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
?
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| 1743 — A Scene in Denny-Blaine Park, Seattle, Washington. |
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| Postcard sent to West Toledo, Ohio 1912. |
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| Postcard detective work sent in by Gabi Campanario. |
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
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
Striped Uncle Sam? Black and white, working in a chain gang kind of stripes?
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
oops, in my message I should have said Louis, not Miss Esther, on the second line. all that hard deciphering messed me up
Nice, Madrona & Gabi.
Also just posted Gabi’s postcard CSI work.
Cliffe
Cool postcard. Would be good to try and snap a shot from that location now, if it is possible.