Found Item: Skeleton Mermaid Postcard

I was in Seattle last weekend for a wedding. One evening, I went to a pub to watch a soccer game, and found the above postcard sitting abandoned on a table. If you know me at all, you know that this artwork is so me. Therefore, I thought it an amusing coincidence that it ended up in my hands.

I intended to transcribe what's written on the back, but the more I read it, the more it feels too intimate to share, even though I would never post the names of who wrote it or who it was sent to. It's a Billie Holiday quote, coupled with a longing sentiment. It's both lovely and sad.

I feel so lucky to have stumbled across this find.

Family Keepsakes Fun, Part 3

To read more of this series, click on the family tag at the bottom of the post.

In the recent move, my family keepsakes were transferred into banker's boxes. This was done by my husband, so I have no idea what's in each box. Opening one up is like a treasure hunt. Someday, I would like to organize them so that each box is cohesive, but for now I enjoy going through them and finding random stuff. This post is going to be picture heavy because that's most of what was in this particular box.

I don't know who this dapper young man is, but I really enjoyed the various poses and props in this photo booth-like strip:

I like the juxtaposition of the two following pictures, both of which feature my great uncle (grandma's brother) and his wife and child (they're in the middle in the second picture), likely taken only a few years apart. I remember this great uncle, and his daughter. In fact, his is the first funeral I remember going to.

In the second picture, that's my great aunt (grandma's sister) playfully hiding her face, with her husband on the far left. My grandma is on the far right.

Once again, I'm not sure who these men are, but I'm amused by the high-water pants of the two men on the right. I wonder if this car actually belonged to any of them, or if posing in front of a fancy car that's not one's own has been a tradition since the dawn of cars.

I think Iola, WI is where my grandma's family lived before they moved to Michigan. I understand wanting to keep mementos from there. I don't understand wanting to keep a postcard that features the starch factory. I mean, honestly, the vast majority of my grandparents' postcard collection is downright perplexing (think lots and lots of banks).

My mother was pretty bad at taking pictures. She would often send me photos of my nieces and nephew that would make me think, "Why on earth would she think I want a blurry picture of the back of this kid's head? I can't even tell which kid this is!" And so on.

After finding the below pic, I've begun to wonder if it's a family trait. What's going on here? Why would someone want to memorialize it? I have two theories: 1. Something was buried in the sand, either as a joke or as part of a scavenger hunt, and the picture taker wanted to remember the moment it was found or 2. The picture taker really appreciated dat ass. In my heart, I believe it's #2.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think is my grandpa's sister, who owned a rock shop near where I grew up and was alive well into my adulthood:

I wonder if this is my grandpa's other sister, who I never met, but who sent me money when I graduated high school. I wanted to include this photo because I find her very beautiful, and because she's so 1930s:

This is the Daily Advance from Lynchburg, VA. The date on it is November 30, 1933. It hails from the time that my grandma worked as a telephone operator there, and it's so fragile that I don't dare open it. I'm not sure which story caught my grandma's eye, making her want to keep it. Maybe there wasn't one particular story. Maybe it was simply the last one she picked up before she moved back to Michigan.

At any rate, I wanted to include it for two reasons. 1. The copy in the subtitle under "Killer's Body Found In Ditch Skull Crushed," which (paraphrased) says, "underworld does what cops can't." A very Great Depression/Prohibition anti-cop sentiment. and 2. Under "Habeas Corpus Frees 4 Lynch Mob Suspects," the article that states that the prosecutor had the evidence to convict the men but chose not to present it AND the judge agreed.

The mind boggles.

I'm frequently blown away by how terrifying kids' Halloween costumes used to be. This is my mom as a witch:

And finally, I'll leave you with something cute, my uncle as a baby, wearing his dad's police hat:

Family Keepsakes Fun, Part 2

For the first post in this series, click here.

I've been meaning to do another post in this series for a while, so today I cracked open the second box of keepsakes. This box is much larger than the first. It was difficult to limit myself in terms of things to share. I'll have to revisit the box later and post more. For now, here are the items that caught my attention, posted in no particular order.

First, let's start with some postcards. Below is my favorite, a colorful view of Sparks Fountain in Jackson, Michigan. Growing up, Jackson was only known to me as the place with the state prison. Needless to say, we never visited, but those fountains sure look pretty. I'm tempted now. They're still there, called Cascades Falls. They charge for admission.

The below is one of the worst postcards I've ever seen. I completely forgot to write down the information on the back of the card before I put it back in the box. Since it's all taped up and put away now, I'm not going back in. Just know that it's a motel and the back didn't explain what the white thing in the grass is. I think it may be a bird fountain?

