Tag: travel

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Education family History parenting Photographs Poems Postcards Vintage Writing Prompt

Promises, Procrastination, and Postcards: Unraveling a 1912 Tease to Frank Van Gordon

To: Mr. Frank Van Gordon. From, Chuck(?) 1912

Dear Old Friend:

How are you. I am fine and dandy. Marie said she was saving her daughter for you so don’t get married. “Ha Ha”. I never got your letter until the other day and will just send you a card. Haven’t seen tasel(?) for a long time. Well so long and soon.

Yours,

Chuck

542 N. Elder Ave, Indpls

In 1912, William Howard Taft was the president, New Mexico and Arizona were admitted as the 47th and 48th U.S. State (respectively), and in the early hours of April 15, the RMS Titanic sank in the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Suffragettes paraded in New York City, and Theodore Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, proceeds to give a speech, then goes to the hospital.

It was a crazy year.

This card is one of the first postcards I put on this blog, though I felt like I never quite did it justice. There is just so, so much going on. First, there’s the innuendo that “marie” is “saving” her daughter for Frank. Which…I guess the jibe is fun but it gives me a bit of the ick. I also wonder why Chuck “never got” Frank’s letter. As a professional procrastinator, I wonder if Chuck did in fact get the letter, forgot about it until he saw Marie, then remembered to send a card.

Much to my chagrin, I couldn’t find Frank at all. There were a few decent candidates, but none of them fit the timeline well. I have to assume that in 1912 Frank was somewhere between 20-30 (I’d guess 22), especially seeing as his friend is teasing him about getting married. Also, Antigo is a relatively small town, though it’s part of the lumber industry. It’s possible that Frank was a lumber worker.

Which might be why he’s hidden from us in the archives. If he only worked in Antigo as a seasonal worker, or for a year or two, then there would have been no reason for the census to record him living in that city. Also, I wonder if he’s listed in the archives as simply “Frank Gordon”. It’d be strange, since “Van Gordon” isn’t that crazy of a last name, but it’s still possible I suppose.

Well, I revisited this card in the hopes that I could shed a little more light on Frank and his friend. I’m sorry that I couldn’t find them! At least I feel like I’ve given the card it’s due — especially since so much happened during 1912! I do wonder what happened to Frank. I hope he lived a good life, and managed to sit down to dinner with Chuck at some point.

As an aside, the postcard front is so silly when you connect it to the message on the back. Chuck is teasing Frank about a wife, then sends a card that reads “I found a Queen in Indianapolis. If you’re wise, you’ll hurry here.” That’s more than a hint, it’s a smack across the head with a trowel.

Front of Postcard. “I found a Queen in Indianapolis If you’re wise you’ll hurry here.”

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Education family History parenting Photographs Postcards Teaching Vintage Work In Progress Writing Prompt

Patricia’s 1954 Postcard: A Historical Exploration of Old Town San Diego

To: Miss Patricia Baker From: Warren, 1954

Hi Pat,

This is an interesting spot in “old town.” Best Wishes

From,

Warren

“Old Town,” San Diego was founded in 1769 by Spanish settlers. The town survived three governments (Spanish, Mexico, then American) before being usurped by “New Town”, or modern day San Diego, primarily because it was closer to the water. Now, a monument to the original settlement stands on the site. It’s full of restaurants, tourist shops, and the Whaley House, the “most haunted” house in America.

In 1954, Dwight Eisenhower was president, Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio, and Brown V. Board ruled that segregated schools are unconstitutional. The United States was in our Nuclear Era. Suburbs were growing, cars were getting faster, the movies were glamorous, and people had more money for leisure. It might sound great, but the racial and gender divide in the US was huge. The Cold War was raging, and Senator McCarthy was conducting hearings on communism.

This is one of at least two postcards that I have from Warren. I may have more in my stash that I haven’t identified yet. The postcards are separated by a period of years, but both are addressed to the Baker household, both are written in the same all caps handwriting, and both postcards are short and to the point. Nonetheless, they both provide distinct information about the spots Warren has seen or traveled.

When I started my research on the card, I really thought I’d be able to find Patricia and Warren. I have a date, a name, an address…but alas, no real luck. This may be a symptom of using only free sites to conduct my research (what can I say, I’m a cheapskate), however there were SO MANY Patricia Bakers in or near El Monte. Add to the fact that El Monte is in Los Angeles County, and now I’m dealing with a ton of records from LA and, phew, it was a lot.

Plus, our old foe: the maiden name! We know that Pat isn’t married because Warren uses the “Miss” title. Therefore, if she married, her name can get easily obscured in the records and make it much more difficult for us to uncover.

There is a Patrica Baker who lived in El Monte and married a William. She was one of 9 sisters and passed in 1982. I thought this was a good match, except it seems she married in 1946. So, my hopes were dashed.

Sometimes that’s how the cookies crumble. Hopefully next week I’ll have more luck with research!

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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.

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History Local Government Postcards Writing Prompt

President Taft’s Visit and Grape Farming: Insights from a 1909 Fresno Postcard

Miss Nettie Snyder, 1909

Dear Friend Nettie,

Your nice set of cards reced. I have not got them and would be glad to get both sets in full. We have had no rain yet, but do not expect till next month. Yes I like celery. I wish I had some fudge. Do you make it or buy it. I like some grapes. We have grapes, more of them raised here than any other fruit. We have several kinds, we have the wine, tokays, malaga, sultana, large black grape, small water grape, Emperors, and many more that I do not know the name of. We have state fair. We have one in (unreadable), and our state fair will open soon. The Sacramento state fair is the largest. Come again. Will you get to see the president. He will be here next month. Write soon.

We have these flowers in our yard.

Lily Proser. 622 C Street, Fresno Cal

There is so much going on in this postcard and I love every bit of it. However, I first want to point out that Nettie and Lily are separated by over 2000 miles. Not only is the friendship important enough to be maintained, but Nettie had somehow managed to visit Lily in California (as indicated by the “come again”). The bonds between these two must have been strong and I have to wonder how old they were in 1909. At times, personal histories can be frustrating, especially since women change names at marriage. So, when given nothing but a maiden name, it’s difficult to trace in the (free) records.

The listing off of grape types is also an indication of how rural Fresno would have been in 1909. Founded in 1872 by the Central Pacific Railroad Company, Fresno was mainly a farming town known for…you guessed it! Grapes. It’s touted as the “raisin capital of the world.” So, while two lines devoted to grapes might seem a tad mundane for two girls to be writing about, it’s actually Lily telling Nettie about her families livelihood.

Furthermore, based on Lily’s postcard, we know that President Taft visited Fresno. She perhaps included it as bait to get Nettie back out to California. Since Lily sent her postcard in September of 1909, we can assume that she was speaking about the Presidents visit to city hall park in October of 1909. You can read a transcript of his speech here.

So, while on the outset the postcard doesn’t seemingly reveal more than idle chit-chat, overall, this one little postcard provides a slew of information about the everyday life of someone living in Fresno, California in 1909. What a great piece of history.

I hope Lily got some fudge.

Front of Postcard. Cactus Dahlia