November 5, 2024
Author: Ray Hahn
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Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Buying a Postcard, and More – The Editor’s Vacation
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If you are a real, honest-to-goodness curmudgeon you may dislike lighthouses, but the rest of the world does. Lighthouses have histories full of adventure and most have happy endings. Human emotions are raw around lighthouses. We stand in awe. Find a place to relax at a lighthouse and watch the lines of visitors appear.
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All About Books
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From the first book ever written that we know of – The Epic of Gilgamesh to the latest graphic-novel such as The White Bird, books have been indispensable parts of every life lived on earth. Sadly, the world may be on the brink of no longer needing, wanting, or treasuring books. What’s left if books…
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Pea Patch Island – History, Legend, and Postcards
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Those with fantasies about places surrounded by water will love Pea Patch Island, Delaware. Be it an islet or a continent people love going to islands in boats or on planes just for fun. A famous quote from 18th century literature hints that “sleeping on an island is like getting a hug from mother nature.”…
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Professor Cizek’s Juvenile Art Class
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What was George Bernard Shaw thinking when he wrote, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” It has been a thorn in the side of every teacher since it appeared in Man and Superman in 1903. If Shaw had ever met Herr Doktor Franz Cizek, he would never have written such an outlandish insult.…
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The Pageant of Cape Cod
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The tiny little letters that form the signature of an artist are often the inspiration for some thrilling and fascinating research. The letters G – A – Beneker is one that will make you aware of a forgotten individual, but someone who lived a magnificent and amazing life.
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Portugal – Europe’s Best Kept Secret
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From breath-taking scenery to cod-fish dinners, Portugal is a place once-experienced, you will want to visit time and again. The customs and traditions found in every corner of the country prompt the tourist to remember when the qualities of only the best human behaviors were international standards.
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The Tragic End of August J. Bulte
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Researching postcard topics is a never-ending surprise. It started with five postcards advertising sacks of flour and ended when the sole survivor of an airplane crash tells his story to a judge who must adjudicate a legal dispute over a $55,000 estate. It’s all true; you can’t invent stories better than this.
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The Sphinx – the world’s most accomplished witness to history
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When the first native born Egyptian became a professor of Egyptology at the University of Cairo, the world took special notice for Selim Hassan had spent his career attempting to solve the mysteries surrounding the Sphinx – the world’s most accomplished witness to history.
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Edward Tuckerman Potter America’s Episcopal Architect
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An architect famous in our time once said, “When I’m working a project, I never think about beauty, but when I’m finished, if my solution is not beautiful, I know it’s wrong.”
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The Story of Edson Keith
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The end of us means very little when success, hard work, and money are stirred together in a routine called “life” and then disease is added. The life of Edson Keith was like that, but he is remembered for the beauty he created, not the tragic end of his life.
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Minnie Freeman’s Most Notable Day of Teaching
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Every day teachers make personal, financial, and social sacrifices for their students. Most of the world will never so much as say, thank you! The story of Minnie Freeman is different. She said it was duty calling, but she got letters, gifts, and even several marriage proposals. Set your “Way Back Machine” to 1888.
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April 30, 2023, A Fifth Sunday
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Once again the calendar has presented us with a fifth Sunday, which is Postcard History’s prompt to present three histories of three unrelated postcards. This time the topics are a candy advertisement, a long forgotten stage personality, and salt – yes, plain old salt. Happy Fifth Sunday!
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Oh Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
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Music has been called the language of angels, but remember, for all the blessed angels there is an equal number of evil ones. Verdi’s opera, Aida, and Cindy Lauper’s Girl Just Wanna Have Fun are worlds apart, but there are postcards that connect them. Which is blessed and which is evil is the question.
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Desert Plants – Cacti, Date Palms, and Yuccas
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Some would say, “Desert plants should be left in deserts.” “No!” says the gardener who likes low maintenance landscapes. This may be another way to agree that variety is the spice of life. Postcards showing cacti, date palms, and yuccas are very collectible. One recently examined collection contained almost 250 cards.
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Violins
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The masses of the world cannot know the joy of making music, which by every measure is tragic. If, however, your family owned a violin you may have had half-a-chance to play, but it would have required endless hours of practice. For those who did play an instrument, postcards became a way to tell the…
