Aunt Soph and Uncle Fred Visit Wyoming

Who knew that giant paved parking areas could be considered an attraction? In any case, Little America is still there and you can stop by for a visit. Earl Holding and his wife Carol worked hard pumping gas and waiting tables at Little America when they first took over the place many decades ago. That truck stop was the beginning of a very successful business career for Holding, who now owns Sinclair Oil, Sun Valley and Snowbasin ski resorts,  and a hotel chain.

As for Aunt Soph and Uncle Fred, I admire their time-saving approach to postcard writing; it just seems like it might have been more practical to print out the address labels instead of the greeting.

Love and Mustaches

The printed message says: Is it love or the joy of Spring, that makes the light glimmer in your eyes.

Earlier French postcards (1900-1920) always seem to show men with mustaches. They were favored so strongly that until 1933 the French gendarmes were required to have them! Grenadiers in the French Army also had to wear them throughout the 19th Century. At some point the hairy upper lip fell out of favor. French postcards from the '30s and later all seem to show clean shaven men. In 1975, the French military changed its regulations and specified that military personnel could only grow a beard or mustache during periods when they were out of uniform.

Recently I stumbled upon a mustache blog that added even more illumination to the subject. Pacifists such as the Amish and Mennonites grow beards but not mustaches, specifically to  avoid the military associations. Be sure to check out the blog, Mustaches of the 19th Century, for everything you need to know about mustaches.

Now here's a mustache for you:

This is a Turkish card from about 1963. It shows a man who is the world champion of something, though I'm not sure what. He is (was) 52 and weighs 90 kilos and his height is 1,80 meters. I think Biyik is his name. There's a phone number; maybe I should give him a call.

Streetcar Sunday- El Paso to Juárez

I posted a card  several months ago of a cafe in Juárez that attracted U.S. residents wanting to buy a drink or two during prohibition.  Decades later illegal substances are still supporting the Juárez economy. Based on current events and high levels of violent crime and drug trafficking on the U.S./Mexican border at Juárez and El Paso, Texas, it's refreshing, but also sad, to see the easy and open border pictured on this card.

In 1882, a streetcar line was established between El Paso, Texas and Juárez, Mexico.  Like most streetcars of the time, these were initially drawn by horses or mules. The coordinated service fell under the jurisdiction of two separate operating systems, one in Mexico and one in El Paso, but the service was effectively operated by the El Paso Electric Railway, with the conversion to electricity taking place in 1902. This card dates from sometime after 1910, when the cars were converted from open to closed cars.

Streetcar service was discontinued in 1974. Oddly enough, it was not discontinued for the typical reason - replacement by bus service.  Instead, the Mexican government halted the service because of a perception by Juárez merchants that only the El Paso stores were benefiting from the streetcar. They felt that Juárez shoppers were all heading north.  Recently there has been talk about reintroducing the service, but of course now there are major concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking.