The Navy - Close Quarters

Oh, and what a message on the back!

The message to Giles D. Ahart reads:

July 30, '09

Dear Scrubby: -

You owe me a card but I will write you this one. You hav'nt got to write if you feel so much above anyone else.

Solong. Ducket

I don't know anything about Giles D. Ahart's life, but I do know that he was born in 1886 and died in 1967. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Spencer, New York.

Greetings From South Dakota

There's lots to see in South Dakota, including the beautiful scenery of the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore Memorial. And then there's the world's only Corn Palace. You'd think you were in Morocco, except for all of the American flags. What is a corn palace anyway? Well, it's an agricultural extravaganza of sorts, a tribute to corn. The whole place is decorated with  thirteen different colors of corn and redecorated every year based on a new theme.

If you visit in August, you can attend Corn Palace Festival, and if you visit in September, you can attend the Polka Festival. The local high school also holds its prom here, and there are graduation ceremonies and basketball games as well. What's even more noteworthy is that the Corn Palace has been in Mitchell, South Dakota since 1892.

Post Offices

I guess the days of monumental post offices are gone, as the U.S. Postal Service looks at closing 2,000 branches nationwide.  By the way,  in case you didn't notice, the cost of sending a postcard went up by a penny a few weeks ago. The rate is now 29 cents.  The cost to mail a one-ounce letter did not go up, and remains at 44 cents.
Here are some classic and monumental post offices.

And here's a not-so-classic mailbox in Portland, Oregon decorated by renegade artists: