Park Lake, Orlando, Florida, Showing Park Lake Presbyterian Church, "The City Beautiful"

Park Lake, Orlando, Florida, showing Park Lake Presbyterian ChurchSurrounded by beautiful homes and a palm-lined boulevard.  Park Lakes is one of the thirty-three beautiful lakes within Orlando’s city limits.  There are 1,500 fresh water lakes of varying size in Orange County of which the city is the county seat.

Orlando, Fla. August 18, 1943

We are having a fine time.  Both Luella & Carroll look fine.  Enjoyed our trip very much. 

Sadie & Ralph

Mrs. Ida Shofe?

Aberlin, Pa.


The Park Lake neighborhood in Orlando is nearly as old as the city itself, and features the home used as an office by the renowned architect Ida Annah Ryan.  Working in the Prairie School under Frank Lloyd Wright, Ms. Ryan and her partner Isabel Roberts designed many buildings in central Florida, some of which are still standing today.

Sunshine Park, Orlando, Florida

Sunshine Park, Orlando, FL

Orlando, Fla.  February 2, 1940

We have not played as much shuffleboard as we did before the cold.  Even with the sun beaming on you, you could freeze to death.  Today was lovely and in a few days well will have forgotten the cold.  All the flowers are gone but soon there will be others to take their place.  Carolyn Mara is entertaining us tomorrow night.

Love,

S. Downing

Mrs. Harold Holbrook

Arch Street

Dover, N.H.


Google Maps will show a Sunshine Park in Orlando, but it was a National Guard Armory from 1938 to 1983, and is officially known as the Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex, with no shuffleboard courts in sight.  Shuffleboard as a sport started in Daytona in 1913, reaching its peak in the 1940's, especially among the growing retired population in Florida.  According to the Florida Shuffleboard Association, there are no teams currently playing in Orlando anymore, and I can't recall any surviving courts within the city limits.  If you want to know more about the sport, the blog Visual Epherma tackles the question of preserving this sport seriously and thoughtfully, along with photos of existing (and sadly deteriorating) courts around central and south Florida.

Dover, New Hampshire has been a thriving commercial center since the 1700's.  Through shipbuilding, cotton and brick manufacture, and the University of New Hampshire, the city has flourished for centuries.  (at least that's what the city's website implies.)    The Social Security Death Index lists a number of Harold Holbrooks who would be an appropriate age to receive this postcard in 1940, and there is a Harold Holbrook scholarship at the University of New Hamsphire's Whittemore Business School that started in 1972 in a memorial to the former banker.  There's also an honorable mention of a Harold Holbrook in minutes from the city in 1945 that praise Mr. Holbrook for his war bond efforts.

Coincidentally, there is a prominent photographer in south Florida named Carolyn Mara.  She is most likely way to young to have entertained our writer.

Over a Garden Wall, Miami Beach, Fla.

Plant City, Fla, Friday, February 9, 1940

In car in Zolfo Springs, Fla waiting. 

Glad to know the teeth problem is over.

Citrus fruit hurt badly in this section.

Ate lunch in Ft. Myers.

Be in St. Pete Saturday morning.  

All well.  Love to all.

Edgar and Elziabeth

Mr. and Mrs. Harry T. Davis

Kings Highway

Swedesboro, New Jersey

This postcard looks like a Walter Carlos Williams poem, and could probably be read in a coffee shop.  I’ll let everyone know how “The First Annual Postcard Poetry Slam” goes as soon as I find the proper venue.

Moonlight Over Lower Tampa Bay Showing Main and Channel Bridge of Sunshine Skyway

Touring the Sunshine Skyway is like going to Sea in your Automobile.  Fifteen miles of sun, sea, and sky and stops on the wide causeways are permitted to fish and enjoy the warm surf.  The Sunshine Skyway is reached from the Norht by U.S. 19, from the South by U.S. 41 and is part of the new West Florida Coast Speedway

Saint Petersburg, Fla., March 1, 1960

2-29-60

Sunshine, oranges, grapefruit & 78 degrees warm.  This is hard to beat.  Hope the snow melts a bit by the end of week.

