WWII US Air Corps Series Postcard Talk

Curteich U.S. Air Corp Series 3 and 9
by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com

As an educational tool old, vintage postcards can be a fun way to learn history.  Using the two postcards associated with this blogpost, my goal is to demonstrate what I learned using the internet in one afternoon about the World War II time period.

Keep 'Em Flying Slogan
U.S. Air Corps Series published by Curteich.
It was common for postcard publishers to introduce a set or series around a particular theme. The U.S. Air Corps Series of postcards. Keep 'Em Flying slogan was adopted by two bases in Illinois.

Curteich US Air Corps Series 9

Keep 'Em Flying: Vindicator
The Vindicator was the first carrier-based dive bomber in WWII.  Although considered obsolete before the beginning of the war it did see action, suffering heavy losses at Midway.

Keep 'Em Flying: Bomber (link: North American B-25 Mitchell)
Teich used a code system for dating the year of manufacture. For example, the code 2B, means the postcard was printed in 1942.  Ed Madigan was stationed at Chanute Field near Rantoul, Illinois.  He was in the U.S. Army Air Force, which previously had been called the U.S. Army Air Corps, and which later became the U.S. Air Force. 

Curteich US Air Corps Series 3

Chanute Field, where Madigan was stationed in the Technical School Squadron, was used for technical training. Technical staff was very important to the war effort, as the ratio of ground staff to flying staff was about 7 to 1.  Octave Chanute, for whom this base was named, was a railway engineer and aviation pioneer who was an advisor to the Wright brothers.

Ed wrote this postcard to Mr. Gayle Nelson who may want more of the same for a collection.  I am uncertain about the relationship between Ed and Gayle, whether he was a friend or relative.  The Vindicator postcard is also written to Gayle and signed by Mom--but she refers to Edward, not Ed.  This is something a mother would do.  And if not Ed's mother, why would she be in Rantoul, Illinois? Interesting to speculate upon.


US Army Air Corps Series 9

US Air Corps Series 3

Postcards, Publishers, Paper and Printing
The Vindicator and Bomber postcards were published during the time period called the Linen Era, which began in 1935 and went until about 1950.  During this time the picture side of postcards were generally printed on paper that had a linen fabric look.  Although this linen look is often attributed to a high rag (cotton) content in the paper, I could not document that this is so. Thinking logically, paper since the mid-nineteenth century had been manufactured from wood pulp which was more cost effective, and adding rag pulp to wood pulp isn't a necessary factor in creating a linen fabric look and feel. 

Curt Teich, the publisher of the two postcards shown here, was an innovator in the manufacture of postcards.  Before he could introduce his linen-look postcard Teich had to come up with a way for heatset inks to dry faster, and his creativity made a significant difference in the printing industry.  He named the offset printing process he used Art Colortone, which at least at first involved stones he collected from Lake Michigan.

Curt Teich Postcard Archives

Chicago Postcard Museum

Recommended Site: Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City

United States Postcard Clubs

Curt Otto Teich came to the United States from Germany, where his family was in the printing business and he trained as a printer.  As Germany dominated the postcard publishing market until the onset of World War I, Teich had the advantage of training in the location where this type of correspondence stationery was successful. But what made the difference for him was that he joined the technical with an exceptionally creative mind.  He traveled across country taking scenic photographs, taking orders along the way. He put his mind to the task of coming up with something unique and different.  Today there are collections and collectors who focus upon linen era postcards and also those published specifically by Curt Teich.

2 Men and a Big Fish Vintage Postcard Greetings from Fort Francis Canada

Greetings from Fort Frances, Canada
Vintage Glossy Post Card

The Big Fish That Didn't Get Away


Tall tale or fish story?  In this case, it is the big fish that is so big two men are holding it up for the photo--and this one didn't get away!


Most of the postcards I am interested in are used and have a message written on them, but this one captivated me when I saw it.

The young man, maybe a grandson with a big grin looks a bit like Jimmy from the old Superman TV series.  The older gent in his plaid flannel shirt has a face with classic features and an expression that brings on a smile.  I am certain that both are holding the fish up, but cannot quite see how the man on the right is participating.

