(I have shared this postcard to other sites because I cannot decipher the name of the town that is inscribed on the face -it ends in “ville”. Hoping that some York County natives will recognize the place name.)
This postcard is interesting for several reasons: it is a “Sunbonnet postcard”, it illustrates another nursery rhyme (this one less well-known than earlier posts with Mary and her lamb or Bo-Peep and her sheep); it describes grandma’s considerable chicken business.
Miss Edith Ziegler lived in Dallastown, a borough just southeast of the city of York, PA.
In May of 1907, Edith was presented a “Sunbonnet” postcard illustrating the nursery rhyme, “See Saw, Margery Daw”.
(The postcard illustration was copyrighted by the Ullman Manufacturing Co. of New York in 1906.)
The postcard was given by Roy, who lived in the place with the illegible name.
(Roy did have the grace to note his location and the date – a practice that postcard collectors appreciate.)
On the face, Roy reports on the status of the chicken business.
The first bit of news is that “Grandpa shot a chicken hawk”, and we soon learn why this is so important.
Grandma has 71 chicks, and some hens are still “setting” on incubating eggs.
Grandma has an additional dozen of – something that I cannot decipher.
It seems to be related to the raising of fowl.
Late Note:
Knowledgeable readers of these postcard stories noted that Roy is naming a particular breed of chicken – the Wyandotte.
It’s good that Grandpa is a crack shot; hawks can easily snatch young chicks.
Readers suggest that the mysterious place name is probably “Frysville”, a small community not far from Dallastown.
One hopes that Grandma and Grandpa raised the brood successfully and enjoyed a prosperous year with their poultry operation.
