Divided back postcard. Postmarked August 17, 1909 from Corning, California. United Art Publishing Co., New York, New York. Printed in Germany.
Price: $12.00
A happy couple, the man carrying his wife on his shoulder, crossing a stream to get to their cows.
The sender wrote: “Dear B. J:- Geo. has gone back to Mexico[?] and my good times are [?] for a while. Jim expects to come up this month some time but don’t know whether there will be any thing to go to or not. Aunt L – is in the City which I presume you know – Aunt M. is not feeling well but think we can manage until Aunt L – returns. Love to all – Joe.”
Ah, 1909, where did you go? This was back in the day when we used the dash after the colon for punctuation ( :- ) instead of just either/or. (It was the norm; I’m not sure when it changed.) And maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it’s also back in the day when the physique on the husband (in this postcard design) didn’t have to be perfect – just whatever, normal. (Is it just me?) Anyway, a pretty typical postcard for the sender’s remarks – reports of the comings and goings, the social scene expectations, and who is not feeling tip top. George, we imagine, has gone back to do some more mining in Mexico. (Totally my imagination, of course, but I’ve seen this before.) Joe probably works a farm, Auntie L and M are doing the housework. A good life (we hope) in Corning, California.
Addressed to: “Miss Ethel Chittenden, Box 127 R. F. D. #1, Los Angeles, Cal.”
Ethel M. Chittenden, was born in California in 1887, daughter of Albert Hawley Chittenden and Mary Lucelia (Atwell) Chittenden. A mention in The Corning Daily Observer, dated September 9, 1909, coincides with the postcard’s address:
She married Normal H. Schammell in September of 1910.
Sources: Corning, California. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corning,_California (accessed May 16, 2024).
Find a Grave. Find a Grave®. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.
The Corning Daily Observer, (Corning, California). September 9, 1909, Thursday, p. 8. (Newspapers.com).
The Corning Daily Observer, (Corning, California). September 29, 1910, Thursday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).