What About Baudette Minnesota and Herding Goats in Norway Postcard Talk

From Leslie to Hulda Hilden

Orginal Postcard, enhanced.

 

Original Postcard without Enhancement

I began looking at this postcard, thinking I knew at least a few details, only to find that I knew even less of the little that I thought I did know!  After closer examination with 10X magnification under better light, I discovered that the photograph, at least revealed a little more upon which to speculate.

The postmark that I had assumed was for Thief River Falls, Minnesota, it turns out is not.  The word THIEF is there, but there is no river or falls.  A closer look also reveals tht the faint letters on the right outside circle of the postmark can in no way spell out Minnesota; or, as it would have been in the year this card was mailed,  MINN.  Clearly readable, again, is the word, THIEF, AUG 7, and EAST. Beneath that, is possibly M.P.C., and at the top might be the year--1911? 

So much for that.  The stamp is a one cent Franklin. And it is addressed to Miss Hulda Hilden in Beaudette, Minnesota, from Leslie--who may have been her brother.  More specifically, the brief note suggests a good relationship with plenty of camaraderie and joking.  The joke on this postcard would take inside knowledge to decipher the hidden meaning.

Well here is the mail man you were waiting for but I hope I haven't keep you waiting all this time with the same kind of  a costume on the the girl on the card you sent me had.

Leslie

Evidently Hulda had sent him a jokester-type card?  I wonder what the postcard looked like that Hulda had sent to Leslie--is this her brother?

I just heard that your old pal Ole was herding goats in Norway and that he had 2 new hairs.

It seems that Ole at least, maybe without Lena, was the brunt of jokes early in the 20th century!

Well...on with the discovery!

The photograph is hard to decipher for the soil and darkening with age, and also as it is a large area that was included, everything is smaller and less distinct.  Unfortunate in this case is that enlarging the picture makes determining details even more difficult.  My 10X power headgear and a good light did help some, however.  Though very small, a flag is visible atop the building in the background.  With a closer look it can be seen that there is another American flag in front of the building.

There are posts, but there appears to be no fence.  There are three groups of people, yet in none can it be discerned as to what is being looked at.  The closest men, on the left, have hats that look to be part of a military or official uniform.  That they have on neckties is not a defining detail, as in the era of the photo dress was much more formal for nearly all occasions.  At least one of these men is looking to his right.

Next is the group in the middle.  What are these people, both men and women, looking at?  It isn't what the others are viewing to their right or left, because they face the house with their backs turned toward the camera that took the photograph.  This middle cluster is looking toward the building.  They don't seem to be looking up, but across.

At the furthest distance, people group 3, maybe have some people sitting and some standing, or they might be seated on bleachers.  I don't know.  What they are looking at, perhaps a ball game? 

Please Allow me to summarize at this point what I don't know.

1. The postmark year.

2. The location of the sender.

3. The year of the stamp issue.

4. What the three groups of people are looking at.

5. What the Norwegian Ole joke means.

6. If Hulda and Leslie are related.

7. What M.P.C. means.

8. If some of the men in the photograph are wearing part of a uniform.

9. What kind of woman was on the postcard sent by Hulda to Leslie.

Yup.  You guessed it.  I don't know much.  I would appreciate viewer input.  Maybe my knowledge will increase. ...Mary Katherine May