Miss Vera Long lived in Shippensburg, the historic borough in the Cumberland Valley of south-central Pennsylvania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shippensburg,_Pennsylvania
(I have several postcards related to members of the Long family – we will learn more of them in later stories.)
In the early 20th century, significant industry was located in the Shippensburg area – including the making of furniture and the manufacturing of engines and pumps.
In February of 1909, Vera received a postcard from Chester B.
Chester mailed the postcard from Aspers, a census-designated place in north -central Adams County.
Aspers is almost 22 miles east-southeast of Shippensburg.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspers,_Pennsylvania
The face of the postcard is adorned with a large red heart within a golden frame.
Upon the heart is imposed the face of a winged cupid holding arrows and a bow.
The smiling cupid has a tousled mane of yellow curls.
A cloud of blue forget-me-nots surrounds the scene.
Below the drawing is a verse:
“I love you dearly as you can see
But the question is – do you love me?”
Gilt letters at the bottom of the face proclaim, “To my Valentine”.
On the reverse, Chester has inscribed only his name.
We cannot presume to know, from the postcard alone, what relationship might exist between Chester and Vera.
Vera seems to have enjoyed the lovely postcard as she preserved it in very good condition throughout her life.
One hopes that she and Chester found success in their romantic adventures of the early 20th century.
