Wild Postcards

“La Fayette Memorial Park on National ‘Old Trails’ Road, Route 40 between Uniontown and Brownsville is rapidly becoming the choice of those living in S.W. Pennsylvania.”  Or, more precisely, the choice of those dying in southwest Pennsylvania.  But I digress. “Wide driveways will lead visitors past lakes, waterfalls and shaded retreats. Tombstones are prohibited, but names will live forever in imperishable bronze.”

This is certainly an odd postcard to find among the collection of Great Grandpa Phil.  He was born in this area and lived there until he and Great Grandma Lottie followed my grandmother to South Jersey. I’m sure he had occasion to visit the cemetery pictured; a quick search of surnames of the “residents” of LaFayette Memorial Park at Find A Grave shows more than a handful of my distant relatives.  Phil and Lottie aren’t buried here themselves, however; while I can’t recall the exact location, I feel certain that they were buried in their church graveyard back home in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.  In any case, I distinctly remember that they had a gravestone, which places them somewhere besides LaFayette Memorial Park.

This card is difficult to date; it’s a photochrome postcard, but with a deckled edge, a white border, a space between “La” and “Fayette” that has fallen out of fashion, and an image that one would expect to find on a linen postcard.  Judging solely from the fonts used on the back, I am going to guess early- to mid-1950s.  This is likely a design that was in use for decades, and migrated through different manufacturing techniques as times changed.  Probably they intended for visitors to the cemetery to send out status reports to other relatives who couldn’t visit personally.

True to their word, so far they have continued to provide perpetual care.

“La Fayette Memorial Park on National ‘Old Trails’ Road, Route 40 between Uniontown and Brownsville is rapidly becoming the choice of those living in S.W. Pennsylvania.”  Or, more precisely, the choice of those dying in southwest Pennsylvania.  But I digress. “Wide driveways will lead visitors past lakes, waterfalls and shaded retreats. Tombstones are prohibited, but [...]

Oh, my, how opulent.  I’m sure that the fine people of Depression-era Pennsylvania didn’t mind paying for this at all.  Well, on the plus side, since the room was destined to be filled with politicians, we can be sure that this project was “shovel-ready”.

This is a Curteich “C. T. Art-Colortone” linen postcard, number 3A-H911, manufactured in 1933, and is postally unused.  It’s in pristine condition, thanks to the care of Kay Anthony.

Oh, my, how opulent.  I’m sure that the fine people of Depression-era Pennsylvania didn’t mind paying for this at all.  Well, on the plus side, since the room was destined to be filled with politicians, we can be sure that this project was “shovel-ready”. This is a Curteich “C. T. Art-Colortone” linen postcard, number 3A-H911, [...]

This is an unused Curteich “C. T. Art-Colortone” card, number 1B-H723, manufactured in 1941 and coming to us from the collection of Kay Anthony.  The back of the card bears no description. I especially like the radio tower at the top of the building; it was probably the tallest construction in the city at the time.

Located at southeast corner of North Third and Walnut Streets in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the hotel had 14 stories and was constructed in 1918.  The original building on this site, the four-story YWCA, was built in 1914 and was demolished after only four years in favor of the hotel.

Sadly, the hotel itself was demolished in 1978 to make way for Strawberry Square, a million-square-foot office and shopping complex.

This is an unused Curteich “C. T. Art-Colortone” card, number 1B-H723, manufactured in 1941 and coming to us from the collection of Kay Anthony.  The back of the card bears no description. I especially like the radio tower at the top of the building; it was probably the tallest construction in the city at the [...]

“One of the most panoramic views of the entire Eastern section of the country is this Potomac Valley scene south of Hancock, Maryland. It shows portion of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania and a great fruit growing section.”

This postcard bears a Curt Teich serial number indicating manufacture in 1943, but the publisher’s mark reads Marken & Bielfeld, Inc., Frederick, Md. From what I can tell, Marken & Bielfeld seems to have been (at least in the past) a publisher of local histories like this one of Carrollton Manor, Frederick County, Maryland. They are still in business in Frederick after over a century.

“One of the most panoramic views of the entire Eastern section of the country is this Potomac Valley scene south of Hancock, Maryland. It shows portion of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania and a great fruit growing section.” This postcard bears a Curt Teich serial number indicating manufacture in 1943, but the publisher’s mark [...]