A View of Lake Eola Bandshell and Downtown Orlando

A view of the Lake Eola Bandshell and downtown Orlando, Florida.

postmarked February 25, 1984, Orlando FL

Dear Marion and Fred

Little cool today- 75 degrees.  Went shopping in Altamonte Mall.  After lunch at "Denny's" in Longwood.  Bought a steak for supper Saturday and a roast for Sunday.  Will be coming home as planned 3/11/84.  Miss you both- nice to get back home.  Wrote most all of my cards.  See you next week.  Hope Fred feels better.

Love, Betty

Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick Blokland

218 Bullard Street

Holden, Mass. 01520

Here's a great view of downtown Orlando with a few less high rise condos and one less Suntrust Center, which was built 4 years after this postcard was sent.  According to Wikipedia, Denny's had expanded into all 50 states in 1981, almost 30 years after its 1953 California beginnings, so Betty's air-quotes around Denny's may actually denote the newfound Florida presence of the restaurant chain.  Altamonte Mall had been open for ten years, so I guess Betty didn't feel the need to introduce the concept to the Bloklands.  

Speaking of the Bloklands, Frederick and Marion Blokland bought the property at 218 Bullard in 1951, where they live until Frederick's death from cardiac arrest in 1989.  Shortly thereafter, Marion moved to Lake Orion, Michigan, where she still is today at the age of 93.  They had at least one son, Frederick, Jr. who still lives in the town of Holden, so perhaps we'll be able to find out who Betty was!

(Big thanks to the Worcester County Reigstry of Deeds, who has a great public records search!) 

My 1985 Delta Airlines Flight

postmarked Tampa, FL August 6, 1985

Delta Air Lines

The wide-bodied Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, a 302-passenger airplane powered by three Rolls-Royce RB211-22B engines, has a cruising speed of over 500 miles per hour and a range of over 2475 statute miles.  Three pilots and nine flight attendants make up the TriStar crew.

Dear Mr. Vierday,

We hope you enjoyed your first trip by air.  It has been a pleasure to have you aboard Delta for your first flight and we hope to see you on many other Delta flights in the future.

Delta Air Lines

Mr. Darren Vierday

7910 N. Orleans

Tampa, FL 33604

So yes, Delta Airlines sent me this card after my first trip on an airplane.  I was 12 years old, and flew up to Nashville, TN to spend a month with my cousins who lived in Lynnville, TN about an hour south.  I wore a suit and tie, as I still do when going some place where I need to wear a suit.  I had a full meal with real silverware, and sat about three rows in front of the smoking section.   I remember looking out the window and feeling simultaneously very small observing my city from the air and very big embarking on what would be the first of many flights in my life.  

The house at 7910 N. Orleans still stands.  It was built in 1976 by Roy Vierday (my father) and sold in 2002.  Since then, it has been remodeled and painted, looking nothing like the house where I packed for my first airline trip. 

Ironically, I never flew Delta again.  This was not a conscious choice, it just worked out that way.  As a coincidence, my mother just flew from Nashville on a Delta flight, so their postcard did inspire some brand loyalty.  

Colonial Plaza's new MIllion Dollar Air-Conditioned Shopping Mall

Colonial Plaza’s new Million Dollar Air Conditioned Shopping Mall.  The largest in the South.

Color:  Jack McCullom, Orlando

Sister Bay, WI, August 10, 1981

Dear Lauretta & Red

A whole week gone already.  Got here fine & enjoying every day even tho we aren’t doing much.  Played bridge with the neighbors & also had the Shrevenbergers? over for dinner & they had us over last nite.  Had a terrific storm last nite & it rained almost all day today.  They need it here.

Thanks again for every thing.

Mr. & Mrs. F Neidelbach

926 W. MacArthur

Eau Claire, Wis. 54701

Since you can barely make out the circle over the writing that was probably an Orlando postmark, I’m going to assume that the Sister Bay, WI postmark was a receiving one, and not a failed attempt by the anonymous writer to fool our friends Lauretta and Red Neidelbach into thinking that she was braving the oppressive Orlando summer. 

It’s ironic that the dry summer was noticeable, since a week after this postcard was received, Hurricane Dennis brought significant rainfall as it traveled north along the entire Florida peninsula.

For longtime residents of Orlando,  Colonial Plaza Mall was the mall, (actually until 1973 it was the only mall.)  Other malls opened, and the property was sold to a development company that built the outdoor shopping center, Colonial Plaza Market Place by tearing down most of the mall's structure, including iconic Orlando restaurant Ronnie's.

Eau Claire, Wisconsin is a city of about 65,000 people.  It's hard to tell if the little house at 926 W. MacArthur is still standing from Google Streetview, and there is little evidence of a Neidelbach, or Neiderbach residing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  Since the card isn't that old, it is conceivable that someone knows the recipients, or someone is still playing bridge with the Shevenbergers in sunny Orlando.

Aerial View of Lido and Bird Keys on Beautiful Sarasota Bay Florida

June 7, 1983

Dear Lorna,

We enjoyed spending some time with you.  We’re having a nice time here at Lido Beach.  Our condo is at the far end by trees, see other side of card.  Karen, Rick and Bailey were here with us for a week. 

Getting a nice tan, relaxing and eating good.

Doris and Dick

Mrs. L.F. Powell

P.O. Box 904

Edgewater, FL 32032

Lido Beach is just south of Longboat Key in Sarasota, FL.  Both are known for sugary-sand beaches and, if you believe Wikipedia, a "seasonal night club scene."  

I enjoy seeing how Doris and Dick marked their condo with an "x," just to Mrs. Lorna Powell in Edgewater.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Powell only has a Post Office Box, and a quick White Pages search turns up no records for her.  Maybe someone in Florida knows her.  Maybe somewhere in Florida Doris and Dick are planning another week with Karen, Rick and Bailey.  It's only been 29 years.

In a way, this mystery is a fitting start to this blog.  Five fairly standard sentences that typify a Florida Post Card, complete with a treasure map with an "x" on the front, and the only people that have any clue of what that week in 1983 meant were the writers and recipient of this card.  The conceivable fact that these folks might very well still be living accentuates it.