Mr. Galen V. Etter lived in Dayton, the city on the Miami River (50 miles north of Cincinnati) in southwest Ohio.
In the early 20th century, Dayton was a center of industrial innovation and creativity – including aviation.
(In the Spring of 1913, heavy rainfall over frozen ground caused catastrophic flooding in Dayton and the Miami River Valley.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton,_Ohio
In June of 1912, Galen received a postcard greeting from Stella.
Stella mailed the postcard from Dayton, so we assume that she lived near Galen.
From the message on the reverse, it appears that Stella was closely related to Galen – perhaps a sister.
The face of the postcard bears a medallion drawing of a young couple embarking in a rowboat.
The young lady is standing; she uses an oar to “push off”.
The young man is seated, holding the other oar.
We expect the young man to provide most of the labor for the excursion.
The scene is contained within a heart-shaped frame composed of blue forget-me-nots.
Beneath the drawing, a bright legend reads, “Making Straight for Happyland”.
I cannot determine the publisher, but the postcard was “Printed in Germany”.
On the reverse, Stella reports that “the cook book came all o.k.”
Stella also communicates that, “Papa told me to tell you he wants an annual meeting report.”
I do not believe that this request relates to a family corporation; many civic and religious groups issued Annual Reports.
One hopes that Galen was pleased by the invitation to Happyland, that the cook book was put to good use, and that Papa received the Annual Report.
NOTE:
Galen V. Etter can be found on-line.
Galen Victor Etter was the son of Joseph Etter and Ida Viola Heckman.
Galen was born in 1892, making him about 20 years old when he received the postcard.
Stella Viola Pennington, also born in 1892, married Galen sometime near the time she mailed this postcard.
In 1923, Stella and Galen had their fourth child – a daughter, Vera.
Vera, at 17, was living with her parents in the 1940 census.
The couple also raised two other daughters and a son – their eldest daughter, Gertrude Evangeline Etter, outlived all her siblings.
Gertrude died in 2001 at the age of 87.
Galen died at the age of 68 in 1961; Stella lived until her 88th year in 1979.
Galen and Stella are buried in Dayton.
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/9Z91-RMK/galen-victor-etter-1892-1961
