“Mrs. Ayres is Invited to the Easter Cantata” – Plainfield, New Hampshire (1910)

Mrs. J. Ayres was in Windsor, a small town in Hillsborough County of south-central New Hampshire.

Windsor is now the home of several camping and adventure sites, and a Retreat Center of the Church of the Nazarene.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_New_Hampshire

(Because the postcard address was first written as “Plainfield, NH”, we do not know if Mrs. Ayres had moved or was staying temporarily in Windsor.)

In March of 1910, Mrs. Ayres received a postcard from G. Stewart Campbell.

Rev. Campbell was the pastor of the Baptist church in Plainfield, New Hampshire.

Plainfield, a town in Sullivan County of southeast Vermont, is about 37 miles north of Windsor.

In the early 20th century, Plainfield was home to the Cornish Art Colony and a long-time resident, Maxfield Parrish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plainfield,_New_Hampshire

On the face of the postcard, a fulsome Easter greeting is printed beside a drawing of large stems of lily-of-the-valley.

The prepared greeting contains the printed attribution of “Your affectionate Pastor”.

It does appear that Rev. Campbell signed the face.

On the reverse, a stamped block identifies the “Plainfield Baptist Church” and includes a proclamation, “Cordially Welcome”.

A hand-written note explains that the Cantata, “Pilgrim’s Vision” will be offered at 10 AM on March 27th.

A Cantata is a musical composition for vocal performance and instrumental accompaniment, often telling a story.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantata

Alas, we have no way to tell if Mrs. Ayres was able to attend the performance of the Cantata.

One hopes that Mrs. Ayres, along with Rev. Campbell and all the Baptists in Plainfield, enjoyed a splendid celebration of Easter in 1910.

NOTE:

One can find several on-line references to the “Pilgrim’s Vision”.

There are references to performances of the Cantata in other places of New England in the early 20th century.

The words and lyrics were composed by Fannie E, Newberry; the music was composed by T. Martin Towne.

Both the lyricist and the composer are credited with other musical offerings of a religious nature.

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