Cocoanut Palm in Miami, Fla.

Millboro, Mass. September 7, 1962

Sept. 5 ‘62

Hello Carrie,

We are up here for a short while.  Hope you get a chance to come see us.

Love,

The Lincolns

Miss Carrie L. Dudley

693 Hill St.

Whitinsville, Mass


I hope they got the chance to come see the Lincolns too!

Whitinsville, Massachusetts is an unincorporated village on the Mumford River, primarily known as a mill town throughout it's history.  The house where Miss Dudley lived cannot be seen on GoogleStreetView, but the address is on a winding Hill Street just outside the Historic District.  The SSDI lists a Carrie Dudley passing in 1980, but the Worcester County Land Deeds Registry shows two land transfer records from 1977 and 1978 for two properties with different addresses, one on Hill St.  It also shows she was unmarried at the time of transfer, which likely means she had no children.

As far as the ubiquitous (in south Florida) Cocoanut Palm,  it may not be a native plant.  Since its seeds can float and disperse for long periods, it's very likely to have naturally migrated to Florida where it can be seen as far north at Stuart on the east coast and Punta Gorda on the west.  There's a Monty Python joke in here somewhere...

Band Concert in Bayfront Park, Miami, Florida

Bayfront Park, famed as a showplace of tropical landscaping, is on the shore of Bay Biscayne, along the southern terminus of Biscayne Boulevard.  From conveniently placed benches under palm trees, one may gaze across Biscayne Bay, while enjoying daily free band concerts.

Miami, Fla. February 14, 1941

Dear Olga:-

I am down here for a while to get away from the cold.  It is just lovely now.

Anna Rorke?

Mrs. Olga Minor

174 Wentworth Ave.

Edgewood, R. I.

Yet another postcard from Bayfront Park, which I detailed in yesterday's post.  Here's a great essay if you wish to know more about the park.

I've also detailed Edgewood, Rhode Island in an earlier post.  The suburb of Cranston is home to many beautiful old houses, and Mrs. Minor's house at 174 Wentworth is no exception.  Zillow lists the property, built in 1920, sold in 2006, but the Providence County Property Appraisers website lists no records.  Nor are there any records for an Olga Minor is the SSDI.  Strange.  

Biscayne Boulevard and Bayfront Park, Miami, Florida

Bay Front Park completed in 1928 at ta cost of $2,500,000.  It is a haven of dense tropical foliage and blooming plants with many varieties of palms.  Almost the entire area, 62 acres, is reclaimed land.  It has a band shell where, throughout the year, concerts draw large crowds.  Beautiful Biscayne Boulevard starts at this point.

Miami Beach, Fla., March 8, 1937

3/6/37

Hello girls,

Having a swell time.  Wish you all could be here with us.  Its very hot here today.

Love, Helen

Misses Tillie, Anna and Evelyn

300 W. Madison St.

Baltimore, Md.

Helen’s having such a swell time that she forgot to get this card to the post office for two whole days!

SInce there are no surnames on this very old postcard, it's hard to find the identity of the sender or the recipients, who if they were children in 1936, could possibly still be living today.  The property at 300 W. Madison St. is across from the Maryland General Hospital, and could possibly be one of the two older buildings, but Baltimore County online records do not go back that far.  Plus, if the buildings were apartments, rather than single family structures, there would be no rental records accessible from my laptop.    

However, Bayfront Park is still around, and its Klipsch Amphitheater (which is the second replacement for the original structure) has hosted concerts by Manu Chau, Gloria Estefan, and the annual Miami JazzFest in November.  The entire park was renamed in the 1980's for Mildred and Claude Pepper, the long tenured Democratic congressman from south Florida.  

Federal Building and Post Office, Miami, Florida

Miami, Fla February 4, 1950

Sat.  

Dear Emma,

We came down here yesterday.  Martin & I drove down, stayed Tues.  It’s a long drive & I was tired when we arrived.  Its real warm here like our summers up home.  It’s a busy city and I am afraid too much traffic to suit me. 

Sincerely,

Ruth Burke

Miss Emma L. Ruth

E. Front St.

Lititz, Lanc. Co.

Pa.


Lititz, Pennsylvania was founded as a Moravian Church settlement in 1756 by Count Nicolas von Zizendorf, a figure in the renewal of the church in the 18th century.   Lititz has about 9,000 people today, so one would think it would be fairly easy to find an obituary for Ms. Emma Ruth, or some other record.    However, the state of Pennsylvania lists an old nursing license for Ruth Burke, so she would have been an excellent choice to make the pre-Interstate drive from Pennsylvania to Miami.

The Federal Courthouse pictured on the card was built in 1931.  Located at 300 Northeast 1st Avenue, the now named David Dwyer Federal Courthouse is still the largest limestone building in south Florida.  The Post Office left the building in 1976, but it is still used for Federal courts and offices.  If you're in Miami, follow Ruth Burke and check out the Mediterranean Revival building!

