Mr. S. W. Fredell lived in Akron, a small city in Plymouth County of northwest Iowa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akron,_Iowa
In December of 1907, Mr. Fredell received a postcard from P. A. A.
The postcard was mailed from Canton, a small city on the Big Sioux River in Lincoln County of southeast South Dakota.
First settled in the 1860’s, the county had 36 residents in 1868,
In that year, a caravan of 180 Norwegian families crossed the river and began farming there.
The Chicago, Pacific, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad arrived in 1880, and the city still has an active freight service.
Canton is about 37 miles due north of Akron.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton,_South_Dakota
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The face of the postcard bears a comic drawing of a young couple embracing on a park bench.
The young woman ears a tightly-fitting yellow dress.
The beau is attired in a blue suit with a pink vest; his straw “boater” hat rests on the bench beside him.
Below the amorous couple, a printed script explains:
“A pressing engagement prevents me”.
The drawing was copyright in 1907 by the publisher, Julius Bien of New York.
We have seen another comic postcard with the same title:
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On the reverse, P.A.A. writes, “have seen all kinds of calves of here, but I have not seen the black one”.
Nothing else presents a reason for concern as the writer reports, “Everything is O.K. up here.”
The terse message, without any greeting, suggests that PAA was fulfilling a mission related to the black calf – although the circumstance and the significance is not revealed.
It is possible that the “black calf” signifies a person who is sought in connection with some incident or misdemeanor.
In any event, one hopes that PAA returns home safely and that the matter of calves is resolved satisfactorily.
