In June of 1908, Mamie Wenger received a postcard at her home in Lancaster, PA.
The face of the postcard contained a medallion illustration of a lonely cow, and the inscription, “Greetings from Kyleville, PA.
The postcard was published by the “Art Mfg. Company” of Amelia, Ohio.
Kyleville is a populated place in southeast York County. It remains a rural agricultural area today.
The postcard was written at Kyleville, but mailed from Woodbine, about 5 miles away.
Charles wrote the postcard “hastily”, but he had good letter-writing habits and carefully noted his location in Kyleville, and the date.
Charles asks Mamie to meet him on Friday at McCall’s Ferry on the York County side.
Charles tells Mamie that he “will be glad to see your smiling face”.
McCall’s Ferry was a busy crossing point of the Susquehanna River in southern Pennsylvania.
A ferry was operated at that location since the colonial era.
In the early 19th century, a magnificent covered bridge was erected there.
The wooden span was an engineering marvel, in that the River was too deep to place piers in the channel.
Unfortunately, a huge build-up of ice destroyed the bridge after a short time.
Remains of the bridge abutments are now submerged in the lake behind the Holtwood Dam.
The Susquehanna was not bridged again at this location until 1968 when the Norman Wood Bridge was completed.
One hopes that Mamie and Charles enjoyed their rendezvous at McCall’s Ferry.