The Great Banyan Tree, Thomas A. Edison Winter Home, Ft. Myers, Fla.

Banyan Tree (Ficus Bengalensis)

Ft. Myers January 29, 1957

Hello Rhea?

Wish you could be here with us.  We are going to the beach to-day.  Just like summer.  What is going on up there any way. 

As ever,

Frank?

Palm N Trailertown

% Bannett

Ft. Myers, Fl

Mrs. Rhea Thomas

210 Pearl St.

Burlington, Vermont

Given to Mr. Edison by Harry Firestone in 1925.  It was brought over from India, growing in a butter tub and was 2” in diameter at that time.  Now over 90 feet in diameter around the trunk.

So basically, some old rich white guy brought an invasive species to his friend, also some old rich white guy, where it thrived.  Now it’s a tourist landmark on the grounds of the supermassive estates where people that live in tiny sheet metal boxes pay money  to see it.  What is going on down there anyway, Frank?

Palm N Trailertown is still listed as an existing trailerpark in Ft. Myers, one of many in the vicinity.

Burlington, Vermont is the largest city in Vermont with a little over 200,000 people, about one third of the population of the entire state.


A Miss Rhea Thomas is mentioned in an archived obituary for a Floyd Thomas, her brother who sided in 1949 at the age of 58.  The house at 210 Pearl Street has been converted into apartments, but is historic enough to be featured on this University of Vermont history website, which states the residence was built in 1885 by a George D. Wright.

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.