Josephine of Binghamton

In response to the Sepia Saturday theme post, Beatriz of Spain, I give you Josephine of Binghamton! Josephine Tomecek was born in Binghamton, New York in 1931. She was a bright spark all her life, with a positive outlook that often defied reality. Here she is in about 1937 with her brother Milton.

Josephine had known her husband John from an early age, but he didn't pay much attention to her until he returned from World War II and found that she had matured into a lovely young woman. They were married in 1949. The picture below is thought to be an engagement photo.

John and Josephine had five sons. I married one of them. After raising the boys, Josephine suffered cheerfully through many physical ailments until she died on September 3rd three years ago. She was an inspiration and is greatly missed.

Josephines's parents, Gabriel and Elizabeth, came from Strážnice in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. After they came to the United States, they both worked at the Endicott Johnson Shoe Company in Binghamton. I will post some cards from the Endicott Johnson Shoe Company next week.

More Greetings from the Cemetery

If I received a postcard with a picture of a cemetery on the front, I might wonder if it was a bad omen. Here are two cemetery postcards from Springfield and Concord, Massachusetts.

And here's the cemetery in Concord where Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, is buried.

Here are the backs of the postcards.

Hendersonville, North Carolina

Here are some views from a postcard folder of Hendersonville, North Carolina. No hurricanes in sight, but I'm not sure I like they way FDR is looking at those young women.

The historic Skyland Hotel is still standing, but it's now condos/apartments. You can rent one for about $500 per month. Here's a description of Hendersonville. It may be a little dated, but I love that they use the word salubrious in the text. How often does anyone say salubrious anymore?