I'll never understand why people used to buy postcards of motels. Maybe they didn't - it's entirely possible that motels used to give these away for free as a form of advertising.

Here are a couple of postcards that I sent to my mom. I'm too shy to tell you what I wrote on the back (although it's pretty mundane). The first was sent in 1995. I lived in Hamburg, Germany at the time, but this is from my trip to Berlin. It's the Berliner Dom (capital building). The second was sent in 2008, when my now-husband and I were on vacation on Maui. It's a picture of the Lahaina harbor.

I could resist including a scan of this brochure of Luray Caverns outside of Luray, Virginia. I wanted you to see the stylish couple in the picture. This tourist attraction still exists. It actually sounds pretty cool, with a hedge maze and a historical museum. Also, I was amused to discover that someone coopted the name for the game Diablo.

Below is a picture from my uncle's (mother's brother) wedding. I don't know who any of these ladies are. In fact, I labelled this picture "church ladies." However, I greatly admire that epic cake, so I had to include it.

And this is a picture of my maternal grandfather when he was a police officer. He's the one standing behind the seated guy in the middle. He has such a baby face! Also, it's rather uncanny how much my brothers look like him.

I've talked a little bit before about my maternal grandmother's scrapbooks. They're such a treasure trove of information for me. Since I never got to meet her, they help me get to know her a little bit. It's fascinating, seeing what was important to her, trying to figure out why it was and what all of it says about her. She liked to clip poetry and inspirational articles from the paper. There are also a lot of notices such as deaths, accidents, and illnesses. I presume they're about people she knew, although it's possible that, like me, she was simply interested in death and destruction. She was fascinated with telephone operators long before she became one - I can tell that it was a dream job of hers. Also, from the poetry and articles, I got the sense that she was somewhat ambivalent about love and marriage, a narrative consistent with some of the things my mom told me about her.

She had a lot of articles by this woman, Dorothy Dix (her real name, I wonder, or a pen name intended to invoke Dorothea Dix?). This one (in two parts below) left me equal parts depressed and enraged. The sad thing is, the sentiment is still alive and well today, especially given the backlash toward feminism in the last few years. It's funny/disheartening to think that people still say, "Yes, women are oppressed, but they're not as oppressed as they used to be, so chill!" I bet this author never dreamed that people would look back at the time in which she lived and shake their heads about how bad women used to have it.

I was so shocked when I discovered these articles! My grandma was the young woman in this accident, which I never heard anything about before. I wonder if my mom even knew about it. I don't know who her male companion was - presumably her beau at the time. When I first went through her scrapbooks, I found his wedding announcement (I couldn't find it this time; must be in another box). I sort of wondered if she still carried a flame for him at the time he got married.

And this is my grandma's notary certificate (name redacted for privacy). I think it's so funny that she had this elaborate certificate. I was a notary for a while when I lived in Texas, and believe me, it involved no fancy certificates. Note that it was signed by George Romney, father of former governor and sometime presidential candidate Mitt Romney. I don't actually know why my grandma became a notary. As far as I know, after she married my grandpa, she was a stay-at-home mom for the rest of her life. I wish my mom was around to ask.

That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed this trip through my family's memorabilia. More to come in the future!

Postcards: Vintage Santa Monica

I'm an avid user of public libraries. I have been since I was a kid. I'm typically there at least once a week. I love that, in this modern age, I can order books and DVDs from any library in the system and have them delivered to my local branch, which is only a five-minute walk away. It's all so easy and convenient. It's a rare day that they don't have what I'm looking for. I wish more people understood how truly awesome libraries are.

Last week when I swung by the library to pick up a hold item, I noticed a sign offering a promo for signing up for a library card. The choices were either $5 off something - I honestly can't recall what because my eyes were immediately drawn to the second offer - or a free pack of 10 "Vintage Santa Monica" postcards. They had a sample of the pack out for view.

Since I already have a library card, I couldn't take advantage of the promo. I approached the librarian to ask if I might buy the pack. She said that they weren't selling them, and then gave me a pack for free. It honestly made my day. THANK YOU super cool SMPL librarian! I thought that my readers might enjoy these postcards as well, so below I've posted a select few.

This is the La Monica Ballroom and Santa Monica Pier in 1926. The photographer is C.C. Pierce:

The very first Santa Monica Public Library was located on the second floor of the below building, which is the Bank of Santa Monica. This picture was taken in 1890 by an unknown photographer:

These are paddle board racers, photographed on 8/13/1949 by Del Hagen Studios:

Although this one isn't technically vintage, I think it's my favorite. There's something incredibly pleasing about it. It was taken in Santa Monica's Main Library in September 2005 by Cynni Murphy:

And here is the intersection at 4th and Santa Monica Blvd., photographed circa 1926 or 1927. Photo from Geo Herrmann Photo Art:

All of these images, and more are available for viewing in Santa Monica Public Library's digital archives. Thanks SMPL!

Family Keepsakes Fun, Part 1

It's been a while since I posted any of my old family photos, so recently I cracked open one of the boxes where I keep them and went through it, picking out whatever caught my fancy. There's no real rhyme or reason to any of it. I simply found a few things that I thought would be fun to share.

First, let's start with this lovely 1920s bride. I don't know who she is. Either a relative or family friend; there's nothing on the picture that says. I think her 1920s wedding wear is completely fab:

I found a series of souvenir postcards in a small box on which some jokester (probably my maternal grandfather) had written: LANA TURNER'S PICTURES OF HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. This one, I really liked the colors. I think my grandpa went to some kind of revival or some such at this place:

This one cracked me up. I mean, honestly, why would anyone think to make a postcard of the celery bleaching process, let alone buy one? I had to look up what it even meant.

I thought this was a real nice view of Columbus, OH. I highly doubt it looks like this anymore.

These steps look killer, but also very cool:

I enjoyed this juxtaposition. Here is a postcard (I'm guessing circa 1930s) view of the mouth of the St. Joseph River, opening out into Lake Michigan:

And here's Grandpa's picture of the same thing. The picture was taken in 1940:

I was thoroughly intrigued by this photo so I had to do a little research. Apparently the Bonus Army was a group of WWI vets and their families who marched to Washington, D.C. in 1932 to demand that their bonuses be paid immediately, rather than in 1945, as was initially promised. It's a rather interesting and sad story. You can read the Wiki about it HERE.

I don't know why this photo was in my family's possession. The note on the front says "We are there B.E.F. 6-24-32." My maternal grandfather's last name began with "F," so it's possible that this came from one of his relatives, an uncle would be my best guess.

My maternal grandmother liked to clip poems out of the newspaper. I have several scrapbooks of hers that are full of them. So I believe that she kept the loose clipping below for the two poems on it. I, however, am including it for the TOTALLY AWESOME ad for Honeymoon Love Drops.

"Secret Aroma Helps You Win the One You Love," it says. "Unforgettable as a lover's first kiss! Bewitch, allure and captivate with this rare, stimulating fragrance. Just ONE DROP of this secret aroma will endure for hours . . . enchantingly encircle lovers like a binding knot . . . and will add a more thrilling, irresistible charm to you!"

Enchantingly encircle lovers like a binding knot? Okay, maybe it's slightly more creepy than funny.

Speaking of Grandma, I'm pretty sure this is her. The picture frame matches the one below of Grandpa, as though at some point they hung side by side in the home they shared. It's not always easy for me to identify Grandma in photos because, if you'll recall, I never met her. (I apologize for the poor quality of the scan. The back of the frame is nailed shut and I didn't want to mess with it/potentially break it, so I just scanned the whole thing. It looks blurry due to the glass front.)

I love this picture because out of all the pictures I have of her, this is the ONLY one where she's smiling like this. She looks so happy!

And here is the matching picture of Grandpa. It has the same quality issues for the same reason. I love this picture because you get a real sense of why he had so many lady friends when he was younger. So dapper!

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this trip through my family keepsakes. I only went through the small box this time. Next time, I'll have to crack open one of the bigger boxes, and see what goodies I can find!

Postcrossing: Skull Drawing

Postcrossing is a project that allows you to exchange postcards with people all over the world. I joined last year after a friend joined and I saw all the cool stuff she was getting. It's both easy & free to join.

I've been doing it for about a year now and it's been pretty fun. I've heard from a lot of cool people & I've received a lot of really great cards. My favorite cards, however, are the ones that are hand made and/or hand drawn. I love the creativity.

Last week, I received a card from Ksusha in Russia. The card itself was great: a black-and-white portrait of Kurt Cobain with a kitty. I'm particularly fond of black-and-white photographs:

Aww, Kurt actually looks happy
for once.

Then I flipped it over to the back and found this drawing:

Man, I wish I had this kind of talent.

How amazing is that? Skull pictures are on the list of things I like to receive. As you might imagine, I don't receive skull cards very often though. I seem to be the only person who buys them, haha.

So I really appreciate that Ksusha took the time to both pick out a card that I'd like and also to draw me an amazing skull picture. It's really above and beyond the call of duty. I'm happy to learn, over and over again, that there are so many lovely people in the world.

Postcard Project: Odds & Ends, Part 2

All of these cards are undated and/or without send-to addresses. I've placed them in a semblance of chronological order based almost entirely upon guessing. As always, spelling and grammatical errors are copied verbatim from the cards.

