illinois attacked an apartment building because it housed a single black family, sparking the Cicero Race Riot. July also sees the release of Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye, as well as Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.

So when Henry and Selena took their vacation to Split Rock in August of 1951 the writhing ferment of change was coming to the United States, but it was creeping slowly, and wasn’t here quite yet. At least not for people who had the privilege of going to the Poconos on vacation. For them, it was likely a peaceful retreat from the tumult of the late 40’s.

Split Rock Lodge is settled in the Poconos mountains in Pennsylvania. Built in 1941, it was opened as a vacation destination in 1946. Though the original lodge burned down in a fire in the 1970’s, it was rebuilt and remains as a vacation destination for families. However, it must have been grand in the 50’s. Brand new construction, hiking trails to explore, fresh, crisp air. It’s no wonder Henry called it a “glorious place.”

By the 1950’s most postcards transition from imparting critical family information to displaying the trappings of luxury. In a world where social media didn’t exist, how could people show off their glorious vacations to their friends? POSTCARDS! And that’s exactly what Selena and Henry are doing. Showing off. I don’t blame them, I post pictures of my vacations on social media, too.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gilwar(?). I suspect it’s because I’m not entirely sure of the last name. It’s too bad, especially because it’s recent enough that I thought I’d get an obituary and maybe some pictures. Ah well, that’s the way it works sometimes.

On the back of the postcard you can see that it’s a “genuine photo” postcard. I don’t know enough about real photo postcards to know if this is a reproduction, or if it’s an actual picture of Henry. However, people did have the option of turning their pictures into postcards and sending them in the mail (sort of like our Christmas cards from Costco ahahha). I like to think that this image is our friend Henry staring at us from the past and urging us to get outdoors and try Split Rock as a vacation. I’m sure it will be glorious.

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family History Photographs Postcards Vintage writing

“My Dear Boy”: A Desperate Message from a Loving Mama

To Mr. Walter Meyers. Date Unknown

May 2: My dear boy Walter,

Well I was at the ranch and am back again after firing me. They hired another woman and I have lost out all around so I am out of work and out of money. How do you like your place?

Your loving mama

Because there’s not a postmark on this card it’s impossible to know when it was sent/delivered to Walter Meyers. My instinct tells me it’s somewhere between 1900 and 1915, though it could be into the early 1920’s. The publisher, Edward H Mitchell, was active between 1898 and 1920.

Additionally, in my experience, earlier dated postcards typically conveyed family information like illness, hardships, celebrations, or moves. However, as the ability to communicate over longer distances became easier, later dated postcards typically discuss vacations and trips. Of course, this is not always the case, but it’s something I’ve noticed.

I also tend to think that this postcard originated (and ended) in Northern California, though I suppose our “loving mama” could have been in Southern or Central California (based on the fact that she’d been on a ranch of some sort). At the turn of the 20th century, much of California was agricultural and relied on migrant workers for labor. Frankly, this is still the case. I have a feeling this mother and son lived and worked in different areas of Northern California. Especially since the postcard was printed in San Francisco.

That leads me to the message and picture of the card itself. The desolation of a dark, lonely lake only illuminated by a high moon seems to fit the desperate message of the card: “I am out of work and out of money”. Yet, something about the card makes me uncomfortable, and I can’t place why. Is it simply because the mother is in need. Is the reverberation of her fear for the future imbedded into the fading pencil marks? Or is it something else?

Our loving mama doesn’t outright as her son for money, but she makes it clear she has none. She ends the message with a question of how he likes “his place.” She’s likely referring to his job, here. Is she trying to get hired? Is she reaching out to her child only as an act of self preservation? My mind reels with questions. All parent-child relationships are complicated, but still I can’t help wondering how close these two were, and whether her son was happy or disappointed to hear from her. The overall message itself feels…cold. Desperate, yes, but also seems to lack true affection.

Perhaps I’m being unfair. In fact, I’m probably being unfair. Especially since without a date and place it’s difficult to search for Walter or the “C/O John Vaugh”. I hope that our loving mama got her job and money situation sorted, and I do hope that she and her son were able to have a sweet reunion. How and why this card was kept, we won’t ever know. But, now it exists as a testament to the hardships of life and family.

Front of Postcard

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

Mystery of Miss Bessie Harkness: Unraveling the Threads of a 1905 Postcard

Miss Bessie Harkness, 1905

Miss Bessie Harkness

Durand, Wis

C/O Mr. Will Alkire

In 1905, the great Progressive Era president, Theodore Roosevelt, had just completed his first full term. This after having become president because of the assassination of President William Mckinley. The Progressive Era had begun, but the Gilded Age was hanging on with it’s perfectly manicured nails. 1905 also saw the “greatest ball” of the Gilded Age — a Versailles themed spectacular that later *almost* caused a panic on Wall Street.

