Miss Clara Eby lived in Shiremanstown, a borough in Cumberland County, across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, PA.

On-line, one can find a fascinating history of this town and of the Shireman family.

Sometime around 1910, Clara received a heavily-embossed postcard from her Aunt Mabel.

The raised portions of the card are filled with a kind of paste that adds considerable weight.

Printed in Germany, the postcard is adorned with a basket of flowers and attendant birds.

There are tiny horseshoes in each corner of the face for good luck.

The written legend is “Remembrance”.

The postcard was not mailed, so we cannot know where Aunt Mabel was living.

On the reverse, Aunt Mabel writes, “How is Clara and everybody up there…”.

“Up there” is an imprecise direction, but It is possible that Aunt Mabel lived in Mechanicsburg, a few miles southwest of Shiremanstown.

In 1908, Shiremanstown was the scene of a serious fire that destroyed a half-dozen structures in the town.

The railroad, which brought prosperity to the town, also increased the risk of fire.

One hopes that Miss Clara and Aunt Mabel were happy and prosperous in the early years of the twentieth century.