(These correspondents lived in very small communities that were already dwindling.
Because I cannot find documentation of their lives, it is possible that both friends relocated within a few years.)
Mrs. Carrie McGuire lived in Barton, now a census-designated place in Pierce County of north-central North Dakota.
Founded as a junction station of the Great Northern Railway in 1887, Barton reached its peak population of 202 in 1910.
The Post Office in Barton closed in 1964, and the very small community is now unincorporated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton,_North_Dakota
In August of 1912, Carrie received a postcard from her friend, Mrs. Evensen.
Mrs. Evensen mailed the postcard from Alma, a now-vanished community in Liberty County of north-central Montana.
This sparsely-populated, mountainous region borders the Canadian Province of Alberta.
Alma had a Post Office from 1902-1935.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_County,_Montana
The face of the postcard is adorned with a bunch of violets beneath a printed heading, “Sincere Greetings”.
A medallion drawing of a rural village (the church tower looming over the scene), is accompanied by some rhyming lines:
“Just to show I think of you
And send just this tiny card to say
May Heaven grant you in full measure
A wealth of Love, Good Health, and Pleasure.”
The postcard was copyrighted by J. J. Marks of New York.
+ + + + + + +
On the reverse, Mrs. Evensen repeats “Will drop you a card so you can see we are still alive….”
Mrs. Evensen reports that she has “heard you are keeping house for yourself”.
It seems that Mrs. Evensen has recently moved as she notes. “I like my new home real well.”
Mrs. Evensen exclaims, “I wish I could come and see you,:
The weather in Alma has been “very dry”, although the area has a good rain recently.
Today, there is “high wind”.
The message is sent “With Love”.
Carrie seems to have appreciated the thoughtful postcard as she preserved it throughout her life.
One hopes that the friends maintained their relationship through regular correspondence.
RESEARCH NOTE
I could find no significant genealogical records for Carrie McGuire, although there is a single reference to someone by that name in Pierce, North Dakota in 1915.
That “Carrie McGuire” citation has no age listed, no family members listed, and lacks the names of parents or a birthplace.
Likewise, there is no information for Mrs. M. Evensen in Montana.
There are many immigration records for persons named “Evensen” arriving from Scotland throughout the 19th century.
I could not locate records related to any person named “Evensen” in Alma, Montana.
