Mrs. Fred Dunham (“Lizzie”) lived in Marion, a small city and the county seat of Marion County in central Kansas.
The first Europeans to explore this part of the Great Plans were the party of trail-blazer Zebulon Pike who followed the Cottonwood River through what is now Marion County in 1806.
By the mid-19th century, several railroad branch lines connected Marion to other cities in Kansas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion,_Kansas
In January of 1909, Mrs. Dunham received a postcard from her cousin, William Brewer.
William mailed the postcard from Needles, a small city on the Colorado River in San Bernardino County of southeast California.
Needles, in the Mojave Desert region, was first developed in 1883 as a tent city for workers on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.
The town later expanded and offered amenities to travelers – it became a major stopping point on Route 66 and a major point of entry into California for “Okies” fleeing the Dust Bowl.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needles,_California
Today, Needles is a destination for tourists entering the Mojave National Preserve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_National_Preserve
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The face of the postcard is a photograph of the “Cantilever Bridge Connecting California and Arizona”.
This was the “Red Rock Bridge” that replaced three earlier wooden bridges that washed away due to the lack of a strong foundation in the alluvial soil of the Colorado River banks.
The Red Rock Bridge was erected in 1890, and was the longest cantilever bridge in the US at the time of its completion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Bridge
Here is a colorful view of the Red Rock Bridge from Wiki:
Soon after the postcard was mailed, railroad employees began laying planks across the tracks to permit automobiles to pay a toll and drive across the bridge between scheduled train runs.
The bridge was demolished in 1976.
A printed line at the bottom of the face identifies the publisher as the Needles Point Pharmacy.
There is a printer’s mark (on the reverse), but I have not yet identified it.
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On the reverse, William greets his “Cousin Lizzie”.
William reports that he is in Needles again, but will “go to Bakersfield tomorrow and then back to N. M.”
I assume that this is New Mexico, which seems to be the place from which William set out on this excursion.
Lizzie is asked to “tell Fred and Uncle Joe ‘Hellow’ (sic)”.
William seems unsure of his plans as he adds, “guess I will come East some time next summer and try the horse business again.”
Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, horse dealers had the same reputation that used car salespeople enjoy today – caveat emptor.
In closing William praises the climate of California – “the weather here is just like summer, can’t be beat” – and promises to “write more next time.”
One hopes that William completed his travels successfully, that he fulfilled his promise to write again to Lizzie, and that he entered a successful vocation.
