Miss Mattie E. Beers lived in Bradley Beach, a borough on the Atlantic coast – south of Asbury Park in east-central New Jersey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Beach,_New_Jersey

On the first of April, 1909, Mattie received a romantic postcard from Milton.

Milton posted the greeting from Farmingdale, originally an agricultural town in Monmouth County of east-central New Jersey.

Farmingdale is less than ten miles west of Bradley Beach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmingdale,_New_Jersey

The face of the postcard is a photograph of a soldier bidding farewell to a young woman.

The pair are standing on a garden path and clasping one another.

I don’t believe that this is an “April Fool” – the US was not at war and I doubt that Milton had joined the military.

The romantic scene is like many images that were sent by suitors to the objects of their interest.

Perhaps Milton hoped the idea of possible separation would awaken increased fervor within Mattie.

I suspect Milton was focused solely on the kiss, not on the soldiering.

There is very little additional information on the reverse of the postcard.

It may be that Milton is shy, as he did not inscribe a message on the reverse – writing only “from Milton”.

Mattie seems to have enjoyed the postcard as she preserved it throughout her life.

One hopes that Milton and Mattie found romantic success in the 20th century.