This is a glossy photo postcard. A knowledgeable person who knows their cars might be able to identify  the era even with just the little bit of car that can be seen, but I am not one of those people.

The caption tells us tht the photo was snapped at Fort Frances, Canada, located along the Minnesota/Canadian border.  That is Frances with an E, not an I, names after Frances, the wife of Sir George Simpson  (Frances with an E for her, Francis with an I for him).

This undivided back post card, at least the blank, was published in Toronto, Canada, by Rumsey and Co., Ltd.

This vintage collectible postcard has now sold on ETSY.

Pillsbury A Mill 1909 Signed Gibson and THE ITCH Postcard Talk

PostCard Talk

Mary Katherine May

QualityMusicandBooks.com

Minnesota entered the Union in May of 1858, on the heels of the Panic of 1857 and when on the cusp a large growth in population.  Water was everything.  Settlers first came by water, or across water to  stake their claim in what would be called the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 

Water was what drove the two major industries in the Minnesota Territory and New State, logging and milling.  Logging for lumber to build, but also to drive the wheels of the milling industry, until the trees were all gone.

Mr. Pillsbury did his homework.  He traveled and studied how the best flour mills around were built and operated, and then declared he would build the largest mill in the world.  The Pillsbury A Mill went into operation in 1881.  Our postcard here is dated 1909 by the postal cancel.  Unfortunately for us, the photograph takes in such a large area that the buildings, river, and falls are too small to get a good look at the details. 

The photo was taken by Charles P. Gibson of St. Paul, Minnesota.  We can tell because it is 'signed' on the front, lower right.  Mill A is labeled in a text box, and other descriptives are printed at the lower edge center as follows.

St. Anthony Falls, Stone Arch Bridge,

Int'al Stock Food Bld'g, and Pillsbury

"A" Mill, Minneapolis.



Postally what is interesting is the double cancel. On the front at the lower edge and upside down is the postmark at the receiving end: Sparta, Wis., Nov. 29, 1909, 7 AM, along with a flag killer.  On the (divided) back is the mailed cancel: St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 28, 1909, 5 PM., with a seven wavy line killer.

We know that the addressee, T.J. Pittenger (or Pittinger) in Sparta, Wisconsin was the Father of the sender, who may have been named Winnie, or Winnifred.  The signature is small, in the corner, and faded.

Poor Father, he has an itch.  An ongoing itch can be a terrible thing--a person can't sleep, can't sit, can't even think sometimes.  We don't know what was causing it, but it must have been disrupting his life.


Dear Father:
Warren sent you the paper yesterday.  Write and let us know if you rec'd it O.K. and you & ma like it, am sorry you have had the itch, hope you are alrite (alright) now.  With Love, Winn

We are having awful weather Aunt Barbara was dressed so poor that day, (cannot read) her. Warren wondered what old wash woman I was talking to.

Did you catch what is missing?  that day ... When was that day?  Was was going on that day? Why didn't Aunt Barbara come out of the rain?  Why was she dressed in the wrong clothing for the weather conditions?  Did Winn and Warren help their aunt out, or after a conversation did she leave for home still wet? 

Questions! Questions!  We will never know--unless, that is, someone knows and tells us so the story can be posted here!

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.



1937 Bjork Letter PostCard Talk

PostCard Talk

Presented by Mary Katherine May
of QualityMusicandBooks.com

The second letter I present here before returning to postcards originated in Sweden.  I found it in an old Bible that came to me along with a few other books.  In another instance, in a group of books given to me by a friend, I found a letter from her deceased husband--which, of course, I returned to her.  For this reason, I recommend when asked to either purchase or accept books my recommendation that people leaf through them before showing them to me.

This letter was written in 1937, with all but a few lines the Swedish language.  We might assume reasonably that the recipient was located in the United States of America since here is where the Bible is located, in the state of Minnesota.  Unfortunately, because of my lack of Swedish language knowledge, my translation performed through Google Translate is at the worst extremely rough and at best somewhat close to what is literally present.

