In April of 1936, Ruth M. McLaine (McLain) received a postcard at work.
Ruth was associated with the Steinman Hardware Company, whose business filled a handsome 3-story building on West King Street – a half-block from the square in Lancaster, PA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster,_Pennsylvania
The Steinman Hardware Company was founded in 1793, the oldest hardware company in Lancaster, and was the first foundation of the Steinman family’s prosperity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinman_Hardware_Store
Descendants of the hardware proprietor later developed a local media empire which once included a morning and an evening newspaper, a radio station, and a television station, plus associated printing and marketing enterprises.
This article, published by Elizabethtown College, contains a concise history of the Steinman family and their contributions to the county through many generations.
The building in which Ruth worked was erected on the site of earlier structures.
The brick and cast-iron construction has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
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Ruth’s postcard was mailed from Pittsburgh, PA; the sender did not inscribe a name.
The face of the postcard is a photograph of a slender young woman in a long, tasseled skirt and a billowing blouse.
Striking a dancing pose, the woman hods a tambourine above her shoulder.
Upon her head, the dancer wears a broad-brimmed hat.
I was curious about the cartridge belt and holstered pistol.
My experience of folk dances or traditional pageantry does not include gunfire.
This postcard was printed more than 20 years before it was mailed – it is possible that Ruth’s correspondent was a postcard collector.
It is also possible that Ruth and her correspondent shared an interest in art postcards.
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Because the reverse of the postcard has an “undivided back”, there is no message.
We assume that Ruth was delighted by the postcard photograph as it was preserved in excellent condition throughout her life.
RESEARCH NOTE
On April 7,1892, Ruth Alda Mercer was born in McKean (Clarion County), PA.
She was the daughter of Edward Peter Mercer (1862-1891) and Hattie Stewart (1864-1919).
Ruth was the youngest of four children, two older brothers and one older sister.
It appears that the oldest brother died before adulthood.
I cannot find any information about Ruth’s early life – her father died in the year she was born, and her mother died when Ruth was 27.
Sometime around 1912, Ruth married Charles Frederick McLain, Jr. (1886-1943).
Charles was born in Lancaster and resided there in every decennial census record.
Ruth and Charles had one son Edward Paul McLain (1913-2001) who was born in Lancaster.,
Charles died in 1943, age 57, and is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Lancaster, PA.
Ruth continued to live in the family house, and is listed in 1950 as a bookkeeper for the Bus Company.
Presumably, Ruth had been a bookkeeper for the Steinman Hardware Company when she received the postcard.
Ruth died in Lancaster in November of 1963; she was 71 years old.
Ruth is buried with her husband in the Riverview Cemetery.
