To Helen in the Hospital

It's just a few days before Christmas and Miss Helen Lowe is in the hospital. Here's the message Hazel sent her:

Dec 22

Dear Helen, -

This is one fine day. I suppose you come home in a day or two. Wish I might drop in to see you to-day.

Loving friend Hazel.

Last Century at Marienbad

Marienbad was a popular spa resort in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The name of Marienbad was bestowed in 1808, and it became a destination by 1818.  Eventually, it became a posh resort, attracting the likes of King Edward, Goethe, Mahler, Rudyard Kipling,  Kaiser Franz Josef I, Kafka, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Wagner, Chopin, Czar Nicholas, Nietzsche, and Thomas Edison. At that time, Marienbad was located in Austria. Now it is located in the Czech Republic and is known as Mariánské Lázně.

O.K., so what did people do in Marienbad? They came to be cured of all sorts of ailments and to rest, sometimes for months on end. There were various springs with different curative properties. They drank the waters, which were sulphurous, they urinated (because the waters were diuretic), they went for walks, they took mineral baths, they ate well, they relaxed, and they socialized.

The Cafe Egerländer was one popular place to enjoy scenery of the Bohemian forest, as well as good company and good food. Here's a view of Marienbad from the cafe.

Here is the back of the second card:

The message on the card , addressed to Hon. E.M. Cullen, No. 1 Park Place in Albany, New York, reads:

This is a general view of Marienbad. Already the Dr. thinks I am much better. I hope all is well with you.  Much love

H.G.

June 9th

I'm not sure when the card was sent, but it looks like maybe 1911. Anyway, forget about Marienbad, what's really interesting here is the identity of the recipient.

Thanks to the internet, the New York Times archives, and my snoopy nature, I can tell you that E.M. Cullen led an eventful life. He was born in Brooklyn in 1843 and graduated from Columbia University at 17.  He then went to Troy, New York to study civil engineering, but while he was there the Civil War broke out! He immediately enlisted, and at the age of 19 became commander of the 96th Regiment, New York State volunteers. After that, he served as Brigadier General for the State of New York and then Assistant District Attorney for Kings County. He was serving on the Supreme Bench of the Second Judicial District when New York's Governor, Teddy Roosevelt asked him to serve as a Supreme Court Justice for the State of New York in 1900. Like I said, forget about Marienbad.

Waikiki Beach - Honolulu, Hawaii

Here we have the Moana Hotel in Waikiki, circa 1956. It was the first hotel to be built in Waikiki, opening its doors in 1901.

And there it is again, circa 1967:

 There was a building boom in Honolulu starting in about 1955 when plans were finalized to build a 12,000 foot runway at the airport, allowing passenger jets to bring more visitors to Hawaii.  After all, those visitors would need hotel rooms and places to shop. There was so much construction in the following years that people used to joke that Hawaii's state bird was the construction crane.

If you'd like to see some additional views of Waikiki Beach in the 1950s, take a look at Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order as above;