Miss Madeline Schroeder lived in Scranton, the largest of the anthracite “Coal Towns” of northeast Pennsylvania.

Once the site of the largest steel plant in the US, and the location of several anti-labor actions, Scranton was the first city to introduce electric street cars and was nicknamed, “Electric City”.

Between 1900 and 1920, the population grew from about 100, 000 to almost 138,000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scranton,_Pennsylvania

In September of 1908, Madeline received a postcard from Dot.

The postcard was mailed from Troy, the city and county seat of Rensselaer County on the east bank of the Hudson River in east-central New York State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy,_New_York

Once a center of trade in produce and products from Vermont and upstate NY to New York City, Troy amassed great wealth through an early iron and steel industry – the nation’s first Bessemer converter was built at Troy.

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The face of the postcard is a photograph of “The largest water wheel in the world”, at the Burden Iron Company in Troy.

The Burden Iron Company was founded by Henry Burden, a Scottish immigrant who manufactured an innovative plow and other agricultural implements in Albany, across the Hudson River from Troy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Burden

In 1822, Burden became Superintendent of an iron foundry in Troy, and eventually acquired the business which became the Burden Iron Works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_Iron_Works

Today, the Iron Yard and the Burden Office Building in Troy are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the photograph, the enormous water wheel appears unused – water power that fueled all the mills and plants of early European settlement was being rapidly replaced by steam power and electricity

The postcard photograph was published by the Northern News Company of Troy; it was “Made in Germany”.

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On the reverse, Dot reports, “just arrived here and m down town with Papa.”

The brief message closes with “lots of love”.

Madeline preserved the postcard throughout her life.

One hopes that Dot returned safely from her travels, and that the correspondents exchanged many more postcards.