Tram Tuesday - Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast, Northern Ireland had horse-drawn trams in 1872, but by 1905 (about the time this photo was taken), they had changed to electric power. These trams did have overhead wires, but you can't see them because the people who colored the cards often erased whatever they could of the wires for aesthetic reasons. I don't think anyone ever thought to erase horses from the earlier photos.

Here's a closer view of the trams.

The card was sent to Master Alexander Seavey of Eugene, Oregon in 1910. Little Alexander would have been just over two years old at the time. He was born into an Oregon family with pioneer roots. His father, James Walter, was a hops farmer who married Bessie Kelly. Bessie's father John came from Dublin, Ireland, so the aunt who wrote this card may have been a relative of his.

The message is very sweet:

Belfast Ireland

April 5 -1910

My Dear little Boy -

Tell Mamma that Aunt Trey (Tray?) got her letter yesterday and will write her next Sunday. I was so glad to hear  all the nice things about you and so happy to hear in her other letter that you could say my name -  Don't forget it, please - It is just four months today since I saw you last. I stole upstairs and you were asleep in your little bed. How do you like the looks of these two-story cars? Not so much as your own new "chu-chu" car I know. Wish you bring it over to take me riding. Kiss Mamma, Papa, Aunt Kate, Elizabeth, W___, Aunt Ida for me, and tell everyone to compliment you.

Lots of love from Aunt Trey

Tram Tuesday - Swansea, Wales

Along with the tram, this card has some great little details of High Street in Swansea including the shops of Richard Lewis, Milliner, and Jack Lewis (his brother?), as well as the Royal Hotel.

We can also see the sign for Myrddin Davies, Cash Chemist. It also appears that there is a bit of horse manure on the right side of the road.

Perhaps the young girl is shielding her nose from the smell.

Swansea has horse trams in 1878. Steam-powered trams were used briefly before the switch was made to electric traction in 1900, however the street tram system was closed in preference to buses in 1937. Recently there has been talk of reintroducing trams in Swansea. There have also been efforts to refurbish High Street and encourage mixed use developments. High Street today looks nothing like the picture above since the buildings surrounding High Street were destroyed by German bombs in World War II.

Here's the back of the card, sent to Mrs. C.E. Potter of Potter, Kansas in 1926, with the following message:

7-31-26

This from the ____ lady on the train returning from ______.

We had a most delightful voyage across - seven days on the ocean blue - It was grand -Will be traveling to Scotland + France before we return Sept 25th date of returning sail.

Fraternally - Mrs Evan Davis

Topeka

The recipient of the card was likely Charlotte Estelle Potter.
It's worth noting that the post office in Potter, Kansas opened in 1865. It was threatened with closure back in the 1970s, but didn't actually close until 2009. In 1976, Wendall Anschutz filmed a travelogue piece on Potter and its post office.

York, England

In retrospect, it occurred to me that I should have taken some of my UK postcards along for our recent trip so we could try to capture the same views today. Too late, but in a few cases the views turned out to be fairly similar just by chance.  Here's an old postcard of York, with a view of the Minster from the city wall.  Note the long line of laundry hanging out to dry in the lower right corner.

This photo is taken from a little bit further back, and unfortunately we can no longer see the clothesline, but the general scene is little changed from a hundred years ago.

As tourists, there are some things that are remarkable to us that locals would not even look at twice. Certainly the food is different. We found ourselves fascinated with Cornish pasties, with each shop claiming to have award-winning versions, though specific award names were never mentioned.  I think they probably all deserve awards.

Mushy peas were also new to us, served with fish and chips or with pasties. They don't sound glamorous, but mushy peas are good.

Most American buildings have not been around long enough to see this kind of settling, so we found the sloped floors, cracked walls, and crooked door frames to be pretty interesting. This one is at Betty's Tea Room in York.

I don't think this hair color has made it to Oregon yet, though it would do a lot to brighten up our wet and gloomy winters, as would the pink dresses.

Here's a previous post on York and the its trams.

Royal Army Service Corps

This is an embroidered silk card from World War I, with the initials A.S.C.

Those letters could stand for any of the following:
American Society of Cinematographers
Artichoke Society of Canberra
Aeronautical Systems Center
Association of Society Cadavers
Ambulatory Surgical Center

In this case, the letters stand for the Army Service Corps, although they were sometimes referred to as Ally Sloper's Cavalry, after a contemporary rent-dodging, drunkard cartoon character.  However, the truth is that this corps played a very important role in World War I. Their name was changed to the Royal Army Service Corps. in 1918.

The A.S.C. was responsible for transport and supply of food, equipment,  munitions and other supplies on and off the battlefield. Although they were instrumental in winning the war, they are considered unsung heroes, because they rarely recognized for their importance.

Here's the back of the card. Silk cards from WWI were typically made in France.

Jo from Scotland recently posted some amusing old photos of the Royal Army Service Corps. Click here to see them.