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The International Eucharistic Congress
A history and postcardsNo Comments
Meeting people at postcard shows is part of collecting. And not surprisingly part of meeting others is having them talk about their collection. The last time it happened, my new friend told me about her collection of cards from eucharistic congresses.
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The French Orphans of World War I
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“The War to End all Wars” is what the pundits called World War I. That war also generated millions of stories. Many were recited many times, others were never talked about. Death, destruction, ruin of the landscape and man’s achievements are hard to reconcile, but this tale ends with salvation for a whole generation. Happily!
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The Admiral and the Merry Widow
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An American Navy admiral and a very wealthy Pontevedrian widow are certainly two characters that would seem to be a colossal mismatch. However, when a postcard is added to this story of patriotism, romance, and opera everything cyclones into a fabulous story. Enjoy!
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Maryknoll
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Maryknollers are members of an American and Catholic missionary society founded in the early 20th century. They are dedicated to missionary service. Maryknollers have a long and storied history of promoting peace and understanding. Postcards help tell their story.
News and
Noteworthy
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Remembering Sandy Millns by Susan Brown Nicholson
Every postcard show or club knows the names John and Sandy Millns. Together they spent decades buying and selling to the postcard world.
Sandy went to the University of Toledo and became a kindergarten teacher. I felt those skills made her a great postcard dealer. She remembered everyone by name, their kid’s names, and what they collected. She would have the postcard album pulled out and waiting as the person approached her booth.
She married John Millns, several years her senior, and helped raise his five children. Over the years, Sandy often helped those children with cars, college tuition, and homes, whatever they needed. John, also graduated from the University of Toledo, served in the US Army, and held jobs in Insurance and Real Estate. He was 50 years old when he and Sandy started collecting and selling postcards. They were known internationally in the postcard world. In fact, postcards were a way of life for them. John would buy a new van nearly every year having put over 100,000 miles on them traveling all over the United States to all the postcard shows. They also made many European trips to buy cards.
One time my husband on the way to work asked me “do we know the people in the guest bedroom? I said we must if they are sleeping” It was Sandy and John. They were on their way home to Ohio from a postcard show and were too tired to make it, so pulled over and came into my home at 2am.
After John passed away in 2005, Sandy’s eagerness to continue with postcards went on as well as shopping for a good deal in thrift stores and auctions. She had an Antique Mall booth that she very much enjoyed visiting and maintaining.
Sandy was in the hospital for several days as her kidneys were failing, they had her on comfort care and she passed away Wednesday, March 27th 2024 at 79 years old. Almost immediately the word had spread coast to coast. Many of you have emailed your memories to me and I thank you for those thoughts. Sandy was fun to be with at any time. She had a great laugh and fun thoughts. She would read books while driving those long boring stretches across the Midwest. There was not a puzzle she did not like; in fact she enjoyed all games. Most recently, after moving into assisted living, she was playing bridge and bingo again with great joy. She and John were married on the 13th so her lucky number was 13 and she collected any postcard with 13 on it.
Sandy will be missed by many all over the world. Now Sandy, go find John and get the shows ready for the rest of us. For those of us still here, say hello to your best postcard friend and share memories with them as often as you can.
Past Article
There was a time when Saturday night bathing was routine. It was a time when the expression, “cleanliness is next to Godliness” was important for Sunday at church was the time when most of us were closest to God. The soap we used really didn’t matter, but at times, it sure felt like sandpaper. Surely, you remember! If not, here is a postcard reminder.
Postcard History is a free online magazine dedicated to vintage and historic picture postcards and the many stories associated with them. We feature richly illustrated articles designed to both inform and entertain postcard collectors and history buffs. We also provide the most comprehensive listing of forthcoming shows around. And there’s a rich trove of links to institutional and personal online postcard collections. There’s also a comprehensive, verified listing of active postcard clubs in the U. S. and Canada, which we’re working on expanding worldwide.