DPO Pequot Minnesota PostCard Talk Mary Katherine May

Sam's Resort on Lake Edna
Nisswa, Minnesota

PostCard Talk DPO Pequot, Minn.

There is a special place for me in Northern Minnesota which holds some of the best memories I have from the past.  This summer my husband and I were able to relive one of the memories when we stayed at Fritz's Resort in Nisswa, Minnesota, the property purchased from my Grandfather, Sam (Samuel, Simon) Wakaruk.  I think the best memories of the few times at Sam's Resort that I can recall due to my young age are when my brother and I would go down to the resort's dock on Lake Edna and feed dried bread crumbs that came out of a bag in the boathouse to the little sunnies and crappies that Grandpa Sam had trained the fish to expect. 

The resort, run now by Fritz's son and his family, is far different than when Sam maintained his 'fishing resort,' being mostly for campers, and I didn't mind that.  We did, however, stay in one of the original cabins, which mostly I also slept in as a young child.  The hospitality of the resort owners, Richard and Jane Geike, was helpful, kind, and friendly, and I think that even without having emotional ties to the place I would not hesitate to book another reservation.




Boathouse in 1951 at Sam's Resort
Sam Wakaruk walking along the shoreline of Lake Edna.



Same boathouse in 2012 at Fritz's Resort on Lake Edna
Nisswa, Minnesota

Uncle Tony and Uncle Ellis begin putting in the dock
at Sam's Resort on Lake Edna, Nisswa, Minnesota.

Just five miles north on Highway 371 is the town of Pequot Lakes, and the cabin on Sibley Lake where we spent a lot more time over many years, after my widowed mother married again.  There are so many good experiences that I can recall.  And though the old musty cabin is gone, along with its 'honeymoon' suite that had a window looking into the kitchen, a curtain for a door, and an ancient iron bed with mattress that leaned always to the middle, among the other family inside jokes, the memories that helped shape who we are today will live on.

Pequot Lakes is known for its water tower that looks like a bobber.  They still make up a huge kettle of baked beans, cooked buried in the ground for Bean Hole Day, and at least used to put on a great small town Fourth of July with parade, races, tall tales contest, and more.  Today the movie theater, where we would go to watch movies for uner 50 cents after walking the mile into town now houses the Pequot Lakes Historical Society.

Pequot Lakes in its early years was associated with a few other names according to Crow Wing County history: Frogtown, Sibley, and also the single word, Pequot.  The town may have usually been called Pequot Lakes, but in regard to postal history the town was simply, Pequot, until some time in 1940, which is when the 'Pequot' postmark ceased to exist, and was replaced by Pequot Lakes.  The day after the last cancel, Pequot became what is known as a DPO, or Dead Post Office. 

DPOs, as they are called, are an option for a topical postal collection.  You will find DPOs on envelopes and postcards.  I happen to prefer postcards with a clear postmark and message, with the photo being of equal or lesser importance.  For me, envelopes with letters inside, particularly what are called mourning covers, run a close second in interest, and overall I lean toward postals originating in a select group of Midwestern States.

Over the years I have accumulated a few DPOs, and just the other day I noticed in my collection a few Pequot, Minnesota, postmarks, which were in existence form 1896 to 1940.

First Island, Sibley Lake, Pequot, Minn. ca. 1910-1919

Here is First Island on Sibley Lake in what was then known only as Pequot.  And actually at that time the property around the lake where our cabin was located was outside of the town proper.  My recollection from rowing back and forth on the 3 mile long, narrow lake, is that there was one island only, and this island was in the approximate middle of the 3 miles outside of the bay where our cabin, then owned by my stepfather's father, was located.  This island, if it is the one island and by what I see it very well could be, was also known as Goat Island, for the fact that someone would remove their goat or goats to the island for the summer to feed on the vegetation--and without the worry of keeping the goat from wandering away.

Dear Monson--card received glad to hear from you again. 
Am at Pequot in a car started for Bemidji a week ago Saturday
but was called back when I reached Hackensack. 
Think I'll be up this week Thursday.  Love from C. Bergren.

The top speed of the average car in 1915 was around 40  to 45 miles per hour.  If our postcard writer, C. Bergren, was able to go the 80+ miles from Pequot to Bemidji on the two lane roads cleared through the pine forests in Northern Minnesota, that would a little over two hours.  We have no clear idea as to why Bergren returned south to Pequot from Hackensack, and that is a mystery for speculation--not enough gasoline to fuel the car the whole way and not a good place to buy more?  Was someone sick, or was there car trouble?  If there was car trouble, our writer might have gotten the car serviced in Pine River if the dealership there is that long standing, and then stayed in Pequot with a friend or family, not needing to pay for a hotel.  Was the writer a man, since it is more likely for a man to address someone by their last name.  If it was a man, it is not typical to sign off with 'Love' unless Miss Sophia was his sweetheart.

