Miss Lulu McNeel lived in Juniata, a sparsely-populated township of about 26 square miles, in Blair County of central Pennsylvania.
From Google:
“Juniata Township is located in southwestern Blair County, along the Cambria County line. It lies along the Allegheny Front, a major escarpment along the edge of the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania.”
The area had a post office containing the word “Juniata” (in three different locations or buildings) between 1904 and 1985.
In December of 1905, Lulu received a postcard from Stella Sparks.
Stella mailed the postcard from Clearfield, a borough and county seat of Clearfield County in central Pennsylvania.
This community grew up on an ancient trail of indigenous people (The Great Shamokin Path”) which connected the native communities in the area of modern Sunbury on the Susquehanna to the peoples of Kittanning on the Allegheny River.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearfield,_Pennsylvania
Today, Clearfield has an Historic District containing more than 20 registered historic buildings.
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The face of the postcard is a painting of a solitary house, surrounded by green fields bushes, and a line of trees.
It is night, and the side of the house is softly lit as if by moonlight.
A narrow path to the door gleams in the pale light.
It is not wintertime, and the postcard lacks any traditional symbol associated with Christmas.
Yellow ribbons adorn the ornamental frame around the scene.
Instead, the artwork radiates calmness and tranquility in splendid solitude.
Below the painted scene is a printed legend: “Every Good Wish”.
At first glance, I assumed the postcard dated circa 1920, although it was clearly mailed before 1907.
The work was published by the English firm of Max Ettlinger & Co., Ltd. of London and New York – in “The Royal Series”.
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On the reverse, only the address of Lulu is found.
There are no clues to the relationship between the correspondents.
We know that the postcard was preserved in exceptional condition, and so assume that it was prized by Lulu.
One hopes that Stella and Lulu enjoyed the end-of-year celebrations and prospered in the coming year of 1906.
