Category: Photographs

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History Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Writing Prompt

Mystery and Intrigue: A Postcard to Miss Clara Swayze from 1906

Postcard to Miss Clara Swayze, 1906

In 1906, the United States was roughly midway through its Progressive Era. We had a progressive as President; Theodore Roosevelt, trains crisscrossed the country, and the Panama Canal was in the midst of construction.

Postcards were also going through changes. Five years prior, in 1901, Postcards were no longer required to state “Private Mailing Card” and the simpler “postcard” took it’s place. However, as you can see from this postard to Miss Clara Swayze, only addresses were allowed on the back of cards. This is referred to as the “undivided back” period. And, may I say, I think it’s absolutely adorable that postcards have historical ‘eras’ like paintings, or Taylor Swift.

The Front of the postcard (below) says the following:

1-11-1906

Brx Social, Elmer

That’s it. There’s no stamp, and no address. So, it’s unclear if the card was kept by Clara as a memento, if it was given to a mutual friend to give to Clara, or my personal favorite, if this was a sort of exchanging of information between Clara and Elmer. Perhaps they met at the social and planned to get in touch with each other again. Maybe they went on dates, maybe they remained friends. Maybe they never saw each other again.

What is clear is that I couldn’t pin down Clara Swayze. I found a few, but I’m not confident I found her, if you catch my drift. The lack of text and information makes this card an enigma — but an enigma that allows my imagination to thrive.

Another interesting note: The card has a sort of glue glitter detailing along some of the crisp lines. I have a few like this — perhaps five total. My instinct is that this has been added after the fact, maybe by a grandchild. However, I’m certainly not positive either.I’m unsure if they came from the same sale (as I bought the postcards in a lot) or if this was a style of the time. I’d love to know if any of you have information on the mysterious glitter glue.

Front of Postcard: Rotunda, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

Categories
Education History Photographs Postcards Vintage Writing Prompt

1936: TB Patients in Arizona and Mrs. Kenneth Brentlinger’s Story

Mrs. Kenneth Brentlinger, 1936

Fri Eve:

We are at Hotel Kimball for nite, cheaper than tourist cottage. Everything here at Phoenix is filled up. The roads are full of tourists. Then, this is where the T.B. patients come. We are going to Grand Canyon and Boulder Dam Sat. then on to Helena Sun. but don’t know what time. Getting along just fine. Mrs. B came through the operation just fine. Had a good nights rest last night.

— Mother

I was able to find Mrs. Kenneth Brentlinger’s name: Helen, and her grave (see the link above), but I wasn’t able to easily find the name of her mother. A lack of information means that I can’t pick apart the intricate lives of these two women, but we can at least drop them into the historical context of wider world events.

In 1936, FDR was re-elected President, Labor Unions protested, and Germany hosted the Summer Olympics, where Jesse Owens won four gold medals. Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws had been enacted in 1935, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, and we were still five years away from joining World War II.

Additionally, in 1936, Mrs. Kenneth (Helen) Brentlinger’s mother visited the Grand Canyon and Boulder Dam. A reminder that amidst the grand events of the world stage, our individual lives march on as best we know how. There are so many questions I have about this postcard, the first of which being who is Mrs. B, and what operation did she have?

But what struck me most was a fact that I had never heard before: that TB patients flocked to Arizona for treatment believing that the dry, hot air of the desert would serve as a place where they could rest, recuperate, and unfortunately pass away, from Tuberculosis.

For the patients with money, there were a variety of posh hospitals with beautiful views and state of the art luxuries. These sanatoriums held upward of 100-150 patients, and did their best to treat the disease.

However, there were many more who suffered in poverty. That did not dissuade them from seeking treatment. Called “lungers” as a pejorative, tent cities of patients popped up in Pheonix and Tucson, and though funding and services had improved by 1936, based on this postcard we can see that the influx of patients hadn’t ceased due to the depression. In fact it only increased in the 20s and 30s.

Treatment for TB included the dry air and rest, as well as invasive surgery that included collapsing a lung through the removal of a rib. Is it possible this is the surgery Mrs. B went through? I rather hope not, though perhaps a visit to a sick friend created a sort of impromptu vacation for Helen Brentlinger’s mother.

