Mrs. Ruth Ryder lived in Salmon Falls, a community that is no longer mapped in Stafford County of southeast New Hampshire.
The Salmon River, a picturesque waterway of stunning cliffs and falls, forms the boundary with southern Maine.
On-line, one can find vintage maps and drawings (such as this one from the Library of Congress) related to the community of Salmon Falls – but the Post Office there was closed in 1962.
https://www.loc.gov/item/73694812
The former village is now contained within the town of Rollinsford, NH.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollinsford,_New_Hampshire
In February of 1913, Ruth received a postcard from Mrs. B.
Mrs. B. mailed the postcard from St. Petersburg, the city on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in west-central Florida.
St. Petersburg epitomizes the rapid rise of population of Florida – the Orange Belt Railway arrived in Tampa Bay in 1888 and the town was first incorporated in 1892 – with a population of 300 people.
Between 1920 and 1930 (when Mrs. B. visited), St. Petersburg erected numerous hotels – and the population grew from 14,000 to over 40,000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg,_Florida
The face of the postcard is a photograph of the “Shell Band Stand”.
The structure stands amid trees in a park-like setting.
The sides of the Shell appear to be made of canvas.
I believe that the photograph is a few years older than the date of the mailing – the well-dressed crowd looks “pre-War”.
Published by E. C. Kropp of Milwaukee, the postcard was printed in the US.
On the reverse, Mrs. B. shares the pleasures of St. Petersburg.
“There are two band concerts in the park every day and we can hear the music from our room window”.
Mrs. B. reports that, “I am sitting on the piazza without a hat or coat on”.
We assume that Ruth was pleased by the souvenir from Florida; she preserved the postcard in very good condition throughout her life.
One hopes that Mrs. B. continued to enjoy the mild temperature on the piazza and the twice-daily music of the band during her Florida vacation.