Addressed to Miss Sophia Monson, Bemidji, Minn.,  (Box 432)

It is interesting to note that Miss Sophia Monson has a post office box, since most towns in Northern Minnesota are smaller than what many people call a small town.  The 1910 census shows Bemidji as having a population of approximately 5,000 people, then as now the largest town in the northern portion of the state.

Though the date is not completely present, the year may be 1912 because of the stamped line at the lower edge of the number one.  The month begins with an A, and I am speculating that the date is April 22, not August 22.

Lastly, the photograph over time has maintained good color, yet the lake is either still covered with a coat of ice, which is possible, or the water has been enhanced in some way. A close up of this type was either taken from a boat or with a zoom lens--were there zoom lenses in 1912? 

This article written by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.



Artist Painted Post Cards Maud Leach Denver Colorado

Maude Leach, artist
Leach Art Studios, Denver

Maude Leach
(1870-1927)
Margaret Amelia Thornton
(1882-1962)
by Mary Katherine May of  QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Looking at postcards in antique and collectible shops is a time consuming effort if you are interested not only what the photograph or image is on one side, but in the message on the opposite side as well.  Some shops are very obliging and helpful, and others not so much.  We all do what we must in our circumstances, and so the less obliging are left respectfully with all their postcards still in inventory, and those who really do wish to make a sale are left instead, respectfully, with my money.

Blooming Bushes in
Hutchinson, Minnesota

Kathy, my childhood friend, went on a drive with me recently.  At the end of our time we stopped in the small but bustling town of Hutchinson, Minnesota, fondly known to many of its residents as "Hutch." 

Before sitting in the lovely, peaceful park created by the town's girl scouts, Kathy patiently went along as I browed my way through the antiques.  In actuality, I generally browse the books, post cards, and ephemera--or anything paper.

My offering to you today, after this story, is a postcard with a soft, gentle scene of mountains and sky, that I found in Hutchinson.  The postcard is stamped, Leach Art Studios, Denver.  The penciled name in the lower right, Allie, I believe to be the sender of the postcard, which went to a Miss Madge Thornton in St. Paul, Minnesota, leaving Denver, Colorado, on March 22, 1907.

There is no message as you can see, for why would the sender, Allie, ruin this beautiful scenic illustrations of Colorado with a message.  There could have been a message written on the address side of this undivided back post card, because just 21 days prior to its use, on March 1, 1907, writing on the address side was first allowed by the United States Post Office.  I wonder if Allie knew? 

What intrigued me enough to purchase this particular postcard is the art.  I don't know at this point if it is an original watercolor or other form of painting, or perhaps printed from original art?  It isn't signed, but did this artist Leach always sign the paintings?

Maude Leach, artist. Leach Art Studios, Denver

I haven't found out much about Maude Leach the artist.   Maude Leach (1870-1920), sometimes spelled Maud Leach or Maud Leech, did paint and created in the area of Denver, Colorado.  Maude began her life and studied in the East, specifically New York, but would have been living in Colorado in 1907.  She liked to paint mountains and surrounding scenery, maintained a studio, and for a few years was a public school teacher.

Searching the internet and looking at google images under the name of Maude Leach and variations thereof, I discovered that the art on this postcard looks to be exactly like what she painted.  Also, the paper upon which this post card is illustrated is very similar to the watercolor paper I bought for myself at the local Michael's store. 

I noticed that the word Post Card with its ruled border looks like it could have been stamped on, not printed.  Further indication of this possibility is that it is stamped on the back crooked in relation to the paper edge.

I have one more interesting historical point to present before signing off on this post.  Miss Madge [Margaret Amelia] Thornton, born 1882 and a 1904 University of Minnesota graduate, member after graduation of the AAUW (American Association of University Women), in 1907 lived at 369 Von Minden Street, which later was renamed Michigan Street. She was one of twelve children born to Patrick H. Thornton and Margaret Monica Moran, her father being an immigrant from Ireland. Margaret went on to marry Frank Michael Kieron, who together birthed six children of their own.  Allie, our post card sender, may have been her sister, Alice Marie, but we don't know.  Margaret went home to the Lord on April 19, 1962. 

It is the address that is interesting.  It was not discovered until torn down that the the house, known as the Schneider-Bulera House, at 369 Von Minden Street had been built in 1857, one year before Minnesota entered the Union (May 11, 1858), and just fourteen years after Father Lucien Galtier changed the town's name of Pig's Eye Landing to St. Paul, his favorite saint, and was the oldest house still standing in St. Paul. But in the small amount of history that is available on the web about this house, there is no indication of the Thornton family residence.  Interesting.

