Miss Iva Thomas lived in Chambersburg, the borough and county seat of Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania.

Only 13 miles above the Mason-Dixon line, in the broad Cumberland Valley of the Appalachian Mountains, Chambersburg suffered enormous damage from a series of Confederate raids during the Civil War.

To this day, the resilience of the community that was destroyed by burning is commemorated in a public ceremony each July.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambersburg,_Pennsylvania

 Fun Fact:  Confederate raider, Jubal Early, was accused of war crimes after the surrender of the South, and he fled in disguise to Mexico, Cuba and to Canada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubal_Early

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In May of 1908, Iva received a postcard from someone with the initials, “P. K.”

The postcard was mailed from Altoona, the principal city of Blair County in central Pennsylvania.

Altoona was established by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as a maintenance and repair shop for railroad equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altoona,_Pennsylvania

The great example of railroad engineering, the” Horseshoe Curve”, was created for the Pennsylvania Railroad outside Altoona.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Curve_(Pennsylvania)

Due to mountain ridges, there is no direct route from Altoona to Chambersburg – one has to proceed south from Altoona, then east toward Chambersburg, for a total of 94 miles.

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The face of the postcard is a photograph of “Broad Avenue” in Altoona, PA.

This view is from 26^th Street, so these comfortable residences are not in the center of the city.

There appears to be a trolley track running down the middle of the tree-lined street.

The street appears to be paved – at least it is not rutted.

A single vehicle, perhaps a horse-drawn carriage, can be seen faintly in the distance – the scene is otherwise preternaturally quiet.

The postcard was published by Kwin & Company of Chicago.

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Although there is space for a message on the reverse, we see only the initials of the sender.

Despite the lack of a greeting, Iva preserved the postcard in very good condition throughout her life.