Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Duty's Call

This card was sent to Miss Helen Lihr, who worked for New York Air Brake Co. in Watertown, New York.  Although the company had previously focused its efforts on manufacturing brakes for locomotives, the emphasis shifted during World War I.  At that time they started making horse-drawn cannons and other war equipment. At the end of WWI, the focus shifted back to locomotive brakes.

The message on the cards reads:
Dear Helen,
I haven't any news, so I can't write. I am in hopes of seeing you Thurs. then for a time. Hope I can (illegible) and make any kind of train connections. I'll arrive at 7:15 am on sleeper from N.Y. City. If I can come I will telegraph and if I do meet me at the train. I won't write again until I know for sure whether I am coming or not. Lovingly MJB
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6 comments:

  1. RobertApril 13, 2010 at 6:44 AM

    I haven't any news, so I can't comment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chicken BoysApril 13, 2010 at 11:09 AM

    War time is a money maker. Soldiers are replacable for the good of the country.
    ~Randy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tattered and LostApril 13, 2010 at 11:58 AM

    Because of the copy on the back I can't tell if this is a card from the Illustrated Postal Card & Nov. Co. I believe I have one by the same illustrator, but mine is a Christmas card.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christine H.April 13, 2010 at 12:20 PM

    Robert, I try to give MJB the benefit of the doubt, although he sounds like a supremely boring date. Maybe he became more interesting with age.

    Randy,
    Military postcards and propoganda always seem to emphasize romance and heroism, not the brutality and ugliness of war. That has to be the emphasis, or else the soldiers might never go.

    ReplyDelete
  5. dianasfaria.comApril 13, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    I miss writing and receiving letters. Maybe that's why I look forward to my birthday every year. I always love the cards where people actually write something themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousApril 15, 2010 at 2:01 AM

    I adore all of your postcards ;-)

    ReplyDelete