Mrs. Charles Poffenbarger lived in Middletown, a city in southwest Ohio.
In 1900, major steelworks were developed in Middletown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown,_Ohio
In December of 1926, Mrs. Poffenbarger received a Christmas postcard from Lillie.
Lillie mailed the postcard from Germantown, a city of Montgomery County of west-central Ohio.
Germantown was founded by settlers from Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1804.
In the 19th century, the area supported a distillery industry and large-scale cigar manufacturing.
At one time, Germantown had 12 cigar warehouses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germantown,_Ohio
Middletown is less than 9 miles south of Germantown.
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The face of the postcard is a spare drawing of trees in the winter.
Bare trunks stand around handsome, snow-covered firs.
In the distance, beyond a stone bridge, one can see the chimneys of a pair of cottages.
All the elements of the scene are portrayed against muted tones of blue.
On the reverse, Mrs. Poffenbarger is addressed as “Frances”.
Lillie announces that she and others will not attend the Christmas revels; she writes, “Don’t look for us this time.”
“Have a good time for us”, Lillie asks.
It seems that there is much activity at Lillie’s household.
“Ethel has (sic) a boy last Sunday” and “we are stripping tobacco”.
Lillie promises, “We will let you know when we butcher”.
In closing, Lillie expresses the wish – “hope you have a nice Xmas”.
Mrs. Pofffenbarger seems to have enjoyed the postcard as she preserved it throughout her life.
One hopes that Ethel and the baby were thriving, that the tobacco was properly stored and cured, that the plans for butchering were communicated, and that the families of Lillie and Frances did have a wonderful Christmas.