One last thought, and it is a sad one, because history's moments, though in the past are the source of the roots that make up the character and fiber of our families, towns, cities, states, and nation.  We are who we are because of history, each relational moment being spiritually and/or physically defining what is, and thus our future has its base beginning point in the past.  On that note, I have a touch of sadness in my heart as I quote from the Schneider-Bulera House link:

To quote a city official when the previous oldest house in Saint Paul was torn down by United Hospital several years ago "There will always be another oldest house!" ~Joe Hoover

July 1910 Excursion to Osseo and Robbinsdale Minnesota

City Hall and Park
Osseo, Minnesota
July 1910

Presented by Mary Katherine May (amateur history detective)
of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Osseo, Minnesota City Hall and Park

There is something so delightful in finding a postcard written over 100 years ago not far from where we live.  A girl or young lady named Esther wrote the postcard, but beyond that she will at this time remain anonymous.

So many interesting points can be found on this one little card! The illustrated side of the postcard show the Osseo, Minnesota, City Hall and Park. In the back ground is what looks like a large residential building, and on the park ground I can see a wood platform.  Since the postcard was written on July 25, perhaps the platform was used for a program in relation to independence day.

Esther gives us bits of news that tempt my imagination.  There was a storm with strong winds and Sadie Ward's tree blew down. Was it Sadie's tree, or was it the Ward family's tree?  Since Esther mentions both Osseo and Robbinsdale, in which town did Sadie live?

July 25, 1910(?)
Robbinsdale Minn.

Dear Ruth
We are having so much fun.  We were to Osseo Sat. with Mr. B-. and we had a ice cream cornet.  Sun. morning we went to Robinsdale to meet some people.  Mr. Benells nieces and his son Hilmar.  We had our pictures taken.
Goodbye. Esther.

P.S. Twelve people came besides us. We had a swell dinner with spring chickens. Write soon.

We may assume that Esther was part of a group of young people with perhaps a teacher as a chaperone on an excursion, maybe from South Minneapolis since the card mailing address is there.  The novelty in Osseo was to have an ice cream cornet, which would be the same or similar to what we call a waffle cone today.  Though ice cream was sometimes served in cones for many yearsin Europe already, it may still have been a novelty in Minnesota at that time since the first big splash of attention the cone, or cornet, received was just a few years previous in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair.

The next morning the group left Osseo for Robbinsdale, which would have been on the way back to Minneapolis. To drive from Osseo to Robbinsdale now takes a15 to 20 minutes traveling between 40 to 50 miles per hour.  I wonder how long it would have taken in 1910.  They were joined by their chaperone, Mr. Benell's son Hilmar in Robbinsdale, where there was a large group who had a "swell" dinner of spring chickens.

The house we live in wasn't built in 1910, but if it were this group on a holiday would have passed our home on their way south to Robbinsdale.  I wonder if they went by horse driven wagon, buggy, or an early motor car?  Or, they may have taken the train--the tracks just a couple blocks from our home still carry trains, and maybe the trip out and back was accomplished in good time, all traveled on the Iron Horse.

I can imagine that Esther was very happy for some time after such a delightful trip, and had a lot of news to tell her friends and family when she returned home.

Should someone familiar with any of the people mentioned on this postcard see this blog post, it would be wonderful to be able to add an image of the  photograph here that was taken on that Sunday in July as mentioned by Esther.  Also, if a viewer could verify the year, which I am reading as 1910, I would appreciate the information.  I can be emailed through this blog site or through our webstore, QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Osseo City Hall, 1910

RPPC 1918 The Betrothed Stewartville Minnesota Miss Clara Radam

The Betrothed

A Stewartville, Minnesota, woman wearing spectacles, with a sense of humor and of a more mature age, most likely never married, who identifies herself only as a Hayseed writes to her friend, Miss Clara Radam, in Rochester, Minnesota, about her betrothed. 

Hello Clara:
Well I must send you the picture of myself and my Betrothed you see I think quite a little of him. I hold him in my hand so no one can get him away from me.  As you send me the picture of you and your beloved I think I would have to return a picture of the same order.  From a Hayseed.

Unfortunately for dating purposes the the last number of the year is not clear, and thus the closest I can get is March 16, 191?.  Stewartville is south of Rochester, Minnesota, and an active community.

Stewartville, Minnesota was founded by Charles Stewart (1816-1886) of New York state who came to Minnesota in 1857, building a mill in 1858, the year of Minnesota's entry into the union.  It was first incorporated in 1893.   Charles served as the village's first postmaster, as in the Minnesota Legislature in the 1860s.

Lastly, although the stamp was removed for some reason other than collecting and not done well, it does reveal the stamp box, which contains CyKo, place postage stamp here. This stamp box was in use from 1904 to into the 1920s.

This postcard is currently in auction on QualityMusicandBooks.com.

PostCard 1914 St Paul LYND MN City Hall Court House GAS by Mary Katherine May

Post Card
St. Paul City Hall& Court House

March 16, 1914
St. Paul, Minn
1-cent George Washington

written by Mary Katherine May of Quality Music and Books

This postcard was purchased to be used for a project in which I will write what I have about my Grandmother, Pauline Rychly Koshuba Haydak. Pauline arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 4, 1914, by train from New York.

Upon entering the United States, coming from Bila, Galicia, still for a few months part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was processed through Ellis Island. This is one of the most humorous messages I have read on a postcard, though I doubt that was the intention of the writer.

March 16th is also our wedding anniversay, 36 years in 2010.

Addressed to:
C. H. Austin
Lynd, Minn.

Message:
Dear Henry

I am a little better. Eat a little more. Slept pretty well. The gas is the worst.
Clara B. Austin

Birthday Greetings with Real Photo Inset Bricelyn Wells MN

Birthday Greetings to Miss Florence Scriver, Wells Minnesota
August 4, 1909

A third postcard about Florence, the three acquired at the same time. This postcard has some gilt Birthday Greetings, whether or not written by the sender--I don't know. This postcard is a welling wishing to Florence, who now must be home, since now going to where her mother lives Wells, Minn.

Postmark: August 5 1909 6 PM Bricelyn MN

Addressed to:
Miss Florence Scriver
Wells Minn

The Message:

Dear Flo (I can't make out the rest on this line)


I was home 4 weeks and come back Sun. We had a lot of compony yesterday from town. We got some flowers. Good by.

Rosomond.

Artwork:"Birthday Greetings" in gold-tone or gilt cursive writing by hand, inset photographs of boaters (? 2 women, 1 man ?) and geese on the lawn. Location currently undetermined.

Rick and Mary May operate the webstore Quality Music and Books.

RPPC Scenery WHO was Scheuer? by Mary Katherine May

ALONEby Scheuer

Postmark:
February 13 1909
6 PM
Bricelyn Minn

Addressed toMrs. W. H. Scriver
Wells, Minn.

Dear Mama:

I was going to tell you when was home but forgot it. You take enough of my money and get 50 yds of that 5-1/2 cent sheeting for home. You need it so you get it.

Florence

Often in the past when communication was limited between locations, or at best there was the telephone complete with operator and party line where anyone could listen in, the postcard was used to relay useful information...sometimes important, sometimes just general family things between brother, sister, mother, father, and other relatives.
Florence

Here is another RPPH (real picture postcard) by Scheuer, titled ALONE. Though I doubt that the cow in the water was staged, the title of the photograph gives the implication that it was.

Seen in the background are 3+ buildings laid out so that it appears to be a neighborhood rather than a farm. Since I don't have any information about Scheuer, I have no way of telling whether there is a possibility that the bridge in the background of this photo is the same bridge as the one in the previous post.

This blog post by Mary Katherine May May of Quality Music and Books.

RPPC Scenery WHO Was Scheuer? by Mary Katherine May

There are a few scenic photographic image postcards available on the internet for purchased created by a person named SCHEUER. Just this weekend, I picked up two real picture postcards (RPPH) in a quaint town near Rochester, Minnesota where the Mayo Clinic is located, by the name of Mantorville. Should you be in the Rochester area, I suggest visiting Mantorville. There is some historic interest, a few shops, a lunch spot with fabulous sandwiches, and the famed Hubble House.

Then, if you still have a few moments to spare, continue south about three miles into Kasson, MN, where there is a fabulous, old-fashioned five-and-dime on Main Street that is called, simply... Variety Store, that is a fun browse. While there, you just may be able to buy a few inexpensive raffle tickets and have a chance to win a locally made quilt, for which the winning name will be drawn during the Dodge County Fair.

An Ideal Spot
by Scheuer

Postmark: April 22, 1909
5 PM

Addressed to:
Miss Florence Scriver (Scriven?)
Bricelyn, Minn.
c/o Edd Buscho (?)

Message:

Dear Florence

Your card took me by a surprise I thot you had forgotten me altogether. I am fine now busy cleaning house. The boys have been seeding but is too cold now. How long more school do you have. Everybody is well and busy. Hope you will write again.

Lillian

Rick and Mary Katherine May operate the webstore Quality Music and Books..