Robert Cook

Mrs. Hazel Hawley

North Street

Morenci, Mich.

Morenci, Michigan is a small town of about 2,400 people situated in the middle of Michigan's shared border with Ohio.   The town was founded in 1833, and the residents there seem intent on preserving a "small town" way of life.  Unfortunately, there is no Hazel Hawley mentioned in that small town way of life for the past 100 years.  The Oak Grove Cemetery has three members of the Hawley family interred, with the most recent burial happening in 1906.  


"Going to sea in your automobile" is a very poor choice of words, considering what would happen to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge 20 years after this postcard was sent.

Gulfstream Park from Main Club Terrace Entrance between Miami and Hollywood, Fla.

Miami Beach, Fla

November 20, 1957

11/18

Dear Harold:

They make the race tracks here very beautiful and attractive so they can take your money away painlessly.  Fortunately no tracks are open now.  Only a few more days then back to the cold city.

RTS?

Mr. Harold Pownall

118 W. Gorgas St.

Philadelphia 19

Pennsylvania


The Florida Derby is happening on March 31 at this historic track, where it has been held since 1952.  Started at Tampa Downs in 1926, the Derby is the premiere event of the Florida horse racing season, which as our writer notes, begins in January and ends in April.  In fact, if RTS had stuck around for a few months, he could have seen Tim Tam win the Florida Derby, only to nearly miss out on the Triple Crown at Belmont.

The name Harold Pownall comes up on quite a number of retrieved records in a Google search and on the SSDI, but since none tie that name to the city of Philadelphia.

Florida Sanitarium, Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Fla. February 18, 1954

1419 A W. Smith Ave., Orlando

Dear Marian

Arrived here safely but not my suit case.  I waited five days.  It was a big joke to live in my same clothes.  Marion wears size 12.  Yesterday I had a letter from Arthur telling us Jeanette is in the Wilhemmem Hospital.  I have also had to go but hoped she would wait until I got back.  So I have something to think about.  Hope everything will be O.K. Marian & Harry fair.

Love, K. D. T.

Miss Marian Clarke

1343 Rockland St.

Phila. 41

Pa.

The house at 1419 W. Smith Ave is still standing, and according to Orange County Property records, was sold in 1985 by a Kelda D. Thatcher.  Ms. Thatcher is most likely the "KDT" writing the postcard, but the trail goes cold, even with her unusual first name.  The same can be said about Marian Clarke, whose common name is plentiful in Philadelphia.  

Florida Sanitarium is better known today as Florida Hospital.  Opened in 1908 with $9,000 and four patients, the Florida Sanitarium treated tuberculosis patients by providing them with sunshine and fresh air based on the sanitarium model utilized in Battle Creek, Michigan in the late 19th century.  By 1970, the small 20 bed farmhouse had grown into a campus with state-of-the-art medical equipment and was renamed Florida Hospital Orlando.  

Pool and Ocean Bathing- Municipal Casino, Lake Worth, Florida

Greenacres City, Fla.  September 2, 1954

Just a few lines to let you know we arrived safely August 18 eve we had a very hot trip especially the first 2 days there where a cooler breeze coming towards the ocean.  Best wishes from the Kehrs

Mr. and Mrs. Norman Galada

17007 Glendale

Cleveland, Ohio


The Lake Worth Casino was not a beachside gambling hall, but a community gathering spot, public pool and changing house built in 1922 to replace a wooden structure that had burned in 1919.  Currently, the City of Lake Worth is rehabilitating the structure for a grand re-opening.

According to Trulia, the house at 17007 Glendale was built in 1941.  Cuyahoga County online records only go back to 1979, where for almost 30 years the house was owned by members of the Brooks family, until being transferred to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and sold to the current owner.

Norman Galada, according to the Social Security Death Index, passed away on December 9, 1999.  However, he has a son that lives in Ohio.  Unfortunately, WhitePages does not list email addresses, so I'm sending him a postcard with a link to this post.  As always, I'll update this post with any information about the Galadas or the Kehrs and their hot trip to Florida.

