Miss Rachel E. Hartwell lived in New Milford, a town on the Housatonic River in Litchfield County of west-central Connecticut.
New Milford is about 80 miles north of midtown Manhattan.
In the second half of the 19th century, New Milford saw the rise of local industries manufacturing buttons, hats, paint, furniture, pottery, pasteboard, and lime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Milford,_Connecticut
In December of 1906, Rachel received a postcard from a person with the initials, “H. S.”
(The initials contain another two characters, but I believe they may be “X” marks.)
The postcard was mailed from a railroad station connected to Hartford, the capital city of Connecticut and a center of the insurance industry and other businesses.
New Milford is about 50 miles west of Hartford.
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The face of the postcard is a photograph of “The Gibson Tablet”, with a printed location of Washington, CT.
Washington is a very prosperous town in rural Lichfield County with significant historical structures and extensive land and water preserves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_Connecticut
Here we see a large boulder, closely surrounded by trees, on which a memorial image has been chiseled.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123752152/william-hamilton-gibson
William Hamilton Gibson (1850-1896) was a noted artist, naturalist, author, and lecturer,
Gibson was born in Fairfield County, CT and had a life-long passion for wildlife.
His illustrations for Harper’s Monthly and other publications led to a career of writing and lecturing on wildlife.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hamilton_Gibson
The postcard was published by Karl Brothers of Litchfield, CT; it was printed in Germany.
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Because the postcard does not have a “divided back” to accommodate a message, the sender has written in the margin of the face.
Connecticut may have experienced winter weather as the message begins, “What a lovely snowstorm”.
It may be that the sender had contemplated a visit to Rachel as the writer then asks, “Did you look for us today?
The next sentence, “Peter Pan is well and happy”, may refer to a per, a horse, or a person.
In conclusion, the sender adds, “With love”.
Rachel preserved the postcard in excellent condition throughout her life.
One hopes that the snow storm was not destructive, that the correspondents were able to visit, and that many more postcards were exchanged.
