My mother made it a point to always mail family and friends, postcards, whenever she traveled. I kept a few of these cards to pass on to my grandchildren. This was quite common back in the day, but not as many people have followed through on the tradition these days. It’s much like Christmas cards.
The featured postcard in this writing is one from the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It shows a building called The Watch Tower. I remember this structure from visiting the place almost 38 years ago, and I was quite impressed with it. The tower was very busy, and we had to wait in line to go in. The rock and steel structure is also known as Desert View Watchtower and Indian Watchtower.
The late Jimi Hendrix had a hit song called “All Along The Watchtower.” Released in 1968, yet written in 1966 by Bob Dylan, this was some 48 years after the Grand Canyon tower was constructed.
I doubt this song was written about Dylan’s visit to the national monument, but he did spend considerable time in the state, living in Scottsdale with his wife. Some say that the tune has Biblical meaning, with Isaiah 21:5-9, mentioning such a dwelling. “Watchtower” is also the name of a magazine published by the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization.
The Grand Canyon tower was conceived by Mary Holter, an employee of the Fred Harvey Company. It was completed in 1932, becoming a major attraction to park visitors. It was designed by Mary Holter to resemble an ancient Puebloan watchtower, but the overall size is much smaller than the real thing.
Today, the lower floor is a gift shop, while the upper is designed for tourists to take in the spectacular view. Millions of visitors over the years have visited this structure and undoubtedly came away awestruck. The canyon itself had a lot to do with that.
Someone named Henri visited the Grand Canyon in 1947. He mailed this postcard to The Waxman’s in Kansas City, Missouri. As I always try to do with addressed and cancelled postmark cards. I attempt to track down the sender and recipient, with it not always being easy.
In this case, the recipients were Meyer & Fannie Waxman. They lived at 2404 E. 29th Street in Kansas City. I can visualize Meyer retrieving the card from his mailbox, with Fannie reading it out loud to her husband.
“Sunday
El Tovar Hotel
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Hi
Am staying here longer so send me a line soon
Have a sun tan already
Having such a wonderful time
Love Henri”
Afterwards, the Waxmans talked about how they should visit Arizona before getting too old. Maybe they already had? It was only 9 years after getting the card that Meyer died in 1956. Fannie outlived him another 41 years, living to be 103.
Unfortunately, for now, Henri will have to remain a mystery in my postcard history.
I like to write junk... 