Young Winfred Carlson lived in Frontenac, now an unincorporated community on the Mississippi River – about 65 miles southeast of the Twin Cities.
Established as a trading post, Frontenac became a resort town (due to its picturesque location) with the coming of the railroad.
Much of the area around Frontenac is now a State Park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontenac,_Minnesota
The boy seems to have been well-loved as I have seen dozens of postcards that were sent to him in his youth.
In the postcard greetings, Winfred is often addressed as “Winifred” or “Winnie”.
“Winifred” is more commonly a girl’s name, due to the association with St. Winifred – a Welsh girl who was martyred in the 7th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Winifred
But Winfred has been a man’s name for centuries – derived from the genderless words for “peaceful friend”.
In October of 1909, Winnie received a postcard from Aunt Nellie.
Aunt Nellie mailed the greeting from Gardiner, a small community on the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley of south-central Montana.
The community now exists as a gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner,_Montana
The face of the postcard is a photograph of a cat curled up in a turned-over sunbonnet.
Large pink roses surround the cat.
The artwork was copyrighted in 1906 by Edward H. Mitchell, a prolific publisher of postcards whose company was based in San Francisco.
(Mitchell published a postcard photograph of his own family, which can be found on-line.)
On the reverse, Aunt Nellie asks if Winnie is “a good boy” and “do you go to school”.
The aunt suggests that the boy should visit, so that he could “see the antelope and deer.”
The aunt seems to keep track of her wildlife sightings as she notes, “Aunt Nellie has seen 40 deer, 700 antelope, and a jack rabbit.”
Aunt Nellie sends the message “with love”.
Winfred preserved his large collection of postcards throughout his life.
One hopes that he maintained a long and affectionate correspondence with his aunt.
Genealogical Note:
Winfred Carlson was born in Frontenac in 1899.
Winfred was the son of Louis Carlson (1865-unknown) and Caroline Scherf (1871-1953).
Louis, Winfred’s father, was born in Norway.
Winfred had an older brother, Richard Louis Carlson (1896-1962).
At some time, Winfred married Florence (born 1906- unknown).
The couple had a son, Richard, in 1934.
By 1950, Winfred and Florence were divorced.