No address. Name of addressee too
faint to read.

There is a limited amount of writing on the back of this card. It's in a foreign language. At first, I thought it might be German but it could also be something like Hungarian or Czech. I can actually read German fairly well, but none of the words on this card look familiar to me. The handwriting is extremely ornate.

Addressed to Grandma but doesn't appear to have been sent
in the mail.

"Dear [redacted]: I want to keep my promise and drop you a few lines besides I want to let you know that I got here allright everything is O.K. Like South Bend so far only if it..."

The sentence literally cuts off in the middle. It doesn't appear to have been sent in the mail (perhaps it was sent as part of a package or given to Grandma later in person). There's no signature. South Bend, Indiana isn't actually that far from where I grew up, but I suppose 30 miles or so was a great distance back in the 1930s.

Addressed to Great-Grandma & Grandma from one of Grandma's
brothers (same one who sent the cards in previous post).

"Dear Mother so sorry to hear you are not well. Just hope you will hurry and get well. Take good care of yourself. Love [redacted]."

Below that, addressed to Grandma:

"[redacted] If Mother would like [redacted] to come he can any time. Leave us know."

During the mid-1930s, my great-grandparents died about six months apart from one another, both unexpectedly (I think). My grandma was living in Virginia at the time her father died. My understanding is that she went home afterwards to look after her mother. This card must have been sent after my great-grandma fell ill. Based on the nature of what was said, I believe it was written by my great-uncle's wife, not by him.

No address or addressee.

The only thing on this card is what we can safely assume are these men's names:

"Herman Smith, Elmer Rardatzke, Herb Thompson, Bill Wood."

I don't know who any of these handsome gents are or if they might have been related to my family or perhaps were family friends. I love how they all have classic "old guy" names except for Bill.

Addressed to Grandma. Was likely sent as part of a letter as there
is a "2" written in the corner like it's the second page. The rest
of the letter is missing.

"I expect to get a spring boat real soon. I really do need so much a Girl sure does need much just to have to work for Clothes alone and that's where all the money goes. [redacted] do you want the words of some songs. Maybe you have got them my sisters Girls copies them from the Victrola. They are Oh Petreshka (In a little Spanish Town. Mary Lou) This is my Lucky Day. They play them so much in the Theaters. I love to see you right now and wonder how you look because you say you have changed did you reduce. I have gained a few pounds. Love and kisses, Tillie."

I don't know who Tillie was (probably a childhood friend of Grandma's) but I'm both appalled by and in awe of her stream-of-consciousness style of writing. I've never before heard of anybody asking someone if they've lost weight by asking "Did you reduce?". Also, I wonder what a spring boat was. Is she talking about an actual boat or something else?

Postcard Project: Odds & Ends, Part 1

All of these cards are undated and/or are without sent-to addresses. I've placed them in a semblance of chronological order based almost entirely upon guessing. As always, spelling and grammatical mistakes are copied verbatim from the cards.

No date or address. I don't recognize the children pictured.

". . . tired when we got . . . the train ride. Be sure . . . of May then Harry will . . . He is going to be confirmed . . . with . . . and I am . . . I hope . . . me along. I am there already when you get this picture and so is Louie."

Doesn't make much sense when you can't read the whole thing, does it?

Card addressed but not stamped.
Name of addressee too faint to read.

"From [town name redacted] Wis to [town name redacted] Mich. I am sending you only a half a dozen of Postcard, for some one took them while I was out working & so now I am sending you all I have left. Am sorry But I couldn't find out who took the rest. Will write more with time. From your Dad."

My best guess is that this is from my great-grandfather (who I never met because he died in the 1930s) to one of his children. I'm thinking that, after the family moved to Michigan, he might have stayed behind in Wisconsin for a while to work.

I do find it curious that the card is written in English. Great-Grandpa emigrated from Germany to America as an adult, so English definitely wasn't his first language. I know that my mom always said that my grandma (who I also never met because she died a few months before I was born) was embarrassed by her German heritage. I wonder if my great-grandparents just tried really hard to put Germany behind them. If my guess about the timing of this card is correct, it would have been sent after the Great War, but before WWII.


The following three cards are all from the same person, one of Grandma's older brothers, to different people. None of them are addressed or stamped, so they were probably sent as part of a letter or a package. My guess is that all of them were sent somewhere between the mid-1920s and the early 1930s.

Not addressed to a particular person, probably meant for
the family in general.

"Wishing you a merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. From [redacted]."

Addressed to his parents.

"Easter Wishes To Mother & Dad. From [redacted]."

Addressed to his brother.

"Easter Joy to [redacted]. From [redacted]."