Kind of on the subject of picnics, I wanted to share with you a picture postcard from 1913. I found it at a flea market in northern Ohio several years ago. It was just so intriguing, full of people who are all long dead, but they’ve been having so much fun, because they’re having a picnic meal together out in the woods somewhere.
Maybe it’s a family reunion. I understand that people used to get together in the teens and twenties for camping trips. Photographers often brought their equipment with them into the woods and made picture postcards for everyone. Sue read about it in old issues of American Photography magazine (she went through a period of reading a bunch of issues of it from the early 1900s). (You can find issues online.)
The card is from “Mamma,” who apparently lived in Milan, Ohio, but was on a trip to Clare, Michigan; she sent it to her daughter, Mrs. Henry Link, who lived in Bellevue, Ohio. I'm providing a transcription of the simple message, below.
Clair, Michigan, was probably a nice, cool place to go camping in August 1913.
One of the nice things about digital images is that you can zoom in on stuff and see things without having to use a magnifying glass and squint. So I’m providing some closeups for you, so you can enjoy this picture better.
To Mrs. Henry Link
Bellevue, Ohio
R. D. No. 3
Postmark: Clare, Mich., 7 PM 18 Aug 1913
Clare [Michigan] 8.18.1913
Dear Daughter
Earns came today we expect to start tomorrow for Milan can’t tell just when we will get home. We have had rain yesterday north of hear it rained very hard the rain just divided & went around we are all well hope you are getting along all right you can call Rob & tell him
Lovingly, Mamma
Posts