Scene on Island Waterway between Palm Beach and Miami, Fla.

Palm Beach, Fla, December 15, 1942

Dear Feverfew:-

Greetings from Florida once more- guess it will be for the last season until the war is over so we must make the most of it.  We are at Trailer Garden, W. Palm Beach for the winter and like it here.  Friendly people and a very pretty small camp.  Husband’s sister and her husband are at Lake Worth, seven miles from here, I a home so we shall be with them at Christmas as usual.  We go there for Sun. dinner usually, the only driving we do.  I can if weather is right, walk to shopping center about 1 ½ miles.  The open beach is probably ½ mile further across Lake Worth. 

Best Wishes,

Wanderer

Mrs. Etta Briggs

Pratt St.

Halifax, Mass.


Wistful musings about the war being over from a tin can tourist.  With gas rationing during the war, visitors to Florida found their journeys limited, if they could travel to Florida at all.  The Trailer Garden may still exist, given the rough directions that our Wanderer provides us.  

Etta Briggs was born in 1877 and died at the age of 91 in Halifax, Massachusetts.  The town of 7,000 people has a historical commission, so I have contacted them to shed any more light on Ms. Briggs and perhaps her mysterious "wanderer."

The Walking Ring and Clubhouse at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, Florida

Miami, Fla.  February 20, 1954

Dear Patch-  Have just sent cards to my other furry friends (your Va. Cousins)  tried to find appropriate cards, so even though you’re a bit  young to follow the horses, thought those trees might interest you- or do you still prefer the rugs?

Master “Patches” Miller

c/o Ruth Ann Miller

R.D. #3

Lebanon, Penna.

The question that troubles me is the identity of “Patches.”  I’m guessing that “Patches” is an animal of some sort, and the sender of this postcard has transcended into full dementia, believing that this animal is truly interested in playing the horses over urinating on trees and carpets, unlike her other furry friends in Virginia. 

Lebanon, PA is a town of about 25,000 people today.  Ruth Ann Miller is a fairly common name, so a precise record of her living (or her death) in Lebanon is hard to pinpoint.  R.D. #3 is a curious abbreviation, and looking it up on Google Maps points to a Home Depot just outside of town.

Flamingos and Nests at Hialeah Park, Miami, Fla.

The famous flock of flamingos of Hialeah Park is always a centre of interest to all visitors.  This family was recently increased by 62 young birds which were hatched and are being reared in this flock.  The scene illustrated shows adult birds and their mud and grass nests.  Several eggs may be seen.

Hialeah, Fla. December 31, 1945

Dear Gramp

I saw these flamingos through a powerful looking glass.  They are really pretty.

Love Cindy

Mr. H. J. Taylor

556 W. Chestnut Street

Lancaster, Pa

Let's add these words:  “…on my rifle.”  “…and tasty.”  Love Cindy.

The flamingo is a native species of South Florida.  And is actually consumed as a delicacy in some Caribbean countries and India.  There are plenty of recipes on the internet, though finding flamingo meat might be a challenge.

The house at 556 W. Chestnut Street, built in 1890 still stands.  Unfortunately, the Lancaster County Online Property records do not go back far enough to show any activity regarding the property.  And in a city of 500,000 people, the surname Taylor is fairly common.  

Roney Plaza Hotel, as Viewed From Collins Park, Miami Beach, Florida

Roney Plaza Hotel as Viewed from Collins Park, Miami Beach, Florida

Miami’s hotels are unsurpassed by any throughout the entire world.  The Roney Plaza, surely one of the most palatial ever built is one of Florida’s proud boasts.  Its setting of tropical palm and flowers glowing with color invite to rest and play in the warm winter sun.

Postmarked Miami, Fla. November 15, 1937

623 NE 83 St. Miami, Fla

Dear Folks

Will hear we are in the sun shine and flowers it has been a lovely week not to warm and we hve been as buisy as bees are pretty well straitened out now wish you could be hear

Love from Hon Sue

Mr. & Mrs Harry Post

393 South Main St.

Farmingdale, L.I. N.Y.


Roney Plaza was demolished in 1962 to make way for what the Miami New Times called a monstrosity of a building.  The address given in Miami is home to a sunglasses distributor.  And the lumber business owned by the Post family in Farmingdale is now an expansion parking lot for the funeral home next door.

However, in addition to yesterday's find of Gladys Post, a possible descendant/contempory, it looks like Harry Post was an amateur roller skater back in 1955!

Bathers Under the Palms on Miami Beach, Fla.

A Daily Beach Scene- in January or July

Postmarked Miami, Fla.

