Marietta, the small city on the Ohio River in the southeast corner of Ohio, was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory gained in the Revolutionary War.

The city was named in honor of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, to recognize French support of the American cause.

This area of the beautiful Appalachian plateau had been surveyed by a young George Washington who highly commended the area to soldiers of the Continental Army who were given land grants in lieu of monetary payment.

In 1945, Mrs. Ruth Sherman was living in Willoughby, Ohio – a small city and suburb of Cleveland, very close to Lake Erie.

Ruth received a postcard from Betty Spung (?) of Marietta.

The two women were not acquainted; Betty reports, “Your name was on the Merry-Go-Round list”.

We cannot learn from Betty’s message anything about this postcard-sharing plan.

After World War II, the mania for collecting postcards (and for postcard exchange clubs) had diminished greatly from the high point in the early 20th century.

Perhaps the Merry-Go-Round List was sponsored by a civic, charitable, or religious organization for persons who were looking for friendly correspondents after the darkness of the war years.

The postcard received by Ruth was published by Kelly News and Stationery Store of Marietta.

The face of the postcard displays small photographs of city churches in Marietta.

Interestingly, the Congregational Church pictured here is the oldest church west of the Appalachians.

It was the first congregation established in Marietta and provided services to persons from many denominations in the early years of the settlement.

One hopes that Ruth was pleased by the postcard and that Betty enjoyed her participation in the Merry-Go-Round.