There is a sadness here for the separation that appears to have been complete for quite some time.  The author may have been in mourning or been in a depression, but still the writing implies a loneliness and sorrow over the fact that family communication is broken.  The recipient is not a distant relative, but an uncle.  There are separations among family members which occur that are not of our own choosing, and learning how to deal with them can be stressful and long time process.

The last line of the letter, written in broken English, really sums up the tone of the letter. I never will forget your girl and all of your other children.

Sollerön March 15 1937

Dear Uncle and Relatives….!

It is now a long time since we heard anything from me, maybe even a long time since you heard anything from that place where you have grown up and lived until your young sentencing days. I probably would have written for, but it's so hard not to believe that you are forgotten by us here on the island though it nests so watch out, after which I have not written to you in such a long time. Here it is now, as in other basins, new genera come to, and the old shall, mulling, down behind were old church, where we all a bunch of locals will end up. So I receive hereby tell of for you, that your sister, my mother,  now in these days have stopped his lifetime, So I may conclude with these simple rows announce you the sad nyket [news?], even is my father very sick, so we believe that even can die when sooner, the better. They have lived the sum man over 71 years, mother would turn 92 years on March 17,  mother ended their March 11, 1937.  Peace to her memory.

My father in law, parents, and so live still further, my father in law of Daniel Marten Jönsson has filled its 90 years, even my mother in law is on the 85th. But they, however, is healthy and well.

As you can see, you are now the only remaining of your Syrkon, for now, as I hope, these lines meet you in good health and cheerful mood, I do not know someone, address mi to Mrs. Annie Viberg, have not heard anything from them for years, so on you will be hard address, if you wanted to be nice and tell them that their aunt is now dead.

I will send your oll may bast gretings hops you soon wrieth to me.

I will send you all my best greetings.  Hope you will soon write to me.

I neaver forget your girl and your all oader cildrings.

I never [will] forget your girl and all [of] your other children.

Write once [soon?]

P. Bjork
Sollerön [Sweden]



Loved Lizzie Letter Dated December 28th 1856

Loved Lizzie

December 28th, 1856

on PostCard Talk

 

Presented by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com

My thoughts about the letter.

On this posting I leave postcards for a moment to present a letter from 1856 so sweetly written to Loved Lizzie.  I know that this letter didn't come to me for free, though I cannot remember what it cost, and also the ink was faded at time of purchase though a little less so.  I recall that for some reason the letter then (whenever then, was), as it does now, struck me as particularly and softly senitmental.  Lizze is away, though we don't know where, or for what reason, or for how long.

I think, how wonderful the day would become if I received a letter in the post with such an endearing salutation.  If I was tired or sad or unhappy, to begin my morning activities by reading in my letter the bright, cheery greeting from someone I was close to in relationship and loved dearly,would surely make even a dark, cloudy sky seem joyous.

The letter from Lizzie's aunt is conversational and chatty.  A new baby named Louis Emerson just arrived, renovation of a church sanctuary, a good sermon heard, a marriage joke about how much Lizzie is adored.  A weekend guest named Emmah has gone home.   Francis is terribly ill but by the time of the post script a little better, and there is an upcoming party to celebrate the new year tonight at Wm. Whit's.  We can only speculate as to who the three men were that Lizzie lived with, since for certain in 1856 it wasn't just four random boarders living together with only one woman in the group.

It is truly a shame that ink is so faded, and that without input from a person who has intimate knowledge about the family of which Lizzie was a member it will be virtually impossible to specifically identify the who, what, when, where and how details of her life.  And perhaps that is just as well, since the imagination can make those who might have been absolutely ordinary, and not saying that Lizzie was ordinary in any way, light up like a bright, shiny star.

The names and clues:

Lizzie -- letter recipient

Rev. J.P. Lloyd -- there was a pastor by this name at the time of this letter's writing in Ohio.

Louis Emerson -- newborn boy

Emmah -- weekend guest

Frances -- sick with lung fever

Wm. Whit's --home where New Year party was to be held.

W.E.R. letter writer, Lizzie's aunt

Sylvester -- a person who lives with W.E.R.?

The letter came from Denmark --the country?  a city or town in the U.S.A

Denmark Dec 28^th /’56

Loved Lizzie

I now attempt to reply to your very kind letter which was received on Friday last.  Happily I have found the pen and paper on which to fasten my valuable thoughts but am inclined to think that neither pen nor thoughts will be very well executed.  I did truly think of charging you with gross neglect and felt almost like exclaiming in emphatic tones awake thou that sleepest arouse from the lethargy in which thou art indulging and answer or reply to your letter.

I feel quite solemn and sedate for me today, having been to church and heard Rev. J. P. Lloyd deliver a sermon from Nehemiah, relative to the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, an excellent one it was to.  The Presbyterians are refitting their church inside by papering the wall, tareing away the brest-work elevated two of the back seats and placing the brest-work in front, turned the steps fronting the doors, painted the windows green, trimed the stand with velvet, purchased four new lamps, and intend to paint the seats this week.  And so the improvements increase in the land of your nativity. 

Sylvester is home today.   Emmah came home last Friday evening she made me a call Saturday and returned Sabbath day.  As for presenting the teacher with a kiss I must be excused.  But will give you liberty to do so by his granting you permission.  I should truly have thought you a bride ere this, inasmuch as you board with three young gents, if I had been a young man I would have married you long ago.  But I had forgotten to tell the news, don’t you think I am aunt to one of the pretty’est little boys in the county he is two weeks old and his name Louis Emerson.  I should like to have a good social chat with you were it convenient.  But we must part awhile a few short months, th’o short they will be without thy dear society but yet we must endure.  And our love will be the fonder after parting it will grow more intense in your absence and again burn with a tender glow when you dear Lib return.

Thursday morning 1857.

I wish you a happy new year, but Lib tis with a heavy heart I renew my writing.  Francis is very sick a heavy attack of the lung fever Dr says he will probabl(y) be sick some time.  I have no time to write more neighbor in general quite well.  Please except the best wishes of a friend.  Write as soon as you receive in great haste.

W E R

Francis is a little easier than he was yesterday and last night.  New Years party this evening at Wm Whit’s.

This document has been lightly enhanced to make the text more visible.

This document has been lightly enhanced to make the text more visible.



Postcard Talk Is the Forerunner of the Cloverleaf Bridge in Hastings Minnesota

Spiral Bridge ~ Hastings, Minnesota

Postcard Talk
Is the Forerunner of the Cloverleaf Bridge in Hastings Minnesota???

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

I generally don't add unused postcards to my collection.  On one of last week's searches for Minnesota and surrounding states postcards (a.k.a. the Mid-Midwest), however, this postcard caught my attention.  It wasn't only the intense colors, but also the shape of the bridge.

This bridge is NOT a cloverleaf interchange, though that was the first thought that came to me.  I looked it up. The Spiral Bridge pictured on this postcard was erected in 1894.  The first cloverleaf bridge interchanges came along about twenty years later.  Did someone see a photograph or image of the bridge in Hastings?  Without knowing for certain, speculation is always an option.  Maybe an engineer saw it and thought, "Hey! Why don't I just take this loop, loop four times and...Well, by golly! It's a cloverleaf!

Even without the message there is a lot of history to be learned from this postcard. Most of what I could tell you, however, has been told quite well on other sites.  I have made an executive decision about it, and this time am giving the short synopsis version with links.

Spiral Bridge, Hastings, Minnesota
There are quite a few sites that offer information about this unique bridge--why it was built, the impact it had on Hastings as a point of interest, how long the bridge was used and its current status.

History of the Spiral Bridge
Hastings is a great place for its many historic buildings and sites, including the Spiral Bridge.
A replica of the bridge can be viewed at Little Log House Pioneer Village near Hastings. 
Minneapolis StarTribune article about the new bridge that replaced the Spiral Bridge.

Meloy Park ~ Hastings, Minnesota

Meloy Park
John C. Meloy, born in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, settled in Hastings, Minnesota in 1856, before Minnesota entered the Union (1858).  The river port in Hastings was one of the stopping points before traveling north to Fort Snelling.  In the lower right area of the postcard, there is an arched entry into the park named for Mr. Meloy, whose location is below the Spiral Bridge.

The Beginnings of Hastings, Minnesota History: First Hand Accounts
In my years of study, I have always found that learning about the past is at its most fascinating when reading first hand accounts.

Though the back of this postcard is blank except for a brief comment written with  fountain pen, there is still historic information of interest.  On the left edge of the card, we read that this postcard was Made in Germany. This tells us that it was printed before World War I. Studying the affects war has on all aspects of life is a good lesson learned for both the present and the future.

In the same area is stated that this card was published by J. G. Sieben, Hastings, Minnesota. Who was J. G. Sieben?  What did he do in Hastings?  What role did Mr. Sieben's family play in Minnesota?  These are all good questions with application to learning about how history impacts the future.  As it turns out, J. G. Sieben, who went by the name George, and other members of his family did impact both Hastings and Minnesota history.  For instance, they served their city and state by taking active roles in political and relevant social projects and issues.  J.G. was a druggist, photographer, mayor of hastings three times, husband and father, and active in his church.

Also on the postcard back is a Litho-Chrome logo.  If you do much research with old documents, you will understand how knowing about printing and paper helps in identification depending upon the era or century. 


This postcard was printed using a process called Litho-Chrome (scroll down the page).  MetroPostcard.com, site for the Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City, is an impressive excellent reference and learning site. The page link describes litho-chrome printing (and other printing processes): A German made card printed in blue collotype over red and yellow spatter. It explains the color, too. So I cropped out a part of the postcard image to look for the spatter.  Can you see the spatter?



There isn't much more to see that is obvious except for one last detail, which is the stamp box.  It is an advantage with unused postcards because of being able to see the stamp box with printing.  This one states: Postage United States and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Insular_Affairs, Cuba, Canada, and Mexico ONE CENT. For all other Countries TWO CENTS.

A few hours looking around, asking obvious questions, has been not only entertaining but educational. I have been to Hastings a few times, not too far south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  It just may be time for another, more in-depth visit!

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

Postcard Talk Windows to the Past Minnesota Early 1900s

Postcard Talk: Windows to the Past

Minnesota Early 1900s

Produced by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com

for The House United

complete credits at TheHouseUnited.blogspot.com

EMIL NELVING ELMORE MINN Will He Find His Uncle Emil?

Postcard from Emil Nelving to Emil Oldenburg
Elmore, Minnesota to Waterloo, Iowa
Postmark December 9, 1910

Postmark: Dec 9 1910
Elmore Minn.

Addressee: Mr. Emil Oldenburg
Waterloo, Iowa

Dear Uncle,

I am going to Hampen Ia this weak and I thot I would come and see you I coming from Hampen Monday so if you got to come to met me I would be very glad because I dont no if I can find you.

Emil Nelving

We must assume that Emil Nelving was actually going to Hampton, Iowa, to see his Uncle Emil Oldenburg because there is no Hampen, Hampden, or Hampdon.  Even then, though Emil didn't know exactly where his namesake uncle lived, there was a greater problem since the postal service needed to find Uncle Emil also because the addres was incomplete.  All that can be concluded is that Nephew Emil knew that Uncle Emil lived in the vicinity of Waterloo, Iowa.

The estimated time to drive the 154.4 miles in 2012 from Elmore to Waterloo is just under three hours. I wonder how long it took in 1910.  There was train service from Omaha, Nebraska to Elmore, where the train turned around and went back to Omaha.  If this service existed in 1910, and Waterloo was been on the train route or nearby, then Nephew Emil may have used this mode of travel.

Let us hope that the two eventually found each other.  If I found Iowa jokes funny, I might write the last sentences as follows. let us hope that the two eventually found each other somewhere among the Iowa cornstalks. Ya, shure!

The town of Elmore is on the border of Minnesota going into Iowa.  The most current population census reports that just under 700 souls occupy this space in Faribault County.  First named Dobson, it is thought that the name was changed to honor one Judge A.E. Elmore, though there is no documentation that the Honorable Elmore ever visited the town that honored him.  There is a brief, interesting history of Elmore written by Kathy Gill by CLICKING HERE.

Real Photo Postcard of Unidentified Home

Unfortunately for me, this real photo postcard had substantial soil on the photograph side, which though for the most part successfully removed, in the process I also damaged the image.  The house and yard may have belong to the Nelving family, but without a family member identifying its ownership we will never know.

Prepared by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

New Years Eve Postcard ELEVA WISCONSIN What Is in a Name?

Postcard Sent New Year's Eve, December 31, 1913

 New Year's Eve Postcard
by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Interesting enough is the colorful illustration on the cover. Interesting, too, is that Viola Johnson, to whom the postcard is addressed, along with her parents and siblings, can be identified with a fair amount of certainty.


from Eleva Wisconsin, December 31, 1913

To Viola Johnson, c/o Gust Johnson
RFD H1, Osseo Wis.
Dear Friend
I recd the card you Orlando sent to me sometime ago. I would like to come up there pretty soon. Did your ___ get that letter I sent to her. Happy new to all from Stella.

Violet Johnson
Violet Johnson, daughter of Gust and Martha Erickson Johnson, can be documented through a Wisconsin history website, History of Trempealeau County, 1917 (scroll down to Gust G. Johnson). Viola was one of seven or eight children, depending upon if you take the number of children the article cites, or count the children, which adds up to eight. Orlando, also noted in the postcard message, was a brother to Viola.



Most interesting, though, is how Eleva, Wisconsin, got it's name!



How New Chicago Wisconsin turned into Eleva Wisconsin

Eleva, Wisconsin, is located along the Buffalo River in Trempealeau County. The story of how the small town of Eleva, Wisconsin, got its name may make the reader smile. Originally named New Chicago by R.P. Goddard of Mondovi, the painters had not finished painting the letters on the new grain elevator when winter set in. When newcomers to the town saw ELEVA on the elevator, they assumed it was the name of the town. Eleva, with a population of less than one thousand, is still an active town.

Ray Stolzenberg and The Northern Playboys Band Advertising Card

Ray Stolzenberg
and the
Northern Playersby Mary Katherine May

For some reason Ray Stolzenberg (1915-2010), as little I know about him, has touched my heart.  Mr. Stolzenberg was born in Johnsburg, Minnesota, and lived most of his life in Austin, Minnesota. He formed a band with eight musicians including himself as the drummer, and they played all over the midwest. He married a gal from Red Wing, who worked as head nurse at St. Olaf Hospital in Austin.  Ray's story was featured in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul on local channel 5 by Jason Davis. 

I think what moved me to be sentimental about this man is first that I recall the dances our church would sponsor a few times a year, where we could come together as a church family in the hall next door to the church, to have a good time. We would dance the polkas and waltzes, the Schottische and the Bunny Hop, Hava Nagila, with familiar Ukrainian music thrown into the mix. Young and old, children, moms and dad, grandmas and grandpas of families who had known each other for what seemed forever.  Later on in the years, there was a band whose members included my cousin, Pat, and of course that was really special because I knew they played with a heart and soul of joy for music.

Very touching in Ray's story is that when he retired and moved to Arizona, his band moved, too.  Nobody will do that for someone without deep care and respect for that person.  And, it seems, that was the kind of person Ray was.

Here are two links with some more information about Ray Stolzenberg.

International Polka Association

Obituary for Ray Stolzenberg

This advertising card is available for purchase at QualityMusicandBooks.com.

1895 Obituary Reginald Stuart Poole

Reginald Stuart Poole
Obituary
January 9, 1895
I have one more selection of ephemera to share before returning to my first interest and the reason for this blog, and that is an obituary published in 1895 on the event of the death of Reginald Stuart Poole, Keeper of the Coins at the British Museum and Professor of Archaeology at Univeristy College, London.  The newspaper clipping came to me scattered amongst other paper items in a box.  There are a few unfortunate occurances, the first being the upper left corner that fell off while I was handling it ever so gently, and then at the end it is fairly obvious that the portion of article that is in my possession is mostly not the whole article.

The quality of paper used for newsprint is not the best, and thus will usually deteriorates at a faster rates than other paper.  Here you are seeing the actual clipping, and due to the difficulty in reading the small print on a deeply yellowed background, I have transcribed the information for public use.  Although my hindsight tells me that I should have copied the original and handled the copy rather than the fragile original, my foresight was not good enough to deduce this fact until after more damage had been done.

Very interesting on the opposite side are advertisement about performances, and these are also included here.

 We regret to announce the death yesterday morning, in Kensington, of Dr. Reginald Stuart Poole, late keeper of the Coins in the British Museum and Professor of Archeology at University College, London.  Mr. Poole, who had not quite completed his sixty-third year, had complained of lassitude and want of tone for the past year or two, since his retirement from the Museum in 1893; but the end, which is believed to have been due to heart affection, was somewhat unexpected.   To a very large circle of friends, and especially to students of archaeology, Egyptian history, and antiquities, Mr. Poole’s death will be a severe shock.  During the forty years of his official career he had devoted his unusual energies and zeal to the encouragement of the studies he loved.

His influence as a teacher cannot easily be overestimated.  Head the gift to inspire the zeal for learning, and the power of sympathy to encourage and direct it, and hundreds of students of Egyptology, of classical archaeology, and medallic art, indeed, in art of every form and of every age, owe their first impulse and later encouragement to his precept and example.

Mr. Poole’s devotion to Egyptian learning dated from very early years, for though born in London in 1832, he spent the most receptive years of his youth, from 1842 to 1849, at Cairo, whither his mother had accompanied her brother, Mr. E. W. Lane, the Arabic scholar, when he went out to prepare his monumental Arabic-English lexicon.  Under Lane’s counsel and advice, Stuart Poole took up the study of ancient Egypt, and before he was seventeen, contributed a series of elaborate articles to the Literary Gazette, which were reprinted, in 1851, as “Horae Aegyptiacae.”  In the following year he entered the British Museum, and rose to be Keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals in 1870. 

By this time he had made a reputation, not only in his first choice, Egyptology, but also in his official subject, especially in the branches of Greek and Oriental numismatics.  His great aim was to remedy the neglect of his predecessors in the vital matter of publishing descriptions of the collections.  During his keepership, thirty-five volumes of Catalogues of Coins issued from his department, of which sixteen dealt with the Greek series, seventeen with the Oriental, & c., and though he was personally the author of only four of these volumes (describing the “Coins of the Ptolemies,” of “Alexandria,” of Magne Graecia,” and of the Shahs of Persia”), he collected and revised the whole thirty-five, at the cost of immense labour to himself and his assistants.  As a result, it may be confidently asserted that no department of any museum is better catalogued and the described than the one over which Mr. Poole reigned for twenty-two years.   The catalogues have provoked research and emulation all over Europe, and have served as the models for many foreign imitations.  In recognition of these important services to his science he was elected a Correspondent of the Institute of France in 1876, and awarded honorary degrees at Cambridge and in the United States. 

Meanwhile he had always kept up his interest in Egyptology, and had materially contributed to the awakening of the public interest in the study by delivering numerous lectures at the Royal Institution and at various local centres.  He was one of the chief founders and supporters of the Egypt Exploration Fund, which has done so much to lay bare ancient sites in Egypt, at Naucratis, Pithum, Tanis, & c., and he remained its honorary secretary to the end.  From 1885 to 1893 he held the chair of Archaeology at University College, where he frequently lectured on Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Arab art and antiquities.  He was not a large contributor to periodical literature, but some interesting and suggestive articles which appeared in the Contemporary Review, were republished in 1882, under the title of “Cities of Egypt,” and attained a wide popularity.  He also wrote several important articles on Egypt, numismatics, & c., for the Encyclopedia Britannica.”  But it is rather as a lecturer, an oral teacher, and a stimulating personal influence, than merely as a writer, that Mr. Poole will long be remembered as a shining light among the too usually dry and unattractive exponents of Oriental learning and archaeology.  From dullness and pedantry he was poles asunder, saved by a bright imagination, a rich vein of humour, and, above all, an instinctive power of sympathy and insight.

On the lighter side, are the performance advertisement on the opposite side of the obituary. 

