Blanche Is Greeted by Jacob – Carlisle, PA (circa 1910)

Miss Blanche Shughart lived on a Rural Delivery Route outside the borough of Carlisle in south-central Pennsylvania.

Carlisle, at the intersection of several indigenous trails through the Cumberland Valley, was a colonial trading center and frontier outpost.

An early fort in Carlisle, evolving through centuries, became the US Army War College.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlisle,_Pennsylvania

Blanche lived in the household of A. C. Shughart, and I believe that Blanche is a schoolgirl.

(I have a half-dozen postcards sent to members of the Shughart family, but have not yet determined the relationships between the parties.)

Sometime around 1910, Blanche was celebrating a birthday.

Blanche received a postcard from Jacob Wagner, Jr.

Jacob appears to live nearby, as the postcard was hand-cancelled by the postman on his delivery route.

The face of the postcard displays a diamond medallion with a rural scene, perhaps a mill.

Below, a clump of bright orange flowers and the printed words, “Birthday Greetings”.

(Readers have identified the blossom as a nasturtium.)

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/nasturtium

On the reverse, Jacob has written, “Wishing you a happy birthday”.

Blanche collected quite a few postcards during her early life, and she preserved them in very good condition.

One hopes that Blanche enjoyed her birthday celebration and that Jacob remained a friend for many years.

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