Mrs. Mary Yarnall lived in Mont Clare, a village on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County of southeast Pennsylvania.
Across the Schuylkill is the borough of Phoenixville in Chester County.
The pretty village once had a rail connection to Philadelphia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Clare,_Pennsylvania
In April of 1935, Mary received a postcard from Mrs. Stott.
The postcard was mailed from Hoytville, a village in Wood County of northwest Ohio.
The village was platted in 1873 when the railroad reached this area.
Sadly, the population today is 220, about two-thirds of the population in 1930.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoytville,_Ohio
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The face of the postcard is a photograph of the “M. E Church, Deshler, Ohio”.
Deshler is a village in Henry County of northwest Ohio; it was also platted in 1873 with the coming of the railroad.
The village prospered in the early 20th century as the junction of two Baltimore & Ohio rail lines (Baltimore to Chicago) and (Detroit/Toledo to Cincinnati).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deshler,_Ohio
Because the photograph was taken from a corner of the building, we can see two entrances to the tree-shaded church.
The main entrance is not identified.
I cannot make a positive identification of this church – it is possible that this is the (former) “First M. E. Church” which is not found currently in the United Methodist Church directory.
MapQuest shows “First U. M. Church” at the same street address as the current “New Beginnings Methodist Church but there is no website history for either congregation.
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On the reverse, Mrs. Stott begins her message without a greeting.
She reports, “Having lovely time traveling thru the middle West.”
It is not clear if Mrs. Stott is traveling alone, but she is “autoing and having lovely time.”
The last part of the message suggests that Mrs. Stott was a teacher or had recently left school.
She adds, “I still long for my class and remember me to all.”
Mrs. Yarnall preserved the postcard throughout her life – although the passing years damaged the corners and margins of the face.
One hopes that Mrs. Stott continued to enjoy her “autoing” and that she was able to reconnect with her friends from school.