The rich will always be rich, but 1905 was the beginning of the end for monopolies after the Supreme Court ruling Swift and Co v the United States allowed the federal government to regulate monopolies. Though we were “advancing” in some areas, we were falling behind in others. Three days before the Supreme Court ruling, the Nelson Act was signed into law, allowing segregation in the schools of the territory of Alaska.

I’ve noted before that the practice of sending postcards began in 1870, however the years of 1901-1907 are considered the “Post Card Period”. This is simply the transition from “Private Mailing Card” to “Post Card”. This particular period is noteworthy for the the fact that the back was exclusively reserved for the address — nothing else. If anything was to be written, it would be done on the front of the card.

This post card is unique for it’s scrawled address in childish script, as though each cursive letter was well thought out and formed when addressing the card. The sender also continued the last name down the side of the card, as they ran out of space on the line — another indication that the sender was young.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing printed on the front of this card, so the sender’s name is lost to time. Emulating Alice, I went down a rabbit hole in searching for Bessie Harkness — and I believe that my search was well rewarded. There was a Bessie Harkness that lived in Durand, Wisconsin. In 1905 she would have been about 17. Public records indicate that she attended the University of Wisconsin and by 1919, had become a high school teacher. Unfortunately, if this is our Bessie, she died in 1930, a mere 42 years old.

It’s rare to find this much information on a person from one of my postcards, and I’m reasonably sure I’ve found the right woman. However, I do wonder who sent her the postcard. She had a brother, but he was older. The handwriting indicates someone young, I’d guess somewhere between 10-14 (though in my gut I think the sender was probably 12/13).

The card is also sent in care of Will Alkire, another well respected Durand resident. It seems Will married in 1885 and had one daughter — Anna Belle. It’s feasible that Anna Belle and Bessie were friends, and either Anna was the sender of the postcard (in care of her father), OR, Bessie was staying with Anna for the winter break. I tend to think Anna Belle was not the sender, simply because the handwriting is so young. But, I suppose she could have been four or five years younger. It’s also feasible Bessie was some sort of tutor or mentor to her (given her later job title).

Either way, for a post card that provides nothing more than a beautiful picture of a Maine lighthouse and a name of the recipient, I managed to find a lot of information. Further, given the fact that Bessie died in 1930, I’m impressed this post card survived. I wonder who saved it, why, and how it ended up in a thrift shop nearly 120 years after it was initially sent.

What a beautiful find.

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

“A Chilly Morn”, 1908: A Glimpse into Small Town Life

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.

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Education History parenting Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage

The Summer of 1948: Olympics, Cold War, and a Health Crisis

To: Mrs. Lydia Mandel. From: Marion 1948

Sammy, has been very ill but is coming along O.K. Gall stone attack.

Marion

*Alternatively, it could say “Sorry have been very ill”, however the following “but is coming along O.K.” changes tense and thus feels incongruous. Therefore, my best guess is that the first word is a name (Sammy, or perhaps Avery).

This may be one of the “later” cards I’ve blogged about, though it’s certainly not the oldest in my collection. However, it was serendipity that I chose this card today.

On July 29, 1948, the Summer Olympics opened in London. This was the first Summer Olympics held since the 1936 games held in Berlin. The fact that the games were held, and in London of all places, indicates that nations were beginning to heal after the devastation of World War II.

Despite the world uniting in sportsmanship, tensions between the United States and Russia were heating up. On July 22, President Truman issued a peacetime draft, and ten communist leaders were arrested under the Alien Registration Act. In fact, the second Red Scare had begun

It’s amidst these conflicting events (sportsmanship and fear mongering) that Sammy (or Avery, or Marion) had a gall attack. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had a gall attack, but if you haven’t — they are awful. I call them the “stabbies” because it’s like a sharp pain entering the space just above your stomach. Nothing helps but time. I’m lucky enough that I’ve only had two or three in my lifetime. I also have the benefit of modern medicine if they get too bad. In 1948, there’s not much to do but wait, and I imagine that time probably crept by at a snail’s pace for the poor patient.

I have no evidence of this, but I imagine that Sammy is a child, Marion the mother, and Lydia the grandmother…or perhaps sister to Marion. Again, there’s nothing that indicates any sort of relationship barring the existing postcard, but in my mind…it’s a multi-generational connection.