A Natural Hedge of Flowers, Flame Vine and Hibiscus, Florida

In Florida bright flowers are found,The Flame-Vine and Hibiscus abound;While orange groves of fadeless green,With fruit of gold make gay the scene.

Hollywood, FL, February 21, 1934

Dear Alice,

We are leaving the fifth of March and going through Tampa and will stop in to see you from there.

Art S.

Mrs. A. B. Green

505 E. Amelia Ave.

Orlando, Fla.

Gay doggerel aside, there is nothing natural about a hedge of flame vine.  Introduced to Florida in the 1920’s, this Brazilian plant has been spread by hummingbirds and bees all over south and central Florida.  Sure, it’s pretty, but ask a tree getting smothered by this plant how pretty it is.

Wait, trees don’t talk.  

The original house at 505 E. Amelia Avenue has been replaced with a newer, presumably larger house built in 1991.  The new structure was bought and sold by Orlando real estate mogul Phil Rampy for a handsome profit in 2000.  The Orange County Property Appraiser doesn't list any other owners before Mr. Rampy, so perhaps he has a recollection of the original structure and perhaps the inhabitants.

Bryan's Residence, Miami, Fla.

Miami, Fla., March 26, 1923

Miami, Fla.

Dear Friends-

We are going to start home next week.  We are having nice weather although it is rather warm.  We are all anxious to get home. 

Ellis

J.C. & L. Heflin

Fairfax, Okla.

Mrs. Fred Glass

Alexis, Illinois


Interesting that the current Indiana University director is also named Fred Glass.  Alexis, IL is small enough (only 800 people in 2000) to be easily researched, but since it straddles two counties and four townships, research is hard to come by without a physical address.  And mores, who are J.C. and L. Heflin in Fairfax, Oklahoma?  The Fairfax High School Alumni page lists a James Heflin, Class of '28, but the connection across three states and two surnames is strange.  

The William Jennings Bryan residence is still standing, registered with Miami's historic preservation department.  The estate was built in 1913, and Mr. Bryan occupied it until he died shortly after the Scopes Trial.  Just before that trial he was giving speeches daily about the sound decision to own property in Florida, and sermons in the local Presbyterian Church.

Travelers Palm in Florida

Miami, Fla June 18, 1952

Dear Mom & Pop,

This place is beautiful.  The folks have been driving us around to see it.  We had our 1^st ocean bath today, it was wonderful.  We feel like flying now, with these beautiful birds down here.  Lots of love to Ruth and 

George.  All

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Snyder

216 Virginia Ave.

Audubon, New Jersey


Did you know the Traveller's Palm is not really a true palm tree?  The species, Ravenala madagascariensis, is related to the Bird Of Paradise plants.  This popular ornamental is not even a native Florida plant, but originates in Madagascar, as its scientific name would imply.  It is also the name of a friendly guest lodge in Kuala Lampur.  


The Snyder's house, built in 1929 according to Trulia, is still standing in Audubon, New Jersey.  According to New Jersey property records, the house was sold in 2009, but since online records only go back to 1990, there is no record of the Snyders' sale.  There are quite a few George and William Snyders in Audubon, which is surprising for a town of about 10,000 people.  


The town was incorporated in 1905, and named after John James Audubon, so it's only fitting that George remarked that they were flying like birds.

"Greetings from Orlando"

Postmarked Orlando FL 328, November 27 1976

11/26 75 degrees

Dear Emma

Have you gotten rested from your busy Sunday and Thanksgiving?  Hope so!

Weather’s fine and we’re having nice visit, shopping and eating.  Enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving.

See you soon,

Love

Mary Francis

Mrs. Edw. O’ Brien

727 North Avenue

Syracuse, New York 13206


Orlando readers will know that this postcard features a view from the Kahler Plaza Hotel on Rosalind that became the Metropolitan at Lake Eola.  Actually, according to the Lake Eola Historic Walking Trail Guide,  the Robert Meyer Hotel opened in this location on May 15, 1963.   On December 1, 1972, the Robert Meyer Motor Inn became the Kahler Plaza Inn, was later the Harley Hotel, and then joined the Sheraton chain. It was later converted into the Metropolitan.

