Back In the Day

My husband and I were browsing an antique mall last weekend when I spotted a display rack of old holiday penny postcards. My husband kept walking -- he knew from there on out he'd be shopping the rest of the mall solo.

While I'm not a collector per se, I am drawn to the nostalgia of the cards. I enjoy the colorful ephemera, but I only purchase ones that were used for the purpose of their design -- my fancy way of saying "written on". They must have a message and a legible postmark.

If money were no object, I'd have walked out of that booth with 50 postcards. As it is, I bought six; three Christmas, two New Years, and one Valentine. And for those of you who join me in a fondness for items of yesteryear, I'm going to share them with you this week.

This first Christmas card is postmarked: Mount Oliver, PA - 5:30 p.m. - December 22, 1914.

Addressed to: Miss Helen Schick - Dunkirk, Ind.

The message exactly as written:

Dear Cousin,

We all wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Did you folks know Margaret had her baby a girl she calls it Grace Marie.

Cousin Florence

Isn't it something to think that if "baby" Grace Marie is still living, she's 93 or 94 years old?