I did find a “Lydia Mandel”, who was a Russian artist. However, everything I see indicates she was active in France, so I find it difficult to believe thats our Lydia. The address on the postcard still exists — it’s a quaint apartment in the Bronx. For us, Sammy and Marion and Lydia’s story must therefore end with this card. However, the fifties hadn’t yet begun, and the sixties were a decade away. The coming decades were a time of great inner change and turmoil in the United States.

I guess it was sort of like a gall stone attack in that respect.

Front of Postcard: “Old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, built 1707, Wickford R.I.

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Education family History Photographs Postcards Vintage Writing Prompt

1941 Postcard from Arnie and Fred to Mrs. G.R. Turner: A Relic of Love

To Mrs. G.R. Turner, From Arnie, Fred (?). 1941

Dear Grandma T.

We are having a fine trip. Visited Purdue yesterday and Indiana University. Saw Dick for a few minutes. These gardens are very beautiful. This is just 1 part.

With love,

Arnie, Fred(?)

I didn’t mean to choose two postcards in a row that corresponded with the escalation of World War II, but here we are. By September of 1941, the United States was months away from entering the war. We were embroiled in the Battle of the Atlantic, and FDR had essentially declared a naval war against Germany and Italy.

With war building, I often wonder if the world felt off kilter, and time together was shadowed with the prospect of destruction. Or, did everyday life continue with the hopes that Americans would remain unscathed? I’m sure it must have been a little of both, but with war coming, Arnie and Fred*, and their family, maintained a sense of normalcy by visiting colleges.

I find many things about this postcard appealing. The curving letters and even script, the thicker parts of letters where the ink bled a little longer. However, what’s precious about this postcard is the deep bond between grandma and grandchildren. Not only did Grandma T’s grandchildren think to drop her a line, they likely took time picking out a postcard to send her. It meant enough to Grandma T that it’s managed to survive the last 83 years. This is one reason postcards feel so amazing to me. They are often relics of love.

As an aside, Purdue and Indiana University are not close to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, nor are they very close to each other. The family must have been on a road trip through the midwest, perhaps with the intention of visiting various colleges and landmarks along the way. It makes me wonder if the grandchildren sent Grandma T more postcards, and if any of those survived.

*very unclear on the names. Checked with four different people and each person had a different response to the names. Feel free to chime in.

Front of Postcard: Missouri Botanical Gardens

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

A Lasting Memory: New York Yankees Game and World’s Fair in 1940

To Miss Helen Fussy from Irene. June 8, 1940

Dearest Helen,

I saw a big league game to-day — New York Yankees via Cleveland. To-morrow we will start at the fair, with Mother.

Love,

Irene

Headlines of World War II dominated the newspapers in June of 1940. Germany continued its assault on North-West Europe in the Battle of France. And, on June 10 of 1940, Italy would join Germany to become one of the “Axis” powers. The rumblings of war were becoming louder, yet daily life in the United States continued without breaking, though perhaps with a wary eye toward the future.

It was in the shadow of these events that Miss Irene attended a big league game. On June 8, 1940, the New York Yankees played the Cleveland Indians. The game lasted one hour and forty one minutes, and Irene was one of 16,067 people in attendance. I’m disappointed to inform you that the Yankees did not win. In fact, they were trounced. The Cleve beat the Yankees with a score of 3-0. Poor Irene, though she didn’t seem to mind.

The New York World’s Fair opened in Flushing Meadows, New York (Queens) in 1939 and remained open until October of 1940. The 1939 fair differed, however, from the 1940 fair. Ten countries did not return to the fair in 1940, including some under German occupation. Moreover, the fair’s theme changed from “Building the Amusement of Tomorrow” to “For Peace and Freedom.” The admission price was cut from 75 cents to 50 cents, and campaigns were run along the midwest in an effort to attract more rural visitors.

Since Irene sent a message to Minnesota, I have to guess that the advertisements worked on her family. Despite the more somber and patriotic mood of the fair, I’m sure Irene was dazzled by her experience. At least I like to think so.

As for Miss Helen Fussy, as is often the case with young women, it’s difficult to know if the information I found on her is true. What I can say is that there was a Helen Fussy living in Minnesota in 1940. She was 24 years of age, and there was an Irene Fussy living in Minnesota who was 13 in the same census. Are the two sisters, or simply friends? It’s difficult to know for certain. However, I do hope that Irene’s memory of her big-league game and time at the fair stayed with her for a long time.

And of course, the memory hasn’t died. It’s preserved in a quick postcard written to Helen and sent in the heady days of a New York summer.