Also, the bandshell depicted is the third in a series of four, the last being the Walt Disney Amphitheater, built in 1989.  And you've probably noticed that Lee's Lakeside and Apartments are the only building in view.

I did find an O'Brien genealogical forum, so I will update if I find out about that busy Sunday.

Service Club, Camp Grant, Illinois

Private Roland D. Miller

Area A BKS-148

Serial No. 364008105

Camp Grant, Ill.

U.S. Army

Postmarked Rockford, Ill, November 24, 1942

Dear Kids:  
Here I am in the good old Army & having a great time.  They feed us very good, all we can eat.  See you sometime.

Love, Roland

How is the big baby?

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Miller

232 Cobrain St., S.W.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

I looked up Private Miller's serial number in the National Archives, as well as posting on this wonderful site run by volunteers for World War II vets to reconnect with friends.  There is no match for the serial number Roland gives in this card, but there is a match for an enlistment of Roland Miller in May of 1942 in Omaha, Nebraska.  Unfortunately, this Roland Miller was born in 1914, making the likelihood of him still being with us today small.  I will update this post with any responses to my posting on the WW2 vets website.

I will find who this Miller family is!

Suicide Oak in City Park, New Orleans, La.

Suicide oak in City Park is one of the old monarchs of the forest, which add so much to the beauty of New Orleans’ Parks with their drapery of gray Spanish Moss.  The story of the tree is that in 12 years 16 men committed suicide under its branches.

New Orleans, La., December 10, 1945

December 10, 1945

Dear Irene,

Hi!  Guess who!  I’m down in New Orleans with Steve while he gets his discharge, but it isn’t going very fast and I guess we won’t be back for Christmas like we planned.  The weather is warm but damp. 

Love, Audrey and Steve

Mrs. Donald Miller

232 Cobrain St., S.W.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Only New Orleans could make a tourist attraction from a natural suicide assisting device.  City Park in New Orleans also has the Dueling Oak, so homicide is included as well.  During World War II, the city was home to a large Personnel Separation Center for the U.S. Navy, so perhaps Steve was returning from a Pacific Theatre Tour.   If Audrey is thinking that the process will take 15 more days, did the sheer numbers of returning servicemen jam up the system, or was the process always this slow?

Maybe this postcard was a subtle cry for help.

Lummus Park and Public Bathing Beach at Miami Beach, Florida

Warm, sparkling waters of the blue Atlantic and golden sun-drenched sand shaded by cocoanut palms tempt the bather daily at Lummus Park and Public Bathing Beach.  Here is a typical mid-winter scene with the beach thronged with happy bathers.

Miami, Fla July 31, 1947

7/30/47

Dear Mother:

It’s plenty warm and rainy down here but I can take it.  Thanks for the birthday present.  Your lawn wasn’t mowed.  It was a foot high.  It has rained everyday.  I still have my job and they were glad to see me.  Chellis.  We are going to school again.

Mrs. Alfred Scott

RFD 2

Groton, Vt.

Thank you, Chellis, for being a real tough guy and taking the warm rainy season in Miami, as well as braving your mother’s foot-high grass.  Too bad your handwriting is so poor, we may have found a Chellis or Chelis Scott much easier.

However he spells his name, Chelis' father, Alfred Scott shows up in a few places.  He could be a haberdasher in Montpelier, VT, which is not too far from Groton.  Or he could be the single barber staying at Carlos and Katie Welch's boarding house in the 1930 Groton Census, making Mrs. Scott's husband 64 at the time of this postcard.  According to this family tree, Alfred Scott, the barber married an Effie Byse in 1939, but finding descendants, including Chellis, is proving to be difficult.

Groton, Vermont is a small town incorporated in 1798, just east of Montpelier and the Groton State Forest.  Coincidentally, the town is home to a William Scott, known as the "Sleeping Sentinel" when in 1861, he was courtmartialed for sleeping at his post, sentenced to death, pardoned by Abraham Lincoln, then died in battle two years later.

