A recent expert on the subject discussed the use of postcards by our ancestors as documentary proof of travel. Your postcard of Dundee, Iowa, postmarked in Dundee, showed you had actually visited that metropolis. It was a signal to your relatives of your rich experience. I hope that doesn’t make you think I’veContinue reading “On the Road Some More”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Frida Speshul
Once upon a time, there lived a man known to the world as Klarenc Wade Mak. He was born in Fairfield, Iowa in 1861 and was buried in Detroit, Michigan in 1930. Between those two dates, he practiced medicine and published books, sheet music, and (wait for it) postcards in St. Louis, Missouri. Continue reading “Frida Speshul”
Postcards from Tin Pan Alley
We considered in Friday’s column a few series of song postcards, and publishers who brought out lines of postcards devoted strictly to popular songs. Today, we are going to look at a few where the publisher just took a hit song and made a joke of it, knowing the audience would get the reference. Continue reading “Postcards from Tin Pan Alley”
Takin’ What They’re Givin’
I hear unemployment rates are down and businesses are dropping their Cobvid restrictions about having to work from home, so more people than ever are now joyfully springing from their beds on Monday morning to head off to work on a Monday morning. Hooray for not having to loaf around at home in pajamasContinue reading “Takin’ What They’re Givin’”
Sing Me a Song of Postal Significance
Ir has been a while since we took up the question of popular song. This is a subject which is a lot more fun in retrospect. If I say a little ditty from 2010 was popular, I must be challenged by people who tell me it was NOT a “pop song”, that it wasContinue reading “Sing Me a Song of Postal Significance”
Rabbit Hole Bread
All I wanted was the answer to one simple question. I thought it was going to be “This is another product of food corporations hiring Home Economics majors to make up recipes and dates to 1954”. Ah, that might have been possible in the LAST century. But now we have those Interwebs. ByContinue reading “Rabbit Hole Bread”
Eat, Drink, and Be Harried
Ah, Monday: the dawn of a new week, a time for new beginnings, new challenges, new opportunities! And old jokes. We pick up the quiz with another section on Food Jokes, though I think this might also be Diner Jokes or Wait Staff Jokes. Just don’t tell these to your waiter or waitress. Continue reading “Eat, Drink, and Be Harried”
No Crime to Rhyme
I thought we might conclude our consideration of postcard poetry with the ever-popular miscellaneous section. There are always a few postcards which don’t fit in other categories (at least not in my inventory) but which are too good to allow to slide by. The item at the top of this column is, ofContinue reading “No Crime to Rhyme”
A Letter Is Better
There are those of you who are not going to understand a word of this column, But stick with me: I’ll explain. Once upon a time, younglings, we did not have the electronic communications devices of today. There were no computers, so email, texting, tweeting, social media sites, and all that was…no, wait. Continue reading “A Letter Is Better”
Moldy Miscellany
And here we are again, on another Monday, preparing to face the week. What is the one thing you need to be fully prepared? A good breakfast? Aspirin? A few red jellybeans? No, what we need is another old joke quiz? (If you knew the answer already, you are ready for both theContinue reading “Moldy Miscellany”
Blogsy Babbles 