Front of Postcard: Barbizon Plaza

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

Exploring Niagara Falls: From Underground Railroad Route to Postcard Romance

Postcard to Mr. Phillip Caughey, early 1907-1914

We are on our way home and are now watching the falls. Wouldn’t you like to be with us?

Trina (or Laura?)*

Although trips to Niagara Falls have fallen in popularity in the 21st century, the Falls was a hot spot for tourism through the middle of the 19th and through the 20th centuries. Groups of honeymooners, children, the elderly, and young adults clamored to catch a glimpse of the falls majestic beauty. Theodosia Burr and her husband were the first recorded couple to honeymoon at the falls in 1801.

Being on the Canadian border, the falls also served as a route to freedom on the Underground Railroad as laws leading up to the Civil War pushed enslaved men and women who freed themself further and further North, until finally the only safe place was Canada.

Tourism to the falls grew after the American Civil War, thanks to the trains, and then boomed again in the years after the World War I, thanks to cars.

Thus it was that our friend Trina (or Laura) came to be one of the millions of visitors who took in the sweeping majesty of 3,160 tons of water streaming over the falls every second. She enjoyed the trip so much that she bought, wrote, and sent a postcard from Niagara to her friend Phillip.

I have two ideas about this postcard. It’s a short message, written in pencil and added to the very side of the postcard almost as an afterthought. It’s almost as though at the last moment Trina (Laura?) decided to taunt Phillip (wouldn’t you like to be with us?).

Alternatively, seeing as the spot has romantic undertones I’d like to imagine that our heroine, Trina/Laura, thought of the man she’d like to be with and threw caution to the wind by sending him a postcard. At the last minute, she chose to add in a bit of cheeky flirtation — which is why the message is so squished to the left side. .

Either way, I love the message. I love the way Phillip’s name is misspelled then fixed. I love the sass, I love the idea of young people visiting Niagara Falls as a fun outing or trip. Admittedly, I didn’t look too hard for Phillip. I’d like to live in my own imagination on this one, and dream that, indeed, he would have liked to have been with his friends in Niagara Falls.

*The signature on the bottom of the card looks like Trina to me, but Laura to my husband. Neither of us could quite agree, but since it’s my blog, I decided to go with Trina. Please feel free to weigh in.

Front of card with an image of Whirlpool Rapids, Niagara Falls

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Education History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

Unveiling History: Square Head’s Postcard and the 1909 Garment Worker Strike

Miss Y. Kassel, 1909

This is from “square” head. Still living but have not much time to knock around.

Holly (on front of card)

November, 1909 was a momentous month in New York. As is often the case, especially in the early 1900’s, tensions amongst the working poor were brewing, and from a faction you may least expect. On November 24, 1909 — so only a few days after Square Head sent her lovely postcard to Miss Kassel — the largest strike in US history up to that point in time took place.

20,000 garment workers, many of them shirt waist factory workers (yes…THAT shirt waist factory, but more on that later), walked out. Their demands were echos of our own: better pay, better hours, safer working conditions, and unionization. History is, of course, cyclical. Because most of the striking workers were women, there was little attention paid to them at first. However, when a few wealthy women joined the cause, factory owners slowly bowed to the women’s demands. Despite resistance and interference from owners, the strike largely worked.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, however, was a little different. The owners did provide better wage and better hours, but they stopped short of unionization — which meant a lack of protection for these women. This culminated in the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.

Now, it’s impossible to know if Square Head and/or Miss Kassel were part of the garment industries, but they would have known about the strike. If they were women who worked in any sort of industry, which I think it’s safe to say that Square Head probably did seeing as she had not much time to “knock around,” (my new favorite saying, by the way), then it would have impacted them in some way. Remember, this was a time before women could vote, so a strike that garnered better working conditions for them was an important step in the suffrage movement.

Aside from the historical context, there’s so much to love about this postcard. From the moniker “square head” to the rural photos of Hershey Cows (I like to think both ladies loved chocolate), to the hurried greeting.

However, I think one of my favorite things about this particular card, however, is how *human* it feels. The square in “square head” is drawn in such a way that the reader can see the direction her hand took. The reader can also see the mistake in “still”; the “s” covering up whatever was written before. Square Head was probably in a rush, or perhaps her mind was ahead of her hand and she began a sentence she wasn’t quite ready for. Undeterred, she clumsily corrected the mistake and continued on in her quick note to her friend. You see it again in the “c” of knock. It’s something so little, but brings the postcard — and the woman — to life in such a tangible way. I love it.

Front of postcard depicting Hershey cows. You can also see the name “Holly” on the top right corner.