Miss Nellie Dillon lived in Grapeville, a census-designated place in Westmoreland County of west-central Pennsylvania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapeville,_Pennsylvania
In April of 1907, Nellie received a postcard from a friend or admirer.
The postcard was mailed from Jeannette, a city of Westmoreland County that was known for the number of glass factories in the area.
Jeannette had a population of more than 8,000 in 1910 – only slightly lower than the population today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette,_Pennsylvania
On the face of the postcard, we see an idyllic summer scene – a young man and young woman embrace on the seat of a skiff.
Our heroine wears a white blouse and a long dark skirt; our hero seems to be sporting a vert over his white shirt.
Only the man is wearing a straw hat.
The craft seems to be stationary as the man’s arms are otherwise engaged.
The lovers appear oblivious to the calm stream or pond – which is surrounded by overhanging branches and a profusion of reeds and grasses.
The blissful scene is titled, “In the Good Old Summer Time!”
The postcard photograph was published by “W. G. MacFarlane, Publisher and Importer” of Buffalo and Toronto.
Because the reverse of the postcard could not be used for messages, Nellie’s correspondent wrote “Hello Nellie” on the margin of the face.
One assumes that Nellie recognized at once the sender of the postcard despite the lack of an inscription.
We may hope that Nellie and her friend maintained a postcard correspondence for many years. and that each enjoyed romantic success.
Genealogical Note:
Nellie Dillon was born in July of 1890, the daughter of Charles Dillon (1855-unknown) and Ellen Dillon (1864-unknown).
Charles Dillon was born in England, although both his parents were from Ireland.
(I suspect he was a part of the great Irish diaspora of the 19th century.)
There are very few documents related to the lives of Charles and Ellen, and there are some discrepancies in overlapping data bases found on-line..
In 1890, the family was living near Pittsburgh, where Nellie was born.
Nellie had a sister, Stella (1886-unknown) and a brother, James (1898-unknown),
In 1900, Nellie and James were in the household of her mother in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh).
It is unclear why Ellen Dillon is listed as the head of household; her husband, Charles, is not listed as deceased.
In 1910, Nellie (now 20) is living in the household of her employer in Pottsville, PA (Schuylkill County).
The employer may be a relative as there are numerous Dillon entries in Schuylkill County.
In 1920, Nellie is living with her sister in Pottsville.
After 1920, there are no census listings for a Nellie Dillon born in western Pennsylvania.
(I may return to this at a later time -because I am concerned that I cannot find any document that links Nellie to the small community of Grapeville – 30 miles away from her census records in Pittsburgh.)
There are no census records for any member of this Dillon family after 1920.
I did see one “orphaned” death record for a Nellie Dillon (lacking any links to other documents including parents, siblings, or census) , born in Pittsburgh in 1895, who died in Pittsburgh in 1972.
It is possible that Nellie and her siblings returned to extended family in England or Ireland – some mystery still attaches to Nellie who received the romantic postcard.
