Mr. Harry Bidwell lived in Seymour, a town on the Naugatuck River in New Haven County of southwest Connecticut.
The community had borne several other names and been incorporated within other jurisdictions before 1850.
An early center of sheep-farming and the manufacture of scythes and other farm tools, Seymour became a national center of brass fixtures and finishings in the 19th century.
Today, the Seymour Historic District on the riverfront preserves many structures from the town’s long history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour,_Connecticut
In May of 1935, Harry received a postcard from John.
John mailed the postcard from Brattleboro, a lovely town at the confluence of the West River and the Connecticut River in southeast Vermont.
Long a center of trade and transportation in the long Connecticut River Valley, Brattleboro was a center of book-publishing and pump organ manufacturing in the 19th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brattleboro,_Vermont
Seymour, CT is about 125 miles south of Brattleboro.
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The face of the postcard is a hand-colored photograph of “Covered Bridge over West River”.
The printed title identifies the location as “West Dummerston, Vermont” – a village on the West River about six miles north of Brattleboro.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Dummerston,_Vermont
One notices immediately that this is a very long double span bridge (280 feet) – a stone pier supports the joined spans mid-river.
The photograph obscures the small diamond-shaped openings that permit light to enter the enclosed bridge.
The bridge was constructed by bridge-builder, Caleb Lamson, in 1872.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Dummerston_Covered_Bridge
The original wood-shingled roof has been covered by metal sheets.
The Dummerston Bridge is a bit more than six miles north of Brattleboro.
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On the reverse, John begins his short message without a greeting.
He writes, “Made this far shortly after lunch”.
If John had departed from Seymour, he had made good time in completing the 125 miles to Brattleboro.
(Today, the trip on I-91 would require about two and a half hours.)
Harry preserved the postcard photograph throughout his life.
One hopes that John’s trip was completed successfully, that he returned safely to his home, and that the correspondents exchanged many more postcards.
