Mrs. Harry Mann lived in Walpole, a town in Norfolk County of east-central Massachusetts.
The first European settlements in this area (18 miles south of Boston and 30 miles north of Providence RI) were established in 1659 – as a part of Dedham, MA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpole,_Massachusetts
On New Year’s Day of 1908. Mrs. Mann received a postcard from Mollie.
Mollie mailed the postcard from Wayland, a town in Middlesex County of eastern Massachusetts – about 19 miles west of Boston.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayland,_Massachusetts
Wayland was originally a part of the Sudbury Plantation which sent a militia of more than 300 men to the Battle of Lexington in the American Revolution.
Wayland is about 19 miles north-northwest of Walpole.
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The face of the postcard is a hand-colored photograph of the “Wayland Inn”.
The handsome brick building, a short distance from the street, is surrounded by trees and shrubs.
The pair of chimneys indicates that the rooms were heated by fireplaces.
A pole near the driveway suggests that the Inn has electric lights.
In the background, one sees a windmill.
The postcard was published by Hugh C. Leighton Manufacturers of Portland, Maine.
We have seen other postcards from this firm:
“The Moccasin Maker” (1910), “Going to Camp Meeting” (1911), “Hattie Hosted the Ladies Aid (1908), and “Launching on the Black River” (1910.
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On the reverse, Mollie notes the date – it is New Year’s Eve.
She reports, “Reached Wayland safely”.
Mollie may have spent some time with the Manns as she “simply repeats that I enjoyed my vacation very, very much.”
In closing, Mollie wishes, “Happy New Year to you both”.
Apart from a tear on the corner, the postcard was preserved in very good condition.
One hopes that Mollie and the Manns continued a postcard correspondence for many years.
