Mrs. S. Hersh lived in New Oxford, a charming borough of Adams County in south-central Pennsylvania.
Once a prosperous agricultural community, the area is now home to food processing plants and energy companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Oxford,_Pennsylvania
In early October of 1907, Mrs. Hersh received a postcard from Mary.
Mary mailed the postcard from Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland and the commercial, transportation and cultural capital of the Chesapeake Bay region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore
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The face of the postcard displays a large gold seal – which I believe is the Great Seal of the State of Maryland.
(The State has revised this emblem so often that I cannot find verification of this image for this date.)
One can discern the checkered banner of Lord Baltimore, the founder of the Maryland Colony.
An inscription in ornate script proclaims, “Maryland’s Old Home Week”.
The dates are announced, “Oct. 13th to 19th, 1907”.
In the lower left corner, we see that the invitation specifically mentions “From Greater Baltimore”
I have seen postcard announcements of “Old Home” events for church congregations, schools, and towns – this is the first state-wide celebration I have encountered.
The Wiki article reports that the custom originated in New England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Home_Week
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The postcard was printed in the United States, probably a year before the event – or using postcard stock from earlier years.
The reverse is an “undivided back”, which left no place for Mary to inscribe a message.
Mary’s name is squeezed into the side, as it would have been when messages were prohibited on the reverse.
We may assume that Mrs. Hersh might have lived in Maryland at some time in the past.
Indeed, there are residents with the Hersh family name still residing in northern Maryland.
One hopes that Mrs. Hersh was pleased to hear from her former neighbors and that she participated in the “Old Home” celebrations.
