We met members of the McCleary family in an earlier postcard story, “Political Possums for Elizabeth”.
Elizabeth, the recipient of that postcard, was the wife of Herbert McCleary.
Mr. Herbert McCleary was a manager of the railroad depot in Hagerstown, Maryland.
The McClearys lived in a neat townhouse that still stands on East Franklin Street in Hagerstown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagerstown,_Maryland
Herbert and Elizabeth had a son, Kinneard, who (several years after this postcard was received) visited relatives in Columbus, Ohio.
(I know this because Kinneard mailed postcards to his parents.)
In June of 1907, Herbert received a postcard from Columbus – the University town and capital of Ohio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_Ohio
The sender is identified only by initials (A. M. H.), but I assume that the postcard was sent by a member of the extended family that lived in Columbus.
The face of the postcard is an inspirational motto – like others we have seen from the same era.
Upon a vibrant, red background, white letters admonish:
“Plan your work, then work your plan”.
Unlike some other postcard mottoes that we have seen (“To Have Friends”, “Get Busy”, and “Words Better Left Unsaid”), this motto does not identify the publisher.
It is not clear if the postcard message was directed personally at Mr. McCleary – Herbert continued to have a successful career in railroads.
Years later, Herbert retired from another position with a railroad company in Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, the message is a useful reminder to many struggling workers who may feel overwhelmed and unfocused.
Despite a very unfortunate postmark stamped boldly on the face, Herbert preserved the postcard throughout his life.
I made significant digital repairs to the image (seen below).
I was glad, however, that the receiving postmark which I removed did clearly indicate the year the postcard was mailed – the postmark on the reverse is illegible.
We know that the McClearys and their relatives in Ohio did maintain a friendly correspondence for many years.
