Mrs. J. H. Basham lived in Guthrie, a small city in Todd County of southwest Kentucky.
In the 1840’s, the community here was a stagecoach stop called “Pondy Woods”, and then “State Line” because of its proximity to the State of Tennessee.
The name of Guthrie was adopted in 1867 in honor of the President of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.
In 1907. Guthrie had a population of about 900 people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guthrie,_Kentucky
In April of 1907. Mrs. Basham received a postcard from Elmer.
Elmer mailed the postcard from Winfield, a city and county seat of Cowley County, on the Walnut Creek in south-central Kansas.
At the turn of the 20th century, Winfield was home to a large State Hospital which finally closed in 1998.
Five railroads passed through this community of about 6000 people in 1907.
During World War II, a large pilot training program was established near Winfield.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winfield,_Kansas
Guthrie, Kentucky is more than 600 miles east of Winfield.
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The face of the postcard is an uncolored photograph of Ninth Avenue West in Winfield.
One can see the commercial signs and the storefronts that line the street.
The street appears to be an important throughfare in the community.
(Contemporary maps show that 9th Avenue is the principal east-west route through the city.)
On-line, one can find images of stately homes that once lined non-commercial sections of the Avenue.
One notices the many-branched telephone poles lining the street, and the trolley track that is laid on what appears to be an unpaved surface.
There is no photo credit on the postcard, but I am convinced that it was printed and published by a local entrepreneur.
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The postcard was probably printed in the year before it was mailed as it has an “undivided back”.
Consequently, Elmer had to inscribe his message on the margin of the face.
He tells Mrs. Basham, “Write to me at Winfield, Kansas.”
Elmer explains briefly, “Have got work here”.
One hopes that the work proved satisfactory to Elmer and that Mrs. Basham wrote promptly to him in Winfield.
