Martin Funk lived in Safe Harbor, the community that grew up around the shallow bay where the Conestoga River flows into the Susquehanna River in southern Lancaster County, PA.
This area is now dominated by a large hydro-electric dam across the Susquehanna.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_Harbor,_Pennsylvania
We met Martin in an earlier postcard story – The Approaching Storm” (1905), in which a father charges toward the parlor where the daughter’s beau has overstayed his welcome.
In March of 1908, Marin received another comic postcard.
The postcard was mailed from Safe Harbor, but the sender is not identified.
The face of the postcard is a comic drawing of a portly ice-skater of mature years falling on the ice.
The skater is wearing an overcoat and a top hat; his hands are protected by red gloves.
His fall is exaggerated for comic effect – his legs point skyward as he falls on his butt and his hat is springing from his head.
The printed legend reads: “Every dub lands on his own bottom”.
(The word “dub”, like the similar “bub” – meaning a generic “guy” – is not as common now as it was in the early 20th century.)
There is a small, circled “H” on the face, but I have not identified the artist or publisher that may be represented by this mark.
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On the reverse, the sender has inscribed a brief message:
“This is will be your fate
If you get on roller skates”
To this couplet, the writer adds, “Ha! Ha!
This warning might suggest that Martin had begun, or was considering, participating in the craze of roller skating.
Because the postcard came from the same small community where Martin lived, we may assume that it was sent by a nearby friend or schoolmate who was familiar with Martin’s activities.
The postcard was preserved in good condition throughout Martin’s life.
One hopes that he had many experiences of recreational happiness, and that he did not take a tumble on the ice or in the rink.
