Summering in Mount Gretna – 1910

I have posted several postcard stories related to the beautiful town of Mount Gretna.

This postcard photograph of the vacation cottages and homes was mailed from Mount Gretna on June 22, 1910.

On the reverse, the writer (J. Mack Reily, Jack Richy ?) reports that his address will be Mount Gretna until September 1.

The postcard is addressed to the New Method Company of Mansfield, Ohio.

Mansfield was a center of cast iron manufacturing since the 19th century. An internet search reveals that the New Method Company made stoves.

Mr. Richy/Reilly must have been a significant person in the company if he could spend the summer in the charming wooded town of Mount Gretna.

World War II scrap metal drives obliterated almost all traces of the cast iron products that were manufactured in Mansfield.

On a personal note, I have visited Mansfield on a half-dozen occasions. The survival of large Victorian homes speaks to the prosperity of the region at the turn of the 20th century.

Sadly, many of the grand homes are now cut up poorly as apartment houses or businesses. The region has never recovered fully from the demise of the iron industry.

One hopes that J. Mack enjoyed his long summer vacation while times were good.