Miss Bessie Eckert lived in Galion, a small city midway between Columbus (to the south) and Lake Erie (to the north) in central Ohio.
Europeans first settled in this area in 1817, and the town was platted (for its location midway between the city and the Lake) in 1831.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galion,_Ohio
We have seen other postcard stories related to Galion:
“The Churches of Emma Haskell” (1911), “Harold Makes a Romantic Offer” (1915), and “Carol Tells Grandma about Vacation” (1939)
In July of 1928, Bessie received a postcard from “The Fletchers”.
The postcard was mailed from Barnesville, a village in Belmont County of east-central Ohio.
This community was named for the first European settler, James Barnes, who set up a genera store and tavern in 1806.
(Barnes had previously established the village of Barnesville, Maryland).
By 1833, six stores and a steam mill were identified in Barnesville.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnesville,_Ohio
We have seen correspondence from this place:
“Nellie Is Invited to the Pie Social” (1912), and “Ruth Receives a Large Rock” (1908).
Barnesville is about 130 miles southeast of Galion.
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The face of the postcard is a photograph of “West Main Street” in Barnesville.
Before the row of tall storefronts, automobiles are parked.
In this view, automobiles have displaced horses entirely.
If I did not love views of picturesque towns, I would not have purchased this postcard -due to the extensive damage to the face and the reverse.
It appears that the postcard once served as a coaster – there are circular stains on the reverse and evidence of severe water damage.
The face was marked by long creases and smudges.
The postcard was printed in the United States, but I cannot find a publisher’s mark.
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On the reverse, the writers inscribed only, “Having a good visit in B-ville” and signing, “The Fletchers”.
I one thought it odd to mail postcards without messages until finding references to the enormity of the task of remembering friends.
One can find postcard greetings that include phrases such as, “sending postcards to all”, “will write another dozen cards before leaving”, and “I hope all the ladies of the Club enjoy their cards”.
Despite the postcard’s unfortunate history with coffee mugs, the postcard survived almost a century.