There’s an inscription around the edge of the front: Seen hundreds of these today. Sure pretty. The sun was sure wonderful and make my toes burn up in places.

There’s something about this that is so human. I love it.

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Education History Photographs Postcards Vintage writing

Teenage Flirtation in 1908, A Call to War, and The Mystery Sender A.N.

Mr. Earl Poush, 1908

Hello Earl,

I received your card and was glad to hear from you. I went to the party Saturday night and had a nice time. Vera and I went over to Dallas Sunday afternoon and staid till church at night. Maybe you think we didn’t have time. Well I didn’t have to ask Bertha who the card was from. Did you go to town Saturday. I will have to close for this time.

Answer Soon

The front of this postcard is just as informative as the back, so rather than post it at the end, I wanted to post it here. Take a gander, then read on:

The Ballot Post Card: September 23, 1908

1908 was a leap year, and saw a variety of notable events that live on within the American zeitgeist. Wilbur Wright completed a 2 1/2 hour flight, Henry Ford debuted his Model T, and the Chicago Cubs won the world series.

But all of that, perhaps, pales in comparison to the light flirtation of teenagers. Again, we have a bit of a mystery sender. There’s no way for me to ascertain who “A.N.” was, or what (I assume her) relationship was to Earl, but I think it’s rather clear that the two of them may have been sweet on each other. Especially since Miss “A.N” checked off “I think of you often”, “Wait for me”, “A kiss for you”, and “Ever yours.”

Additionally, I’m guessing that when “A.N.” says “I didn’t have to ask Bertha who the card was from”, she means she knew the card she received was from Earl before even seeing it. I love that A.N seems to be surrounded by some girl friends, and I wonder if Vera, Bertha, and A.N. were on a little girls trip together.

Although I couldn’t find the identity of A.N., I do believe I found a little bit about Mr. Earl Poush. If I’m correct, it appears that he was born in 1892, which would put him at the tender age of 17 in September of 1908 — the perfect time for an early flirtation. It seems that he fought as a Corporal in World War I, and was injured in 1918. In 1919, he married Hope Lita Hicks (Poush) — not our elusive A.N. The world both teens grew up in must have been very different from the one they sent innocent cards in during the waning summer of 1908.

Categories
History Photographs Postcards Vintage Writing Prompt

Unveiling the Enigma of Mrs. N. in 1913 Los Angeles Through a Vintage Postcard

Miss Louise M. Simmons(?)

Box 13-87 Los. Angeles CA

Dear Friend Louise,

I am writing you a long letter but am to sleepy to finish up tonight so send this card instead. With Love. From your old friend,

Mrs. N.

What a stunning card from an exciting time in the history of the west. By 1913, Los Angeles was the 17th largest city in the nation, with upwards of 319,198 people. 1913 was also a momentous year for the city. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed, which because the city could not sell it’s water to other areas, meant that LA grew significantly over the course of the next decades as smaller areas annexed themselves into LA.

Cecil B. de Mille shot the first “Hollywood” movie, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened, and Georgia, “Tiny” Broadwick became the first woman to parachute out of a plane, landing safely in Griffith Park.

Mrs. N, being in Los Angeles in January, perhaps didn’t know much of what was in store for the city that year. But, this postcard does give us a tantalizing peek into the history of that bright city. Unfortunately, the longer letter is lost to time, or perhaps someones attic, so we can’t know for certain why Mrs. N. was in Los Angeles. Was her family there to work on the aqueduct? Was she part of the burgeoning movie industry? Had the family moved South after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake? Were they citrus farmers? I’d love to hear what you think.

With very little information on the postcard — including the full name of the elusive Mrs. N, it’s difficult to ascertain how and why she had made it to Los Angeles. However, it’s an exercise in imagination to think of what she must have seen in that important year of 1913.

Front of Postcard: “Poimsettia, California Xmas Flower.”

Categories
Education History Photographs Postcards Vintage

Pauline Howard’s 1936 Postcard to Miss Lois Wright: A Snapshot of Life Amid the Great Depression

Postcard to Miss Lois Wright, 1936

Have been having a wonderful trip. The flowers are beautiufl and the leaves are out on the trees. Has been real hot until the last two days and it seemed good to have it a little cooler again. Will be back North again soon.