Lummus Park, named after the Lummus Brothers whose banks financed most of the development of Miami Beach is still open on Ocean Drive.  Although I would recommend against any public bathing, you can leave your shower cap and washcloth behind and still take a dip in the "blue Atlantic" with all your happy bathing friends.

War Department Theatre, Camp Grant, Illinois

Rockford, Ill, May 14, 1942

Pvt Don W. Rich

Co. A 29^th BR 3^rd Pl

Camp Grant, Ill

Hello Kids:

How is the farming coming along.  Is your garden producing yet.  Leo Everst add. Is co. A 29 BR ist Pl.  He is just a couple of bldgs from me. 

So Long,

Don

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Miller

232 Colrain St., S.W.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

I'm not certain if our military got franking privileges in 1942, but I do like Private Miller scrawling the word "free" where the stamp goes.  That's just the sort of Moxie Uncle Sam needs, Private!  In all serious, I am not familiar with World War II era Army structure, so I ask any readers to see if Private Miller's address contains more than just where his mail was delivered.

Donald and Irene must have moved in 1942, since since their Floridian winter resident friend Vicki was sending her correspondence to a different address.  Unfortunately, again this residence is home to more empty lots and redevelopment.  The Miller's new address is now the home of a branch of Cofessco Fire Protection Systems, which has only been in business for the last 41 years.  There are plenty of houses in the 100 block of Colrain Street, which leads one to believe that the warehouse development in the 200 block happened sometime after 1942.

Camp Grant is also a place no more as well.  Used as an induction center for draftees during both World Wars and the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, most of the Camp was razed to become the Chicago Rockford Airport.   There is a museum (listing only-no website), a great website with photos of the camp during World War One and a restaurant called "The Command Post" in one of the few remaining buildings.

It is also very probable that the Millers, like an estimated 20 million other patriotic Americans had planted a Victory Garden.

Florida Moon

Lake Worth, Fla.  February 11, 1942

407 N. “M” Ave., Lake Worth, Fla.

I would like to hear from you if you have time.  c/o Mrs. Camp

Dear Irene & Dear-


Well I got here fine & on time.  Are having loads of fun but still can’t believe we are ourselves.  Went swimming in the salty brine Tuesday & got in our eyes, nose and mouth.  It smarts too.

Gee the town is just beautiful.  Palm trees with coconuts, hibiscus in bloom & several other flowers.  Are going to drive to Palm Beach this P.M.

Gee this card doesn’t hold much.

Love Vicki

P.S.  We will see no full moon while here now.  Shucks!

Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Miller

141 Goldsboro Pl. N.E.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Vicki, tantalized by the beautiful full moon on the front of her inadequately spaced postcard, suddenly realized that she came to Florida for the moon!  Vicki-  it's called "the Sunshine State" for a reason!  Still, Vicki's style of writing calls to mind some fast-talking dame of a 1940's movie, with just the right balance of poetry and interjections.

Sadly, Vicki's winter getaway is now a parking lot for the Sacred Heart School which opened about two years after this postcard was sent.  As discovered in previous posts, the Miller's residence suffered a similar fate, so it's difficult to discover exactly who the Millers were, even though we now know Mr. Miller's wife's name.

Municipal Auditorium, Lake Worth, Florida

Lake Worth, Fla., February 17, 1942

Dear Irene:

I am a lovely shade of pink today- just mild case of sunburn.  No matter how careful I am, I manage to resemble a well-cooked lobster.  I was going to write before, but I couldn’t because I didn’t get sunburned until today.  We’re still enjoying every minute here.

Love- Ubendeer?

Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Miller

141 Goldsboro Pl. N.E.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

This is on the top of the list for the lamest excuse for not writing.  I didn’t get sunburned, no obviously I couldn’t write.  I can only put pen to paper unless I am going through horrific agony with lasting and perhaps permanent damage to my skin.  At least she's not "Great Balls of Fire" like Vicki was in yesterday's post.