October 20, 1936

Dear Lottie glades Harry

Don’t this make you feel like taking a dip.  I guess not up thair but it does down hear.  I am pretty buisey getting things straightened up.  We had a fine trip although it rained most all the time on the road.  Love From Hon Sue?

Mr. and Mrs. Harry Post

393 South Main St.

Farmingdale, L.I. N.Y.


Two changes to the Post Family-  first, we notice that Harry now has a wife, or at least one worth addressing.  Second, we have an address.  Unfortunately, the house was demolished years ago to provide a parking lot for the McCourt and Trudden Funeral Home.  Perhaps they performed the services for the owner of the house they would eventually consume.

Indian Creek, Miami Beach, FL

Indian Creek, Miami BeachMany luxurious homes border on this tropical waterway.  Over its smooth surface Gar Wood races his famous “Miss Americas”

Miami, Fla January 23, 1944

Pvt. D. E. Phelps

912^th Tr. Gp. Sq. 121 Flt A

AAF Training Center #1

Miami Beach, Fla

1/23/44

Dear Dad,

Haven’t got time to write a letter home today.  I’m trying to get caught up on both my letter writing and sleep.  We had a big parade & review this afternoon.  By the sun was hot and in a parade you can’t wear sun glasses.  Well take it easy.  I’ll write later.

Love, Dan

Mr. H.S. Phelps

54 Willow Ave

W. Somerville, Mass

Notice that this postcard is without a stamp, and our Private Phelps auspiciously wrote “FREE” where the stamp should go?  That’s how we won WWII, through audacious acts such as this, and writing “FREE” everywhere our troops went in Europe and the Pacific.

Private Phelps was part of Army Air Forces 5th district, activated in 1943, headquarters in Miami Beach.  In addition to training U.S. pilots, the center trained Royal Air Force pilots as part of the lend-lease agreement with Great Britain.  The 912th Training Group was a squadron of refueling planes that saw plenty of action in support of bombers in World War 2, and is still active today.  

What became of Private Dan Phelps is a mystery.  The town of Somerville, first settled in 1630, has about 75,000 people.  The Middlesex County Registry of Deeds goes back to 1974, and the only listing for a Phelps in Somerville is a 1993 bankruptcy for someone who may or may not be a direct descendant.  Thankfully, the National Archives List of Army and Air Force World War Two Casualties lists an Ernest Phelps, so as far as I can tell, Dan survived long enough to go back to his home on 54 Willow St.

The "TOTE" Board at Hialeah Park Race Track, Miami, Florida

WHAT’S THE ODDS- The smart “hoss players” remain behind the stands to watch the early pre-race betting odds before placing their bets.  This tote board is one of the most popular spots at beautiful Hialeah Race Track just outside Miami.

Miami, March 28, 1951

Bonjour!

(French)

Again with the French!  The TOTE Board, or Taking Only The Easy.  Talking Over Trash Exits.   Trailers On The Effluent.  Trans-Orbital Tank Engine.  The Opposition Thanks Everyone.

Beautiful Hialeah Race Track is still around.  Built in 1925, the race track has featured many famous thoroughbreds such as Seabiscuit and Citation, been visited by the likes of Frank Sinatra and John F. Kennedy, and was the setting for the movies The Champ and Let It Ride.

I'm not even going to begin to transcribe the French on the postcard.  Anyone read French?

The Sausage Tree, Miami, Florida

Sausage Tree (Kigella Pinatta), Native of AfricaThis strange tree fruit closely resembling huge bologna sausages is the Mecca of Metropolitan Miami sightseers.

Miami Beach, FL  June 3, 1948

Hello Katie Dear,

We are having such a lovely vacation. 

Wouldn’t this tree come in handy if we have a meat shortage?

Mabel

Miss K. Olsen

129 W 11^th Street

Davenport, Iowa

Yes, Mabel.  A meat tree would be great for a meat shortage, but so would elderly Florida winter residents.  Solyent Green, baby!

Again, we have a featured area attraction based on invasive species.  “Ha, ha, crazy African tree…it looks like bologna- where did all our native plants go?” The sausage tree, or Kigella Pinatta, produces fruit that is unpalatable for humans, but there are recent studies exploring the possibility of using the plant's bark to treat amoebic infections.

Davenport is a fairly large city and filled with many Olsens, whether they be Katie’s or Katherine’s.  The house at 129 W. 11^th Street is still standing, but the property built in 1900 apparently has no records in the time frame provided by the Scott County Recorders Office. 

Colorful Macaws, Parrot Jungle, Miami, Fla.

Miami Beach, August 20, 1956

How do you like these parrots, bet you like your parakeet better.

Regards, love?

Uncle Gio?  Eunuch Gro?

Miss Anita Lennar? Lemar?

2984 Westbrook Ave

Cincinnati, Ohio

"So tropical is south Florida the wild parrots live in the hammocks and get along as well as native birds."

So tropical is south Florida that wild invasive species get along just fine with native fauna as they edge them out of their established ecosystems.  If you live, or have ever visited the suburbs of south Florida, you may see wild macaws comfortably establishing themselves as in this YouTube video.  Basically, “Eunuch Gro” is right- the parakeet is better.

The house at 2984 Westbrook Ave is still standing.  According to the Hamilton County Auditor's Office (fun fact- the auditor's name is Dusty Rhodes), the structure was built in 1952 and sold in 2003.  Thanks to “Uncle Glo’s” spastic script it is hard to determine Miss Anita’s surname, but given she is referred to as a “Miss” in 1956, it is fully conceivable she is still alive as of this writing.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

Beautiful Water Liles

Miami, Fla, March 18, 1948

Florida sure is a beautiful place.  If you ever get a chance to see it don’t miss it.  I haven’t had a chance to take many pictures, at a lot of places cameras aren’t allowed.

Minerva

Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Good

West Main St.

New Holland, Pa.

Oh, Minerva.  The 1% don’t want your plebian camera taking pictures of their estates.  But points for a slogan that the Florida Visitors Bureau would love_ “If you ever get a chance to see it, don’t miss it.”

New Holland, PA is a borough of about 5,000 people founded in 1728 by Germans in what would become Pennsylvania's Amish Country.  They have a vibrant historical society, as do most Northeastern towns and boroughs.  Thankfully, the name Woodrow Good is an unusual name, and there's a few clues on the internet as to his identity:

From the Internet Archive, a transcribed (no photos) yearbook from William Jennings Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee shows a member of the 1955 Sophomore Class named Woodrow Good, sponsored by a Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Good.  This would suggest that Junior was home when the folks got this card from Minerva.

Three years earlier, the Indiana (PA) Evening Gazette listed at newspaperarchive.com lists a Woodrow Good as a 4-h Club winner in the Livestock Competition at the State Fair.  This would seem to solidify the existence of the Good's son.

In 1974, the Reading Eagle (archived at GoogleNewspapers) announces the retirement of a Woodrow Good, who started working at Sperry's New Holland branch as a truck driver in 1941.  So now we know where Mr. Good worked.  That might be why Minerva is so paranoid about the camera situation.

Lastly, and more mysterious, I keep getting a hit on paid "people search" sites of a 99 year-old Woodrow Good still living in New Holland, PA.  If Mr. Good is still living, and if this is the same Mr. Good, he would have been born around 1913, starting his job in his late thirties, and retiring in his early seventies.  There's a handful of age-appropriate Woodrow Goods that could be the son, but until the New Holland Historical Society replies, his identity is still just conjecture.

Entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Course, between Hollywood and Miami, Fla.

Entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Course, between Hollywood and Miami, Fla.

Miami, FL February 3, 1949

Dear Steven,

If everything goes well, you and grammie will be down here next year.  Mommie misses you.

Love Mommie

Master Steven Westberry

North Jay, Maine

This postcard is most poignant and powerful- a mother, separated from her son and mother, working hard in south Florida to bring them both down to join her efforts to make a new life for them.  

Gulfstream Park has been a venue for horse racing since 1939.  The track is home to the $1million Florida Derby, and has expanded recently to include gaming.  On a political note, the park is a major player in Florida , having contributed over $500,000 to Florida's politicians in the 2010 cycle alone, to further expand their casino.  They've also undergone some impressive renovations and additions to the historic property, and have included shopping, bars and restaurants- it's worth the trip, even if you aren't into gambling or racing!

The little town of Jay, Maine was founded in 1795 along the banks of the Androscoggin river, and named for John Jay, the first U.S. Supreme Court Justice.  Like most small towns in New England, there is an historical society, as well as a museum chronicling Jay's history as a paper manufacturing center.  

As to the identities of the sender and recipient, the first page on a Google search yielded this post on a genealogy forum from 10 years ago.  I'll post it in its entirety so you can share the same anticipation as I did:

hi! my name is steven charles westberry. my dad came from maine.he is somehow not in touch with any westberry's from there. my grandmothers name is jacquelyn. i am not even sure what my real grandfathers name was. i guess there was a divorce or something that my dad and grandmother never want to talk about but i stumbled onto this site and am wondering about you guys. if anyone has any information
i would be very greatful if you would drop me a line.   well if anybody is reading this i have two children. a boy (5) and girl (3).I would like to tell them about the westberry family but dont have any info.

please help,

thank you,
steven charles westberry jr

I immediately contacted Mr. Westberry, Jr. about this card, so excited that I did so before posting this.  He has responded, and I'll be back with an update on the story for all of you.

UPDATE:  Mr. Westberry, Jr. has informed me that his father was 4 years old when he received this card, and is still alive.   I'm sending him his father's card, so I'll be back with another update!