Mrs. George Ferguson lived in East Orange, a city on the Passayak River in Essex County of northeast New Jersey.
East Orange (originally settled in 1666 by group of families from New Haven, Connecticut) was part of a larger community that evolved into several smaller cities as disputes arose over the development of city services.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Orange,_New_Jersey
In September of 1910, Mrs. Ferguson received a birthday postcard from a friend.
The postcard was mailed from the large and prosperous city of Newark, NJ – which lies southeast of East Orange.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark,_New_Jersey
Although the postcard is not signed, we may assume that Mrs. Ferguson could identify the sender.
The face of the postcard is a rough verse, framed by a red, floral border.
The greeting reads:
“Here’s to you, old Pal,
May you live a thousand years:
Just to sort ’er cheer things,
Through this vale of tears.”
The postcard is from the series, “Hot Air Shots”, which we have encountered in other postcard stories.
Featuring a breezy and informal style, and often employing colloquial language, these Hot Air Shots were a contrast to prevailing postcard styles.
On the reverse, the sender inscribed a few traditional words:
“Many happy returns of the day”.
It seems that Mrs. Ferguson appreciated the bold postcard greeting as it was preserved in good condition throughout her life.
One hopes that she enjoyed a wonderful birthday celebration and maintained a friendly correspondence with the sender for many years.
