Miss Hazel Barnes lived in Falling Waters, a census-designated place on the Potomac River in the far-eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

Established in 1815 on the route that became the Williamsport Turnpike between Martinsburg and Hagerstown, Falling Waters preserves some notable historic homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Waters,_West_Virginia

This area was the site of the (second) Civil War Battle of Falling Waters in which Union forces attacked the Confederate units trying to make an orderly retreat from Gettysburg in July on 1863.

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

In December of 1915, Hazel received a Christmas postcard from Gertrude.

Gertrude mailed the postcard from Sterlington, a census-designated place in Rockland County of southeast New York State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterlington,_New_York

Sterlington was founded in the 1880’s with the development of the Sterling Mountain Railroad – which transported ore to foundries in this railroad junction town.

https://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/nyacklib/id/3710

The Post Office in Sterlington closed in 1940.

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The face of the postcard has a cruciform ridge that creates a border for a drawing of tall evergreen trees overshadowing a snow-covered homestead.

Small holly leaves and berries adorn corners of the cross.

Above the drawing, gilt letters proclaim, “Merry Christmas”:

A printed greeting extends a message of hope: “Every good and lovely thing I wish for you this Christmas”.

The postcard was printed in the US, as the outbreak of the First World War in Europe had ended the booming transatlantic business of postcard publishing.

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On the reverse, Gertrude writes a brief warning, “Don’t eat too much turkey”, and signs her name.

Hazel preserved the postcard in good condition throughout her life.

One hopes that Hazel did not eat too much turkey, that she and Gertrude (with all their family members and friends) enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, and that many more postcards were exchanged between the two correspondents.