I’ve come across many postcards that were never stamped, thus they were never sent through regular mail. Someone either hand-carried a card to the recipient, or it was never delivered. In one of these cases, the sender was killed standing outside a post office. Archived newspaper accounts from back then prove this.
One unique card I came across made me chuckle out loud, especially after researching the sender and recipient. It took significant time and research just to decipher the names, as the sender’s handwriting is shaky at most.
The front of the postcard shows a man sitting at a small table with a towel wrapped around his head. It appears he’s in great pain. A bottle of what appears to be wine is seen on the table along with a glass. Underneath the picture, printed by the postcard manufacturer, the following statement is written: The Morning After. Underneath that in smudged ink, most likely written by the sender, “Has 7 glasses.”
The card is addressed to C.E. Owen in Frankfort, Kansas. The sender goes by the initials, E.J.H. Cephas E. Owen is the name of the recipient, while Eliza Jane Harp was the sender. Both Frankfort residents were senior citizens, with Eliza in her late 80s at the time she wrote her shaky message. Eliza composed her letter in reply to one that Cephas sent her. I transcribed things exactly as written.
“Dear Friend – the card you sent me I did not need to keep your memory because it was certinly all sight first. Regards from one and all again thank, E.J.H.”
Cephas was around 65 when he received it. I make these age assumptions based upon Eliza’s death on November 17, 1909. The card had to have been written up to that time.
Records indicate that Cephas Owen attended the Presbyterian Church in Frankfort, while Eliza Harp worshipped at a Methodist Church. This postcard would’ve been considered risqué or offensive by some church members, yet I tend to believe Eliza or Cephas’ ministers would’ve seen candor in it, especially being sent from an almost 90-year-old woman. I know my pastor would think so today.
Eliza had a sense of humor much like my wife. Joleen loves to send funny cards to family and friends, especially certain cousins, during birthdays. Eliza Harp’s friend, Cephas, must’ve thought the postcard funny; otherwise, it wouldn’t have survived.
For me, this card proves that not all old folks back in the day were stick-in-the-mud or fuddy-duddy, as people often think. They were smart enough to know, “Laughter is the best medicine!” It worked for both of these Frankfort residents as they each lived a full life.
I like to write junk... 