A Happy Birthday to You

If it's your birthday today, may it be a glorious one.

Here are the backs of the cards. The first one was sent or given to Paula Petersen. Can you read the message?

 
The second card card was sent to Mrs. Louise (?) Rockwell of Rockwell's Mills, New York. You can read more about the mill and see some great pictures here.

Letter Carrier Appreciation

If I had posted this in honor of my favorite mailman's birthday, I should have done it in August.  If I were posting for Mailman Appreciation Day, that would be February 4th. But I appreciate letter carriers every day, so today is as good as any other.

I wish my letter carrier sent me nice cards like this.

Don't you love the way this feminine hand reaches out from the doorway?

Charles Stebbins, also known as Letter Carrier No. 5, was born in 1859. Although the 1880 Census shows him working as a cigar maker, by 1883 he was working for the post office. He was still working there in 1930, but I lost track of him after that. Strangely, the 1910 Census lists his race as black, but in all the other years he is listed as white.

Here's a scan of a 6.5" by 8.5" glass negative of a mailman delivering a letter to a distinguished gentleman. I think the location is Lake George, New York.

 

Finally, if you have plans to move soon or go on vacation, be sure to let the post office know so they can forward your mail. You could try using this card as long as you change the year.

Tram Tuesday - Binghamton, New York

I just discovered this glass negative in a box that belonged to my father-in-law. Some of the other glass negatives scanned better than this one did, but it's still nice to have a close up like this. The sign on the front of this car says The Depots. To see the previous Streetcar Sunday post for Binghamton, click here.

Here are a few more glass negative scans from the same box. The first one is a train wreck on the Delaware and Hudson line, but I'm not sure where or when. Was it near Binghamton?

The third negative shows a train depot somewhere, likely in upstate New York, but again I'm not sure where. There are numerous No Smoking signs and a sign that seems to indicate the door to a women's restroom. There's also a funny chalkboard sign near the clock that specifies how slow or fast the clock is, but nowhere is there a sign that tells us where we are. There is a dog ( a boxer?) sitting on one of the benches on the left, potted plants, and radiators in the middle of the room to warm the space.

Here's a closer view of the dog, the clock, and the door.