King Arthur to-night and.... evening at 8 o'clock, will be produced .... a Prologue and Four Acts, King Arthur, by J. ... Carr.  King Arthur: Mr. Irving; Sir Lancelot: Mr. Forbes Robertson; Morgan Le Fay: Miss Genevieve Ward and Guinevere: Miss Ellen Terry.  Music by Arthur Sullivan. Scenery and Costumes designed by Sir E. I. Burne Jones. Box-office: Mr. J. Hurst, open 10.0 till 5.0 only. Seats can also be booked by letter or telegram. Lyceum.

Special Notice--King Arthur. The Curtain will rise nightly on King Arthur at 8.0 o'clock punctually. Lyceum.

Lyceum--Matiness--Santa Claus.  Every afternoon at 1.30 punctually. Mr. Oscar Barrett's Fairy Pantomime, SANTA CLAUS. Written by Mr. Horace Leonard. "Lorgnette," in the Sportsman (Feb. 6), says:--"I do not want to see a better, brighter, or funnier Pantomime than 'Santa Claus' at the Lyceum. 'Santa Claus' is comical and not vulgar. The children shrieked with laughter."  The theatre warmed. All draughts excluded. Box-office: Mr. J. Hurst open daily, 10.0 till 5.0.

Haymarket--Mr. Waller and Mr. Morrell, Managers.--An Ideal Husband, by Oscar Wilde, every evening, at 8.30.  Messrs. Lewis Waller, Alfred Bishop, Charles Brookfield, Cosmo Stuart, Stanford, Deane, Meyrick, Goodhart, and Charles Hawirey; Mesdames Fanny Brough, Maude Millet, Florence West, Vane Featherston, Helen Forsyth, and Julia Neilson.  Matinee to-day and every Wednesday and Saturday, at 2.30. Seats may now be booked one month in advance. Box office (Mr. Leverton), 10.0 till 5.0 and 6.30 till 10.0.  During the present severe weather the theatre is warmed by a new process, and a minimum temperature of 60 degrees is maintained. Sole Lessee, Mr. TRKR.  Haymarket. 

Haymarket--Five O'Clock Matinee, On Tuesday, Feb. 12, An Ideal Husband. At 5.0. Carriages at 7.30.

Vaudeville--Lessee, mr. Woodon Grossmith. Today at 5.0 and 9.0, The New Boy by Arthur Law. "Boars of laughter,"--The Times. "What a capital farce,"--Daily Telegraph. "Too good to be missed,"--Truth. "Overflows with wit and humour,"--Sporting Life. Have you interviewed The New Boy at the Vaudeville Theatre?

The New Boy. Matinees to-day and every Wednesday and Saturday. Doors open at 2.30. Commence at 3.0. Vaudeville Theater.

Criterion Theatre.--Lessee and Manager, Mr. Charles Wyndham--Every Evening, at 8.30. The Case of the Rebellious Susan. By Henry Arthur Jones.  Sir Richard Kato, Q.C.: Mr. Charles Wyndham, Admiral Sir Joseph Darby: Mr. Kemble, James Harabin: Mr. C.P. Little, Fergusson Pybus: Mr. Fred Kerr, Lucien Edensor: Mr. Ben Webster, Mr. Jacomb: Mr. E. Dagnall, Lady Darby: Miss Fanny Coleman, Mrs. Quesnel: Miss Gertrude Kingstock, Elaine Shrimpton: Miss Nina Coucicault, Lady Susan Harabin: Miss Mary Moore. Doors open at 8.0; on wet nights at 7.30.  The Curtain will .....

Mr. Charles Wyndham as Sir Richard Kato in The Case of Rebellious Susan, every evening at 8:30. Criterion Theatre.

Miss Mary Moore as Lady Susan Harabin, in The Case of Rebellious Susan. Every Evening at 8.30. Criterion Theatre.

Matinees of The Case of Rebellious Susan. To-day and Every Saturday at 2.30. Miss F. Frances as Lady Susan Harabin. Doors open at 2.0.  Criterion Theatre.

Comedy Theatre--Lessee and Manager, Mr. J. Comyns Carr.  Tonight (Saturday), Feb. 9, at 8.15, will be produced a new and original comedy, by Charles E. W. Ward, entitled...