Mrs. Lula M. Rucker lived in Salisbury, a small city of about 1800 citizens in north central Missouri.
The town was booming at the end of the 19th century, boasting mills, tobacco barns, dozens of merchants, two newspapers, and an opera house.
Rail connection, on the Wabash line, to Chicago permitted notable entertainers to visit Salisbury.
Lula enjoyed her garden and, in April of 1911, she ordered seeds or plants from The German Nursery of Beatrice, Nebraska.
Later the same month, Lula received a postcard confirmation of her order.
Those of us who ordered merchandise to be delivered throughout the pandemic are familiar with the sequence of communications – order acknowledgement, shipping announcement, expected delivery date, delivery reminder, notice of delivery- that are routinely sent by e-mail.
In 1911, the postcard was an effective way to inform customers of their orders.
I am curious to know what seeds or plants were ordered by Mrs. Rucker; the postcard acknowledgement does not list her purchases.
Mailed from Beatrice, Nebraska, the postcard bears a vibrant illustration of assorted fruit on a plain white background.
At some time in the past 110 years, the postage stamp was torn from the face of the postcard, leaving an ugly mark.
We hope that Lula received her seeds or plants as planned, that the garden flourished, and that the harvest was beautiful and bountiful in the Summer and Fall of 1911.
