Mr. George C. Fike lived in Smithville, a village along the Sugar Creek in Wayne County of northeast Ohio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithville,_Ohio
In September of 1910, George was celebrating his birthday.
To honor the occasion, George received a birthday postcard from Willard J. Yeakley.
Willard mailed the greeting from Orrville, a city in Wayne County – a little over six miles east of Smithvile.
(We recently saw a postcard story which included a photograph of West Market Street in Orrville.)
The postcard from Willard is heavily embossed, and weighted.
Two large roses are bordered by an Art Nouveau frame of tendrils, leaves, and buds.
Beside the roses are the printed words, “A Happy Birthday”.
On the reverse, Willard has inscribed a message:
“Wish you many more happy birthdays”.
George preserved the substantial postcard throughout his lifetime.
One hopes that he enjoyed a wonderful birthday and that Willard and George maintained a friendly correspondence for many years.
GENEALOGICAL NOTE
George Cleveland Fike was born on September 19, 1889 – the son of George Adam Fike (1854-1937) and Ida Eler Caskey (1860-1955).
The parents, George and Ida, were married in Wayne County in 1879.
George Cleveland had three sisters and one brother.
George Cleveland Fike was drafted and served during World War I, but it does not appear that he went overseas.
He had residences listed during the war years in St. Louis, Missouri and in Queens, New York.
George Cleveland Fike, who was celebrating his 21st birthday with this postcard, married Eva Mae Carpenter (1897-1973) in Cuyahoga County in 1918.
George and Eva had one son, George, in 1923, but the boy died in infancy.
George Cleveland Fike died in Orrville, Ohio, in 1969 – just before his 80th birthday.
