Parks & Recreation - When My Tan Wears Out

1910s, Architecture, Buildings & Architecture, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Unknown, Sent To: Unknown, Sights Collection, Subject: No Specific Location, Transportation

Postcard #1089: UNITED STATES POST OFFICE CARTHAGE ILL.

July 25, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #1089: A real photo postcard showing the brick building of the Carthage, Illinois Post Office. The building has a flag flying f

Postcard Information

Postmark: ILLEGIBLE
Sent To: Unknown
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Stamp: NOT VISIBLE — Stamp missing but printed box with EKC logo visible.
Distance Traveled: Undetermined
Notes: Blank card. Real Photo Postcard (RPPC). The car and architecture suggest a date in the late 1930s or 1940s, despite the Divided Back layout.

About This Card

The Carthage, Illinois Post Office occupied a brick building that served the city’s federal postal needs in the early twentieth century. As the county seat of Hancock County, Carthage received its federal buildings — courthouse, post office — through the same process of federal investment that gave small county seats their civic permanence. Pearl’s correspondence arrived and departed through this building for most of her life at 318 N. Fayette Street.

1900s, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, People & Portraits, Sent From: Unknown, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: No Specific Location

Postcard #0088: Rand Park — Jean to Pearl, 1909

July 17, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0088: Color illustration of Rand Park in Keokuk, Iowa, featuring a classical stone monopteros (circular pavilion) surrounded b

Transcription

Back — Jean

Postcard Information

Postmark: 1909 [month and day illegible]
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Stamp: 1¢ — Features portrait of Benjamin Franklin.
Distance Traveled: Undetermined

About This Card

The stone circular colonnade — a monopteros — at Rand Park in Keokuk is visible from some distance on the bluffs above the Mississippi. Rand Park was named for a Keokuk family whose philanthropic gifts developed the grounds in the late 19th century. The park’s elevated position made it a natural viewpoint: on a clear day, the river curves toward the Illinois shore and the distant bluffs of Missouri are visible to the southwest. Jean, writing in 1909, sent this card signed just with her name.

1900s, Architecture, Buildings & Architecture, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Iowa, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Iowa

Postcard #0087: Rand Park, Keokuk, IA — Leota to Pearl, October 1909

July 16, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0087: Colored landscape illustration showing Rand Park and Anschutz Road in Keokuk, Iowa, overlooking the Mississippi River. A

Transcription

Back — Leota

Postcard Information

Postmark: KEOKUK, IOWA, OCT 8 1909
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Print Origin: Printed in Germany
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~15 miles

About This Card

Rand Park in Keokuk, Iowa sits on the bluffs above the Mississippi River, looking out over the foot of the Des Moines Rapids — the stretch of river that made Keokuk strategically important for generations. The city was once among the most powerful on the upper Mississippi; Samuel Clemens piloted steamboats past these bluffs in the 1850s, and Keokuk was briefly considered as a possible capital of Iowa. By 1909, when Leota sent this card, Keokuk was still a substantial city, though the completion of the Keokuk Dam in 1913 would transform both the river’s character and the town’s identity.

1900s, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Iowa, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Iowa

Postcard #0086: Chief Keokuk’s Monument, Keokuk, IA — Stuart Hoover to Pearl, January 1908

July 15, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0086: Sepia-toned photograph showing Chief Keokuk's Monument, a large stone structure situated in a park with lawns, pathways,

Transcription

Back — Hello Kid Say but this is a fancy postal Put this up in garrett so no one can see it Your Friend Stuart Hoover 719 Exc St [?] Keokuk Iowa

Postcard Information

Postmark: Keokuk, Iowa, JAN 28 1908
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Publisher: PEARSON-ULLBERG CO., MINNEAPOLIS
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~15 miles

1900s, General Correspondence, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Iowa, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Iowa, Undivided Back (Pre-1907)

Postcard #0085: Burlington, IA — Julia / Mrs. Chesnut to Pearl, September 1908

July 14, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0085: Color illustration of the Corse Statue (an equestrian monument on a tall stone pedestal) located in Crapo Park, Burlingt

Transcription

Front — Julia.

Back — Mrs. Chesnut.

Postcard Information

Postmark: Burlington, IA, SEP 14 1908
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Undivided Back (Pre-1907)
Publisher: S. H. KNOX & CO.
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~30 miles

About This Card

The Corse Statue in Burlington, Iowa commemorates Brigadier General John Murray Corse, a Burlington native who commanded troops at the Battle of Allatoona in 1864 and received the famous signal “Hold the Fort” from Sherman. He held it. The equestrian monument stands near the northern entrance to Crapo Park. Julia sent this card in September 1908 and signed only her first name on the front — “Julia.” — with a separate signature on the back identifying herself as Mrs. Chesnut.

