We met Charles Geary in earlier postcard stories – he worked as a telegraph operator and Signalman for the Pennsylvania Railroad in southeast Pennsylvania, as a railroad station manager in New Jersey, and (after his marriage) as an unspecified railway employee in the Chicago area.
In December of 1908, Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Geary received a Christmas postcard at their home in Rogers Park.
Rogers Park was a village on the shore of lake Michigan that grew up around a tavern at the junction of two indigenous trails that predate European colonization.
The coming of the Chicago and Northwest Railroad (and, later, the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad) led to rapid growth.
Rogers Park was annexed to Chicago in 1893 when the North Shore Electric Railway was extended to the area.
Today, Rogers Park is a prosperous and vibrant community – the most highly-educated and culturally diverse neighborhood in Chicago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Park,_Chicago
The postcard was not mailed, suggesting that it was hand-delivered to the Gearys or sent through an intermediary.
Fittingly, the face of the postcard bears a wonderful illustration of a steam locomotive chugging through a wintry landscape.
It is night, and a crescent moon illuminates the snow-covered fields.
The scene is framed by a garland of greenery tied with red ribbons.
I could not identify a publisher or an artist; the postcard was printed in Europe.
On the reverse, we find a message from a friend – May Warren.
May writes, “The Warrens all wish you a Happy Christmas and Joyful New Year.”
There is some happy news, “Joe is doing fine now.”
It is not clear if Joe is the husband or other relative of May.
In any event, one hopes that Charles was pleased by the postcard art related to his career, that Joe continued to improve, and that the Warrens and the Gearys enjoyed a splendid Christmas and a delightful 1909.
