The City of Pittsburgh grew up at the confluence of two great rivers, the Allegheny and the Monongahela.

Together, these rivers form the Ohio River which drains all of Pennsylvania west of the Appalachian Mountains.

At the dawn of the 20th century, Pittsburgh was an industrial powerhouse and the largest steel-making center in the United States.

(Pittsburgh is regarded today as one of the best examples of a “smokestack city” that successfully developed a diversified economic base.)

In December of 1923, Al was in Pittsburgh before departing for Davenport, Iowa.

Al sent a postcard to Mr. Joseph Ekelin (?) of North Branch, Minnesota.

North Branch, is a small city on the north branch of the Sunrise River in east central Minnesota.  It is the birthplace of Richard Warren Sears, the telegraph operator who founded Sears, Roebuck & Company.

The postcard bears a photograph of the city of Pittsburgh stretching along the banks of the Allegheny River. 

The photograph was published by the H.A. Schafer News Company of Pittsburgh.

Al sends “love to everybody”.  

Perhaps Al worked as a supplier of industrial materials – Davenport was the home of the John Deere Company.

One hopes that Joseph enjoyed hearing from Al, that Al was successful in his endeavors, and that Al was home before Christmas.