What's Up in Punxsutawney?

This is sort of an odd combination Memorial Day/Groundhog Day postcard. Anyway, it's as close as I get to a Groundhog Day postcard, because it was sent to someone in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the Groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. The front of the postcard is about remembering soldiers who died in combat, specifically in the Civil War.
 

The card was sent to Mrs. Sarah Malone in Punxsutawney in 1909.
The message reads:

Seattle Wash

4-21-09

Dear Sister Why don't you write

Was to Bremerton navy yard 17th

(????)

goodbye AHS

I don't know much about Sarah Malone, except that she was born about 1851 and was married to James Malone, who is listed as a farmer in the US census.

It really is Groundhog Day today, so if you want to find out more about the tradition or watch the live webcast of Phil, you can take your own virtual trip to Punxsutawney here.

Berlin State Opera - Germany

This opera house, now known as Staatsoper Unter den Linden, was destroyed not once, not twice, but three times, only to emerge each time like a phoenix from the ashes. The original building was inaugurated in 1742 and burned down 100 years later. The reconstructed building was inaugurated in 1844.  The opera house was bombed in 1941, but managed to reopen in 1942. A more severe bombing in 1945 resulted in ten-year rebuilding time.

After 1961and the Berlin Wall, the opera house was a bit isolated over on the east side. I went to see an opera here in 1981 when the wall was still up. The street was oddly quiet and there was something eery about the surroundings in general. Since the reunification, this street is once again vibrant and lively.

This card is from about 1898. Here's a picture of the opera house taken by Josef Lehmkuhl in 2005.

And here's the back of the card, printed on the strange blue card stock.

Tram Tuesday - Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore wasn't the first American city to have streetcars, but it was at the forefront, especially when it came to the development of electrified lines. In 1885, Leo Daft electrified a horse-drawn streetcar line in Baltimore using a third rail electric traction system. Although it had its problems (loss of power,  during rain storms and electric shocks to the horses), it was clear that electric power was the wave of the future. This card shows a view of Light Street around 1920 with an electric streetcar and overhead wires.

Despite their early success and importance in transporting people, streetcars in Baltimore suffered the same fate as in many other cities.  Trolleybuses and then automobiles began to take over in the 1930s. Even so, photographs of Baltimore streetcars in the 1940s show full cars and a variety of passengers, including adults and school children and unsegregated black and white passengers. Baltimore streetcars made their final run in 1963.

Source: Library of Congress, Marjory Collins, around 1943

Today, there is no streetcar service in Baltimore, but there is an impressive Baltimore Streetcar Museum that offers rides on historic streetcars. You can find out more about the history of streetcars in Baltimore at the Maryland State Archives.

Here's the back of the card, sent to Elmer E. Miller in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1920.

The message reads:

I've received your card and sure glad to hear from you. I'm again enjoying good health and hope you are doing the same glad to hear that you are enjoying yourself. 

Frank T Plivacki