Debbie Smith lived in Lakewood, a village in Chautauqua County of southwest New York State.
Lakewood lies at the southern end of Lake Chautauqua.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood,_New_York
“Lakewood” is also a township in Ocean County of east-central New Jersey. This community had a population of about five thousand in 1910, but experienced enormous growth of an Orthodox Jewish community through the late 20th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Township,_New_Jersey
Because of the proximity of Lakewood, NJ to Freehold, NJ, I considered that the postcard was sent to that place – but the address looks more like “NY” than “NJ”.
In December of 1913, Debbie received a New Year postcard from her friend, Mrs. Mapp.
The postcard was mailed from Freehold, a borough within a township in Monmouth County of central New Jersey.
Once the crossroads of two trails of the Lenape people, Freehold was established as a European settlement in 1692.
Famous in earlier times for its rich farms and horse stables, Freehold today is home to large numbers of commuters to New York City -about 38 miles to the northeast.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freehold_Township,_New_Jersey
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The face of the postcard bears a printed heading in ornate script, “A Happy New Year”.
Below, a great swirl of violets adorns a calendar page for “Jan1”.
A few lines of verse invoke blessings in the New Year:
“Many fair Days to You,
And may each glad Tomorrow bring
Happiness anew.”
Both the face and the reverse bear trademarks.
The postcard was “Printed in Saxony” by the English firm of Raphael Tuck & Sons.
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On the reverse, the sender writes (without punctuation), “From your friend Mrs. Mapp come and make me a visit”.
The unusual phrasing of the request might mean that Mrs. Mapp had German (or other European) roots.
We know that Debbie preserved the postcard in excellent condition throughout her life.
One hopes that she and Mrs. Mapp were able to visit during the New Year of 1914.
