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Past Post: Denny-Blaine Park 1912

June 6th, 2008 @ 1:31 am by Cliffe | Sorted Past Postborder
Past Postcard today is showing Denny-Blaine Park in 1912. It was originally donated to the city by Charles Denny and Elbert Blaine, the latter having served as Seattle Parks Commissioner from 1902 to 1908. If you go today you can find a stone wall that marks the original shoreline pre-1917, when Lake Washington sank nine feet due to the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Go ahead, click on the thumbnails. Now that’s some nice calligraphy on the back — who can decode it?
denny_blaine_01_front
1743 — A Scene in Denny-Blaine Park, Seattle, Washington.
denny_blaine_02_back
Postcard sent to West Toledo, Ohio 1912.
dennypostcarddeciphered
Postcard detective work sent in by Gabi Campanario.

7 Responses:

  1. leah wrote:

    here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

    Dear ______,
    Your beautiful postal was received some time ago. many thanks for same. I suppose you are going to school now every day. We are still here working for that striped Uncle Sam and are kept quite busy at times. How is Uncle and Auntie hope they are both well as it ________ Henry and myself I am your ______ (”favorite”?)
    we’re having nice weather at present. 2110 Grand Blvd. Lois H Engeles

  2. Madrona wrote:

    This is what I can decipher, below. I kept the line breaks so hopefully someone else can fill in what I missed. It actually looks similar to my grandmother’s handwriting, but it was difficult to read at the bottom when Louis ran out of space.

    To:
    Miss Esther Worden.
    182 Peak Ave.
    West Toledo.
    Ohio.

    Message:
    Seattle, Wash. Oct. 11 - 12.
    Dear cousin: your beautiful
    postal was received some
    time ago, many thanks
    for same. I suppose you
    are going to school now
    every day. We are still here
    working for that striped Uncle
    Sam, and are kept quite
    busy at times. How is
    Uncle & Auntie hope they are
    both well as it [learest?] Henry
    and myself. I am your [?]
    are having nice weather at present.
    2110 Grand Blv’d. Louis H. Engels

  3. didi wrote:

    Striped Uncle Sam? Black and white, working in a chain gang kind of stripes?

  4. gabi campanario wrote:

    The spacing between lines is off at the bottom of the text, which makes me think that Miss Esther was going to finish up the postcard with this words…

    How is
    Uncle & Auntie hope they are
    both well

    I am your cousin
    Louis H. Engels

    …then decided to add something else writing it between the previous lines

    as it leaves ( the postcard ) Henry
    and myself are having nice weather at present

  5. gabi campanario wrote:

    oops, in my message I should have said Louis, not Miss Esther, on the second line. all that hard deciphering messed me up ;)

  6. Cliffe wrote:

    Nice, Madrona & Gabi.

    Also just posted Gabi’s postcard CSI work.

    Cliffe

  7. matt wright wrote:

    Cool postcard. Would be good to try and snap a shot from that location now, if it is possible.

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