Wild Postcards

This is a postcard from Great Grandpa Phil’s collection; it was sent to him and Great Grandma Lottie by the Hodinka family, John, Helen, and daughter Charlene, from a vacation in Minnesota. It’s postmarked Rochester, MN, August 27, 1966. John Hodinka — “Sonny” — was my grandmother’s cousin; he passed away last Wednesday, September 22 [...]

This is a marimba de tecomates (gourds) that is typical of the indigenous population of Guatemala. Similar to many marimbas in basic design (technically an arc marimba), it uses gourds as resonators. My grandmother’s cousin, John Hodinka (“Sonny”), sent this to Grandma from Guatemala, and my Aunt Brenda added it to her collection. I asked [...]

From Great-Grandpa’s collection. “Bud” writes from Augusta, Michigan that he’s “having a swell time.” The penny stamp is postmarked June 29, 1949 at 1 P.M. The image is marked as ©1948 L.L. Cook Co., with a production number of L.C.-1. I wonder if there was an L.C.-2. Great-Grandpa probably enjoyed receiving this. My cousin, John [...]

This may look like a real photo postcard, but it’s actually a black-and-white photochrome postcard with a deckled edge. It was published by Dexter Press of Pearl River, New York. Owens-Illinois was a key place in my family’s history. This from the obituary of my grandmother, Mildred Cossaboon, who passed away on 27 March 2008: [...]