“The Huckster Has No Apples” – Woodbine in 1920

Mrs. Robert Atkins lived in Woodbine, and she was eager to obtain some apples.

Sometime in the summer of 1920 (whenever apples have ripened), Helen wrote to Mrs. Atkins to inform her that she could not obtain any apples from “the huckster”.

“Huckster”, in contemporary usage, often suggests the promotion or over-selling of something less than desirable, but the word did have a neutral meaning of “seller”.

The postcard was mailed, but the stamp was hand-cancelled by striking the stamp. We cannot know where Helen was trying to buy apples and the post office from which she mailed the postcard.

The commemorative stamp celebrates the tercentenary of the Pilgrim’s arrival in New England, which enables us date the mailing of the postcard circa 1920.

Woodbine is an unincorporated community in southern York County, not far from the Maryland border.

It was a stop on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad.