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 [...]

“Wind surfing on the Great Lakes is an ever increasingly popular sport enjoyed by young and old.” I don’t imagine that there’s too many days left this year for this activity, at least not on the Great Lakes; that water gets cold. This 1970s-era Plastichrome postcard arrived in my mailbox a few days ago; it’s [...]

“View of harpooner ironing a Sperm Whale. From The Capture a lithograph made in 1862 by Endicott & R. S. Gifford, corrected by Benjamin Russell.” What sort of corrections could have been required? Did the Giffords read Moby Dick and think all whales were white? Did they draw Captain Ahab’s leg in there somewhere? This [...]

“‘Sunken Gardens’, famed beauty spot of formal gardens and rare tropical plants, attracts thousands of visitors each year.”  This is a card that my Aunt Brenda received from her friend Selma, who “had a nice vacation.”  Interestingly, Selma didn’t mail this card until she was halfway back home, sending it from Charleston, SC on 15 [...]