1900s, General Correspondence, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Iowa, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Iowa, Transportation, Undivided Back (Pre-1907)

Postcard #0084: Crapo Park, Burlington, IA — A C to Pearl, July 1907

July 13, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0084: Illustrated postcard showing an elevated, wide scenic view of Crapo Park in Burlington, Iowa. Features lush green lawns,

Transcription

Front — Did you ever see this place? Dear Pearl: Thanks for your card received so long ago Why don’t you write? A C.

Postcard Information

Postmark: Burlington, IA., JUL 27 1907
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Undivided Back (Pre-1907)
Publisher: S. H. KNOX & CO.
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~30 miles
Notes: message written on front instead of back

About This Card

Crapo Park in Burlington, Iowa was donated to the city by the family of Michigan Governor Henry Howland Crapo in the 1890s, developed from land along the bluffs above the Mississippi. By the time A.C. sent this card in July 1907, Crapo Park was already considered one of the finest municipal parks on the upper Mississippi — a winding drive through mature trees above the river, with pavilions, a small zoo, and Black Hawk Spring, a natural spring with a storied Sauk history. Burlington had been a prosperous railroad and manufacturing city since the Civil War, and the park was an expression of that prosperity.

1900s, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Illinois, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Illinois, Transportation

Postcard #0064: stone arch bridge over a stream in South Park, Quincy, IL — Dora C to Pearl, June 1908

June 15, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0064: Color lithograph showing a stone arch bridge over a stream in South Park, Quincy, Illinois, with lush green trees on bot

Transcription

Back — Dora C. ] D. H. C.

Postcard Information

Postmark: Quincy, Ill., JUN 30 1908
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Publisher: The Heidbreder Pharmacies, Quincy, Illinois
Print Origin: Printed in Germany
Stamp: 1¢ — Canceled with a wavy US flag machine postmark.
Distance Traveled: ~40 miles

About This Card

South Park in Quincy runs along the bluffs above the Mississippi River, and the stone arch bridge shown on this card crossed one of its ravines. The park system was developed in the 1870s and 1880s when Quincy was prosperous enough to invest in civic amenities. Dora C. sent this card in June 1908 — early in Pearl’s correspondence years, when many of these cards were still finding their way from near and far.

1900s, City & Street Scenes, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Unknown, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: No Specific Location, Transportation

Postcard #0062: Washington Park, Quincy — Allie to Pearl, August 1908

June 11, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0062: A colorized postcard depicting Washington Park in downtown Quincy, Illinois, featuring a spacious green lawn shaded by m

Transcription

Back — We were good girls and went to S. S. this morning. The girl student from India is in our class. We have only two blocks to go to church. Saw Roy Coleman. Haven’t seen Wade. Allie.

Postcard Information

Postmark: QUINCY, NOT VISIBLE, AUG 31 1908
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Publisher: S. H. Knox & Co. / T. C. Co. (Curt Teich), Quincy, Illinois / Chicago, Illinois
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~35 miles

About This Card

Washington Park in downtown Quincy, Illinois is where the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate was held on October 13, 1858. An estimated 12,000 people gathered to hear Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas argue over slavery and the future of the Union — the largest crowd of any of the seven debates. Illinois voters returned Douglas to the Senate that November, but Lincoln won the Republican nomination for president two years later. The park has marked the debate site ever since.

1900s, Architecture, Buildings & Architecture, General Correspondence, Golden Age, Nature & Landscapes, Parks & Nature, Parks & Recreation, Sent From: Illinois, Sent To: Carthage, IL, Sights Collection, Subject: Illinois, Transportation

Postcard #0060: Highland Park, Quincy, IL — Ada to Pearl, September 1909

June 9, 2026 No Comments

Front of postcard #0060: Color postcard showing a scenic view of Highland Park in Quincy, Illinois. Lush green trees and grassy banks are reflect

Transcription

Back — 918 1/2 Bdwy, Quincy Ill Hello Noodles: you will be surprised to get this card but why shouldn’t you be. Just see who it is from. I kid you ought to be down here. I have been running all after noon. Well Dearie call me up some time, Ada,

Postcard Information

Postmark: Quincy, Ill., SEP 24 1909
Sent To: Carthage IL
Era: Golden Age (1907–1915)
Publisher: S. H. KNOX & CO.
Print Origin: Printed in America
Stamp: 1¢
Distance Traveled: ~35 miles