By now, the Millers are probably horrified that the unforgiving sun is charring and disfiguring their friends in Florida.  Since Miller is a common surname, and Grand Rapids is a fairly large town, I still have not found any credible clues to their identity.

The Municipal Auditiorium in Lake Worth, FL (incorporated as Lucerne in 1912 by the Palm Beach Farms Company) is now home to City Hall and is one of the prominent points of their Historic District.

Florida's Stately Royal Palms

Lake Worth, Fla. February 17, 1942

The palms are beauts!  You are good.  You get 2 cards from me.  Lucky devils

L.W. Fla. 2-16-42

Dear Irene & D.

Well, Irene how does it see, to be a stay-at-home for a change.  On the 13^th I remarked that was the last day you worked.  Al wouldn’t write what I told her to write you so I will say it.  Right now I feel like great balls of fire but am as brown as a potato. Ran into Theda Koeze? Waolker? This P.M. at the beach.  The only day she expects to spend in Lake Worth.  Strange?

82 degrees here today- still zero up there?

Love Vicki

Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Miller

141 Goldsboro Pl. N.E.

Grand Rapids, Michigan


I don't know if I've ever described a sunburn as "Great Balls of Fire," but Vicki must have had a deep tan from that burn.

The Royal Palms pictured here are native Florida species, and were planted to line the streets in many south Florida communities.  I'm sitting under one right now.

As to the Miller family- we ran across Beatrice Miller yesterday, living in Lebanon, PA.  The Michigan Geneaologist from the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries lists a Miller and Cochran Furniture Store from 1894.  Their house no longer stands, most of it developed into a large campus of an unknown organization.  Another interesting coincidence is that a Dr. D.W. Miller, Jr. wrote a recent paper against water fluoridation that began in Grand Rapids, MI in 1945.  

The Sunken Garden, Gralynn, Miami, Fla.

Miami December 16, 1917

Miami, Fla 12/16/17

Sunday Morning and a fine one here.  I expect it is cold in P.G.  How are you all I am very well and feel fine give my regards to all

J E H

Rev.  J. W. Lynch

Penns Grove, NJ


Alas, the Sunken Gardens of Gralynn are no more.  Originally built as a residence for the Conley family, Salem Graham bought the property, remodeling it and naming it using the first three letters of his name with the last four of his wife's maiden name.  Turned into a hotel in the early 20th century, the building was demolished in 1969 and replaced with a strip mall.


Penns Grove, NJ was a fashionable resort town around the turn of the nineteenth century, and only incorporated through an act of the New Jersey State Legislature in 1894, even though Swedish immigrants had settled in the area in the 1600's.  Penns Grove has been home to both John Forsythe and Bruce Willis, the latter attending Penns Gorve High School.  The town boasts of many churches, many of them old enough to have employed the recipients of this postcard.

Strangely enough, the Reverend J. W. Lynch is hard to pinpoint in Penns Grove.  I will update this post with any reply from the Historical Society as to any survivors of Rev. and Mrs. Lynch.

A Beautiful Park in Orlando

A Beautiful Park in Florida

Delray Beach, Fla

February 27, 1954

We are having a nice vacation and we both have been feeling very well.  We’ll have to be on our way home soon.  Have been away since the 23^rd of January.  Plan on being home by April 1^st.  Hope you have been very well since we seen you last. 

Love,

Harry and Agnes

Mrs. Marie B. Sinclair

106 11^th Street

Garden City- L.I.

NY

Looks like Harry and Agnes have over a month left in Florida, unless this is the continuing groundwork for the most patient April Fool's prank ever!

Garden City was founded in 1869 by Alexander Turney Stewart, a merchant millionaire.  The city flourished in the early 20th century, and now boasts a population of over 21,000.  Marie B. Sinclair does not turn up in a basic search of public records, nor does her original house.  The current structure was built in 2004 and is valued at $1.6 million.  Judging from the neighborhood, Marie must have been doing very well for herself.  Strangely enough, a September 11, 2011 bulletin from the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Garden City lists a Harry and Agnes Young under a schedule of Mass Intentions.

