Our story starts in 1909 with the courtship of Bell, age 15, and Emil, age 19. The lovebirds live approx. 10 miles apart in a mining area of northern Michigan. That’s a long distance at a time when there were very few cars and most transportation happened with horses.
As the story unfolds over their 3-year romance, we’ll see the frisky cards of the Edwardian Era. The message on the front – the selection of the postcard itself – is sometimes as important as the messages they write to each other. We’ll see them wooing. Being jealous. And filling their cards with innuendo.
I blanked out their family names. I struggled with this decision, but decided the family names didn’t advance the story.
Let’s get started.
***
May 7, 1909
Loretto, Michigan
Emil, I’m having a good time. -Bell
Postcard: “Spooner’s Delight. Oh Sweetheart t’would be fine to cuddle you, If you only would tell me that you’d like it too.”