Miss Mary Cassidy lived on North 16th Street in downtown Philadelphia – then a city of about 1.9 million people and the third largest city in the US.
https://physics.bu.edu/~redner/projects/population/cities/philadelphia.html
Her home was one of a block-long row of handsome red brick townhouses – constructed in 1915.
Today, this entire block has been rehabilitated as affordable apartments; the address is near Temple University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia
In August of 1924, Mary received a postcard from Joe.
Joe was attending Clear Lake Camp in Waterloo, Michigan.
Waterloo is an unincorporated community in a region of forests, lakes, and wetlands in Jackson County of south-central Michigan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Township,_Michigan
This area now boasts one of Michigan’s largest State Parks – which offers camping hiking, swimming, boating, and equestrian activities.
The postcard was mailed from the small and picturesque city of Chelsea, about 14 miles east of the Waterloo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea,_Michigan
+ + + + + +
The face of the postcard is a collage of images related to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
The University of Michigan, one of the oldest public research institutions in the United States, was founded in 1817.
Today, more than 52,000 students are enrolled in its 19 colleges – pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in 250 areas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Michigan
Small photographs of campus buildings are arranged within a giant “M” in maize and blue – the colors of the University.
We don’t know if Joe hoped to attend this school -one of the largest of the State Universities.
The postcard images were copyrighted in 1910 by F. M. Kirby & Co.; the postcard was published (originally) by M. E. Hamm of Toledo, Ohio.
+ + + + + + +
On the reverse, Joe jokes that he might have set a world record for sending a postcard several months after getting a letter.
Horseback rising seems to be a regular Camp activity as Joe reports, “I have now ridden all the horses except one which I am to ride next time.”
“I certainly enjoy my rides”, Joe relates.
Although it is August, the weather has been mild – “we haven’t had any hot weather for over two weeks”.
Joe concludes the message by saying, “I can’t think of anything else now.”
One hopes that Mary was pleased to receive the postcard, that Joe continued to enjoy his time at Camp Clear Lake, and that Joe developed better habits of responding to friendly letters.