— Pauline Howard

First, the context. In 1936 the country was deep into the Great Depression, though the worst hard times were getting slightly better. Black Sunday, the worst storm from the American Dust Bowl, had happened a year prior, on April 14, 1935. By 1936 FDR was elected for a second term, created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and brought unemployment to 16.9%, down from 20% of the year before. Dorothea Lange also shot her iconic image of “Migrant Mother” in March. So, even if you don’t know a lot about the 30’s, these things probably sound familiar as they exist in the American zeitgeist.

Because the Great Depression exists in our mind as a sort of dark age of American society, it’s difficult to imagine people living their lives outside of hardship. Our minds immediately go to migrants, joblessness, and perhaps even the Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men.

Yes, people were desperate, and yes, these were difficult times. However, the postcard from Pauline to Lois shows that, once again, people were resilient and living the best they knew how. Now, I don’t know how old Pauline and Lois were (though from the moniker “miss” for Lois, I can assume early 20’s), but what’s clear is that despite the country’s turmoil, there was some fun to be had.

Keystone Heights seems as though it was a semi-popular wintering spot which also received assistance from FDR’s alphabet program the Civilian Conservation Corps. April was, perhaps, a tenuous time to visit, as Florida heat in April can get oppressive (indicated in the message of the postcard). But, the country was in for a worse heat wave beginning in June, so hopefully Pauline managed to make her way North before then.

I wonder what the connection between the two women were. Perhaps school friends or room mates? Women are difficult to research since I’m behind a variety of paywalls, and unfortunately I’m not confident I was able to find the correct people. However, there was a Lois Wright who lived in New Hampshire and, despite marriage, did not change her last name (it seems). She lived to be 104, and fits the timeline. Though, of course I can’t guarantee this is our Lois, I’d like to believe it could be.

The postcard is also beautifully hand colored, and is stunning in person.

Night Blooming Cereus: Front of Postcard

Categories
History Photographs Postcards Vintage writing

Manie’s Postcard to Mr. Howard Burr: A Snapshot of 1917

Postcard to Mr. Howard Burr, 1917

Portage Wis. March 29, 1917

Dear Howard: –

I will drop you a card. My mother and I are at Portage. Got here last night to see the lawyers. Will go home some time tomorrow.

From,

Manie

Before I get into this tantalizing postcard, let me first drop 1917 into history, as it’s a fairly pivotal year, and March an important month. Europe was at war, but in February of 1917, the Russian Revolution began. This would eventually prompt the US to enter World War 1, but war was not declared until April 4, 1917. The US would institute a draft in May, and the Spanish flu was still a year away. So, when Manie wrote this postcard on March 29, 1917, the United States was six days away from war.

I always love mementos like this, cards on the precipice of something big. I have to wonder, how anxious were they? Did they know the world was about the change, or were they fairly isolated in their midwestern towns? I suspect a little bit of both.

Without a last name, I wasn’t able to easily research Manie, the sender. Though I would love to know why he and his mother were meeting with lawyers. Did it have to do with the impending war? A family estate? A marriage? A death? A divorce? Legal troubles? Your guess is as good as mine, though my guesses tend to run the gambit of wild and unusual.

Portage, Wisconsin was somewhat easier to research — as towns tend to be. In 1917 it seemed it was a larger commercial district, which explains why Manie and his mother were there to see a lawyer. We can imagine that they perhaps did some shopping, or stayed in a quaint hotel in the city center.

I was able to find a Mr. Howard Burr who was born in Paynesville, MN in 1896 and died in Wisconsin in 1972. I wasn’t able to locate a (free) obituary, however I’m fairly confident this is to whom the card is addressed. If I’m right, Howard would have been just under 21 years old — the right age for the draft instituted in May of 1917. I’d guess Manie was around the same age. It leaves me wondering if they both fought in the war.

I also hope that whatever legal business Manie was involved with was easily resolved.

Front of Postcard. Silver Lake, Portage Wis.