Mrs. Inez Bickford lived in Dixmont, a small town in the hilly region of Penobscot County in east-central Maine.
(The town was named for a landowner, Dr. Elijah Dix of Boston, who was the grandfather of noted reformer, Dorthea Dix.)
In the 19th century, Dixmont was a center of sheep-farming, and once boasted two cheese factories, along with saw mills and grist mills.
On the main stagecoach line from Augusta to Bangor, Dixmont accommodated travelers in two hotels.
By the early 20th century, the population in Dixmont had already begun to decline.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixmont,_Maine
We met Inez Bickford in an earlier postcard story, “A Christmas Apology from Aunt Kate”.
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In February of 1919, Inez received a birthday postcard from Alena.
Alena wrote from Readfield Depot, one of several villages comprising the town of Readfield – in Kennebec County of east-central Maine.
Readfield is a town surrounded by nine lakes and ponds and has become a popular recreation spot today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readfield,_Maine
(Dixmont is a bit more than 57 miles northeast of Readfild.)
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The face of the postcard has a spare, post-war, design.
A row of stylized bluebirds forms an ornamental banner enclosing the printed words, “Birthday Cheer to You.
Beneath that are a few lines of whimsical greeting:
“No Matter Which
Birthday It Is,
You Don’t Look It,
So Cheer Up.”
The postcard was published by P. F. Volland & Co. of Chicago and New York.
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On the reverse, Alena tells “Dear Inez” that the postcard is “just a word to let you know that we think of you today”.
In family news, “Aunt Mim is not well now” but “The rest are all well.”
“Earle and Edgar have been home today” and “Wilbur is in Portland for a couple of days”.
Although the First World War ended in 1918, Alena regret, “I don’t hear a word from my soldier boy”.
Inez, in comparison, “has yours at home”.
Alena “hopes mine will be soon, it seems so long to wait and I am getting weary”.
(I don’t know if the illegible word refers to discharge from the military or to the coming of Spring.)
In closing, Alena adds that Lizzie has a cold and that she received a letter from Elwood.
The postcard was sent “Lovingly”.
The charming bluebirds were preserved in good condition throughout the lives of the correspondents.
