A couple of years ago, I wrote of finding an old English bus ticket from 1942, in an old book. If you didn’t read the post, you’ll have to take my word for it because, despite my impressive filing system, I can’t seem to find it.
Like father – like daughter. Recently, LadyRyl picked up an old hard-cover book at a Thrift Store. As she was reading it, out popped an old post card. Anybody remember them??
Isn’t this darling? And isn’t that pile of concrete impressive? It has all the architectural magnificence of a Russian tenement. What a building! You just know that important stuff happens in there every day. Stuff like….merchandise marting. Kind of like the Pentagon of its day.
Here’s the back, where the more interesting, human-interest stuff shows up. It was mailed on Jan. 9, 1946, from Chicago. Who wants to be in Hell-frozen-over Chicago in January? Sent home to Grand Rapids, Michigan – a 185 mile, 3-hour drive these days, but probably most of a day, back before Interstates.
It was sent to ‘Bobby’, but the phrase “be a good girl” says that she was Barbara Jane. It cost a whole penny for the stamp to mail it. Back before ZIP-codes were even a gleam in a bureaucrat’s eye, it was addressed to Ward (8) in Grand Rapids.
The aunt and uncle senders were Val & Al – too cute for words. I don’t think Big Al had much to do with this piece of mail. Aunty says she tried to call Bobby’s father, “but the line was busy.” The entire family seems well enough off to afford a trip to Chicago, and a telephone when most folks didn’t have them. I’m amazed that the phone was busy. Without Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, what could they have had to yak about?
It’s not quite as old as my bus ticket, but it’s further before her birth, than mine was for me. Like me, Ryl is guarding and preserving this piece of historical ephemera. It speaks quietly from the past, of a society and lifestyle, a little more gracious and courteous, and far less crowded and frenetic than the ‘modern’ one we endure today.
What a great find….My breath was momentarily taken away.
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Oh yeah, that’s the apartment building you live in now. No wonder you only get Spanish radio. 😉
I gotta look this one up on a map program, and see if it still exists, and an overhead, and possibly streetside views of it. 🙄
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Still exists today… they even have a website… http://www.mmart.com/
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I found a workaround to the radio snafu…i dont live in the city…..the building survives. It does exist. I worked down the street but no more. Supposedly it was created to say effu chicago…
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Yeah, daughter even found me a website for it.
Glad to hear you’ve got real music, finally. Salsa’s for nachos.
Whatever it says, it still says it LOUD!
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I always notice, on old letters and postcards, that EVERYONE had legible handwriting, could spell, could punctuate, and used proper grammar.
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Those were the days, my friend.
We thought they’d never end.
Wait, that’s just an old song, but sadly, so prophetic. 😛
You should see the wife’s handwriting – boilerplate! Her signature (still occasionally) makes John Hancock ask for a rematch. 😉
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I may have missed the point of your blog, but I too love finding old post cards and notes from the past. I shop garage and estate sales and frequently encounter these. I once bought a box of odds n ends and found a series of postcards between family members who were on vacation out west in the 1940s. It was super enjoyable to read the letters and notes. Thanks for reminding me of these little treasures!
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There was no ‘point’ to the post, except that I found a 1942 British bus ticket, and the daughter found this 1946 postcard in old books, and saved them.
As you say, it’s a treat to read these old treasures, and now I can share them with others, online.
Thanx for the visit and comment. 🙂
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