Mr. And Mrs. William Sutherland lived in Reno, the city on the Truckee River on the border between Nevada and California.

Reno began when subsistence farmers began farming the fertile valley on the eastern side of the Sierras in the 1850’s.

The community provided supplies to settlers on the California Trail, and a gold boom and silver boom expanded the population for periods in the 19th century.

The transcontinental railroad ensured the continued growth of the city, as Reno was the only city for trade and industrial production between Salt Lake City and Sacramento.

Like most western cities, Reno grew from the emigration of people from the eastern and Midwestern US.

The home-spun verse on the face of the postcard captures something of the delight that new residents would feel in finding kindred spirits or “home folks” wherever one moved.

Someone in Reno (the postcard is addressed, “City”) appreciated kind and dependable folks like the Sutherlands.

The postcard was copyrighted by the P.F. Volland Company of Chicago in 1908.

This publisher produced numerous postcards featuring verses in decorative script and with ornamental borders of flowers or trees.

The style is somewhat reminiscent of the English Arts and Crafts Movement which promoted handsome, hand-printed works of graphic art.

One hopes that the Sutherlands appreciated this tribute to their attractive qualities.