Wild Postcards

Here’s a card from my grandfather’s sister, Helen Henderson, mailed September 1, 1981. She writes: “Stayed here 2 nights. Was in D.C. park & saw Pandas. (Pandas? In the park? — Ed.) Thanks again for what you did for me.” I have no idea what that might have been, although if I remember correctly, her son Johnny died around 1980, too young, from a heart attack; maybe my grandparents helped her with expenses.

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Here’s a card from my grandfather’s sister, Helen Henderson, mailed September 1, 1981. She writes: “Stayed here 2 nights. Was in D.C. park & saw Pandas. (Pandas? In the park? — Ed.) Thanks again for what you did for me.” I have no idea what that might have been, although if I remember correctly, her [...]

This is one of many postcards that my Aunt Brenda picked up on our many trips to western Pennsylvania to see our extended family.

This is one of many postcards that my Aunt Brenda picked up on our many trips to western Pennsylvania to see our extended family.

This card has it right: A never-ending flat plain, delineated only by Interstate 80. As the back of the card tells us, “Nebraska lives by its extensive sea of grain — principally corn, wheat and rye. More varieties of grass grow in Nebraska than any other state. Beef cattle and hog production are major contributors to the economy of the state. Nebraskans take unusual pride in their football teams, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers have been consistently among the nation’s top college teams for many years.” Again, dead on: football is venerated there, far more so than in any other community I’ve ever seen.

This card was sent off to Aunt Brenda by my mom, who came to visit me with the rest of the family in 1987 while I was stationed at HQ Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base. She writes: “Hi, Made it here. Car over-heated in Iowa (in fact, they had left it there to be worked on and had gotten a rental to finish the trip to Omaha). Chris is fine. Went riding in his friend’s ’63 Buick convertible. See ya soon.”

It seems that, as a postcard collector, Aunt Brenda was the central point of communication; the cards would go to her and she would pass on the message to whoever was waiting for it.

This card has it right: A never-ending flat plain, delineated only by Interstate 80. As the back of the card tells us, “Nebraska lives by its extensive sea of grain — principally corn, wheat and rye. More varieties of grass grow in Nebraska than any other state. Beef cattle and hog production are major contributors [...]

This card depicts what is presumed to be the final home of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Efes (Ephesus), where Catholic tradition holds that she died.

I sent this card to my Aunt Brenda, who at that time was the keeper of the collection, in an envelope along with several other postcards. I was in Turkey courtesy of Uncle Sam, and was still in awe over the favorable exchange rates.

The notation in the lower left — “her hakki mahfuzdur” — translates roughly as “every genuine(ness) looked after”, presumably the same sentiment as “all rights reserved”. The Turkish language is not for the squeamish. (Also of note: the word is correctly spelled “hakiki”, but the publisher has spelled it as it is actually pronounced.)

Efes is also the name of a pretty good Turkish beer, which sponsors a fairly mediocre basketball team, which has some really hot cheerleaders.

(Now how did I digress from the Virgin Mary to hot cheerleaders?)

This card depicts what is presumed to be the final home of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Efes (Ephesus), where Catholic tradition holds that she died. I sent this card to my Aunt Brenda, who at that time was the keeper of the collection, in an envelope along with several other postcards. I was in [...]