Streetcar Sunday - Victoria BC, Canada

I have only visited Victoria, British Columbia once, but I thought it was a beautiful and charming place. One of the many memories that sticks with me is going shopping for clothing in Victoria. I am not always an enthusiastic shopper, but the experience there was relaxed and fun. Most of all, I was amazed at how labels were imprinted with Made in Canada.  I bought a few sweaters and a hat there, all made in Canada, of great quality and not expensive. After that, I started checking labels on everything to see where the items were made. Even the towels at the Empress Hotel were made in Canada. 

And here is a card of the Empress Hotel. The location is great and the hotel is beautiful, although many of the rooms are small. It would have been even nicer if there had been a tram when I was there. Still, it's a very walkable city.

Here's another card showing trams in Victoria.

Although there are no longer any trams in Victoria, there has been talk of bringing them back. BC Transit is looking at trams along with Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit as possible alternatives.  In their words: "they each have their advantages and enthusiasts." For updates on their plans, check the BC Transit website.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

The message to Mr. William Fyfe reads:

Dear Dad:

Just a note you should have come too. Of course I'll be home when you get this but that's O.K. Having a swell time. May won't get out and hold the boat steady. Bye Now Love Sis (?)

Sepia Saturday - Grant and Gertrude Meyers

My mother wanted to know why I never post photos of our family for Sepia Saturday.  So, I looked for some reasonably photogenic relatives, because, believe me, not all of them are.

Allow me to introduce my maternal great-grandparents, Grant and Gertrude.  Gertrude's parents, Anna Charlotte Sederburg and Charles A.O. Billington were both born in Sweden around 1843.  They married in Ilinois in 1864, which is where Gertrude was born in 1880. Here she is at the age of about 22.

Gertrude's parents came to the United States just ahead of the Swedish mass emigration that started in the late 1860s due to a series of crop failures. During the period of 1867-1869,  approximately 60,000 Swedes emigrated to other countries, most often the United States. The wave of Swedish emigration continued until World War I.

Gertrude's family settled in Rock Island, Illinois, which is probably where she met her future husband, Grant Meyers. Grant was born in Illinois in 1877, to parents William and Martha, who were both originally from Pennsylvania. He was one of nine children, twelve if you count the three who died. The name was originally Meyer, but became Meyers somewhere along the line.

Grant and Gertrude settled in Morrill, Kansas, where Grant's occupation was listed as farmer in the 1910 Census. Here's a portrait of Grant and Gertrude from about 1906.

Be sure to check out Sepia Saturday for more great old photographs and memories.

Acoma Pueblo - New Mexico

The Acoma Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. It  was built upon a sandstone mesa back in the 12th century, which proved to be effective for the defense of the pueblo. Unfortunately, it was not as effective in keeping out the Spanish conquistadors in 1598. There were nearly 2,000 inhabitants before the arrival of the Spaniards, but only about 250 survived the attacks. Miraculously, the pueblo traditions have survived and are still practiced by today's pueblo inhabitants.