Harry and Agnes traveled over 200 miles from buying to sending this postcard.  Keep in mind, the postmark predates the construction of the Florida Turnpike by just 3 years.  (Whether our travelers had to fend off "kill the Pike" demonstrators, we'll never know.)  That would make the journey to Delray Beach and arduous and lengthy process by today's standards.  Maybe Harry and Agnes were secret civil rights organizers going to meet with Solomon D. Spady.

The SInging Tower, Lake Wales, Florida

Edward W. Bok built the Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary and Singing Tower at Lake Wales, Florida, as a token of his appreciation and gratitude for what America had given him.  The tower weighs 5,500 tons, has a square base of 51ft. wide and rises to a height of 205 ft. 2in.  It contains a carillion of 71 bells and is built for the most part from southern materials.  It is a concrete exemplification of Mr. Bok’s creed. 

“Make the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it.”

Key West February 24, 1954

St. Petersburg, Fla

Dear Clara:

We are here for month vacation and it is a very beautiful spot.  Today have travelled to Key West.  We saw turtles 500lb apiece. 

Love,

Van Clove?

Mrs. Clara Snyder

7524 Fayette St.

Phila (38

PA

The more postcard messages I transcribe, the more I realize that I’m looking at the 20^th century’s version of text messaging.  Text messaging that took days to transmit, but text messaging nonetheless.  “We are here.”  “Today have traveled to Key West.”  “We saw 500 pound turtles.”  Wait, wha?

The 1925 house, although since converted to condos, is still standing.  Ancestry.com lists a Clara Snyder who passed away in Erie, PA in 1959, but no specific results come up in a brief search. 

It is unknown if Van Clove was British and referring to what those turtles may have gone for in London, or if Florida was fending off a monster turtle attack in Lake Wales in 1954.  You may see some monster turtles if you attend the International Carillon Festival this weekend at Bok Tower Gardens?  (Again, I am not a paid sponsor.)

The Singing Tower, Mountain Lake Sanctuary, Lake Wales, Florida

THE SINGING TOWERThe Singing Tower is located on the highest spot in Florida and is surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds.  –The Sanctuary.  The Tower is built of Florida coquina stone and Georgia pink marble, weight 5,500 tons, and took over two years to complete.  It contains one of the largest and finest Carillons in the world, consisting of 71 bells the smallest bell weighing 17 pounds, while the largest weighs 12 tons.  This beautiful Sanctuary and wonderful Singing Tower were given to the people by Mr. Edward W. Bok as a symbol of beauty, and as an expression of his thanks to the American Flag.  The place has been rightfully called “The Most Beautiful Spot in America.”

July 1944

Dear Davie:

Be a good boy and here’s a big kiss Honey X

Love Mommie and Daddy

Master David Topinka

2331 Charney Rd.

U. Hts. 18

Cleveland, Ohio

There’s no postmark or stamp on this postcard from the mysterious Honey X, but July 1944 is written in pencil with a December 1944 stamp.  Did this card take half a year to arrive in Cleveland?  Thinking that Master David Topinka was probably a child when he received this card, it's very probable he is still alive.  Just not in Cleveland.  His house, built in 1942 is still standing, and recently sold in a transaction that featured no one from the Topinka family.

It is very odd that this postcard declares the bells' weight to be more than the previous card from 13 years ago.  The Great Depression must have had some perverse effect on the laws of gravity.  No matter what the bells weigh these days, you can hear them this weekend if you attend the International Carillon Festival this weekend at Bok Tower Gardens?  (Again, I am not a paid sponsor.)

The Singing Tower, Florida

Tampa, Fla, April 12, 1937

Tampa, Fla.

April 11, 1937

My sister & I are thru work down here now and sorry because we liked our job so well.

It was the most exclusive county club in Fla.  We are starting North Tues. by way of Connecticut to visit awhile.  Our mother came down by train to go back with her.  Hope you are both well.

Love, Peggy

Mr. and Mrs. Russell White

1327 Edgemont St.

Indianapolis, Indiana


Did you know the International Carillon Festival is happening right now at Bok Tower Gardens?  You can purchase tickets at the link, but I am in no way a paid sponsor for the historic landmark, nor am I going to receive any complimentary admission for posting this link.  At least not yet, anyway.  However, in accordance with the festival, welcome to the second in this week's hastily arranged series on Bok Tower Gardens.

If Peggy and her sister were working in an exclusive country club in Tampa, there are two possibilities. The Palma Ceia Country Club was founded in 1916 and is still so exclusive that even its website is members only.  The Temple Terrace Golf Club was founded in 1922, so either club could have laid off the two ladies in the midst of the Great Depression.  it's natural they travelled to one of Florida's oldest and peaceful historic landmarks to convalesce before gaining the strength to travel to Connecticut.  (Again, I am not a paid sponsor.)

There is no Edgemont St. in Indianapolis, but there is an Edgemont Ave., with an old house at the address on the card.  There is an obituary for a J. Russell White, who was a prominent attorney in Indianapolis.  Marion County's property records are difficult to obtain from more than a decade ago, so there is no record of a recent sale of the house.  

A Corner in Mr. Bok's Study in the Singing Tower

"From the Mountain Pines of Maine to the Sunny Sands of Florida"This was Mr. Bok’s private study in the Singing Tower.  The beautiful wrought iron stairway leads to the upper floors.  Except for the room for Mr. Brees, the Carillonneur, this is the only finished and liveable room in the tower.  An automatic elevator leads from it to the upper floor.

St. Petersburg, January 24, 1934

Jan 24/34

The full envelope read this A.M.

Dear Lois and poor Lydia

It’s good to be here in the sunshine.  Going to Lakeland the 25^th for the day.  These go so fast.  I feel rested & contented.  Will write soon-My love is loud, Maude?  Sadie? Looks fine.  Mrs. L. and Florence are delighted to be here.

AAV

Art Department

Syracuse Public Library

Mrs.  Maude Kissel

733 Maryland Ave.

Syracuse, N.Y.

Looks like someone really tried to censor this postcard’s text years before the invention of the Sharpie.  I don’t know what having this postcard in an art department says for the state of Syracuse’s Public Library System, but hopefully they’ve moved past owning creepy portraits of hidden Florida landmarks.

Mr. Bok’s study is actually no longer hidden- you can get a private tour for a relatively small donation to the Bok Foundation!  Maybe you can stop by and check it out when you attend the International Carillon Festival this weekend!  (Again, I am not a paid sponsor.)

According to zillow.com, the 8 bedroom house at 733 Maryland Ave was built in 1900.  It was sold in 1996, and was most likely already converted into apartments as it is today.  There are a number of Kissels in Syracuse, NY, but no historical mentions of Maude, Lois or Lydia.

The Singing Tower, Mountain Lake Sanctuary, Lake Wales, Florida

This beautiful singing Tower, on the highest elevation in Florida, in beautifully landscaped grounds known as the Sanctuary, was a gift to the people by the late Edward W. Bok.The Singing Tower Carillion has 71 bells with 53 notes, or four and one-half octaves.  The total weight of the bells is 123,264 pounds.  The tenor bell alone weighs 11 tons, and the smallest 12 pounds.  It is the finest and largest carillion ever cast.  Height of tower 205 feet, diameter at base 51 feet.

Miami, Fla. March 6, 1931

Visiting Florida

Ames Austin in

Miami & enjoying

Every minute.

Came by boat &

Bought my car.

Limes? And Fruits? From

Tillon? Here Lois

Is entertaining.

Gertrude C.

Mildred Copeland

17 Sefton Drive

Edgewood, R.I.

Now we know what the bells weigh.  The same bells you could be hearing if you attend the International Carillon Festival this weekend at Bok Tower Gardens?  (Again, I am not a paid sponsor.)

Gertrude fancies herself an imagist poet to her friend Mildred.  No historical records for Midred come up in a search, but the house comes up in Google Maps.  Edgewood is actually a neighborhood in Cranston, RI, which Seth MacFarlane states as being the inspiration for Family Guy's fictional setting of Quahog.