Vintage Green Lake Postcards

While doing some spring cleaning in our garage attic over the weekend, I unearthed a box containing a few more framed vintage postcards. So without further adieu, here are a couple more from Green Lake's Northern Baptist Assembly (now known as the Green Lake Conference Center).

Like about half of my postcards, these were never sent - so no potentially interesting back story.
The pool pictured above has been filled in as long as I have been on the planet. It's now a garden with a perfectly-rectangular concrete border. The last time I walked the perimeter, faint "NO RUNNING" painted signs were still visible - barely. I could also find the anchor bolts for the diving boards and egress ladders. I have a series of three very cool real photo black and white postcards with various views of the pool, but they're all secured in one frame that I don't want to dismantle for scanning.

Postcard number two depicts a classic scene at the center.
Somewhere in my parent's photo albums, there's a picture of me, at about three years old, running here with my maternal grandmother watching over. At least I think such photo exists.

Both postcards have the same printing on the back:
The Northern Baptist Assembly
GREEN LAKE, WIS.
A 1000 acre estate of unsurpassed loveliness with a 2 1/2 mile frontage on beautiful Green Lake. It includes a modern 81 room Inn and forty other buildings. It is no an Assembly-Conference grounds acquired by the Northern Baptists for purposes of Leadership Training, Spiritual Inspiration, and Christian Fellowship.

Vintage Lake Geneva Postcards

Today you're getting a two-fer. Why? Because these two have never been mailed and have boring, blank backsides.

Both are from Wisconsin's second deepest natural lake, Lake Geneva. Sitting just across the border from Illinois in South Eastern, WI, the Lake Geneva area has been the "Newport of the West" for generations, with many Chicago business leaders calling this lapis jewel home during the summer months. Families such as Wrigley, Sears, Swift, Harris, Pinkerton and Schwinn all have or once had mansions on its shores.

Plenty of summer camps also existed on the shores of Lake Geneva, including Olivet Camp as featured below.
I've spent many days playing on or around Lake Geneva, but I don't know the lake's natural and man-made features as well as I know those on Green Lake. However, I'm pretty sure this camp was on the north shore, towards the western edge of the lake. I like the canoe and other boats pictured, along with the oh-so-modest bathing suits.

A few camps are identified on the next Lake Geneva postcard, but not the Olivet Camp.
My great grandparents had a place near the Harvard Club in the southwest part of the lake. My Great Grandpa Finer built a stout field stone cottage a few hundred feet from the shore, a great place for my dad to experience growing up, spending summers sailing and swimming. The home still stands, I'll have to get my mom to send me a couple of shots of the place.

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Sailing By Moonlight
On Green Lake, Wis.
Without anything along the lines of identifiable landmarks, this postcard may be a case of where the printer took a stock image and added the place location. But who cares, it's still a cool image - and how I'd love to sail that fine craft.
Postmarked Ripon, Wis., July 26, 1912

Addressed to:
Miss Nell Ammel
Malone, Wisconsin

July 25
There's a bunch here for a while. Sat. we go home. Wish we could stay longer. Took a launch ride around the lake this P.M. Irma

Even though she has a unique name, a little internet sleuthing came up with a big fat nothing on Ms. Ammel.

And since this post was so brief, here's another vintage sailboat postcard. No location given and sadly unused, so there's no story on the flip side.
But the image is certainly cool. Enjoy!

Vintage Madison Postcard

Another Madison postcard, this one showing Madison's signature lakes, isthmus, of course, the state capitol.
Other details to notice - the lack of John Nolen Drive, and, of course Monona Terrace. Long-time Madison residents - what else has changed?

This card was never used, so there's no fun note to transcribe.

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Like the postcards I scanned and featured back in December '08 (here and here), this one is also addressed to Mr. John Davis (box 278) in Earlville, Ill.


Postmarked August 9, 1909 and highlighting the "East Entrance to Sylvan Oakwood in Green Lake, Wis.".

The Oakwood was founded in 1867, meaning the hotel had already been in operation for 42 years by the time this postcard was sent.

Back side:

Dear Friend John

I received your card and was sorry to hear that you were not feeling well. We went to the dance Friday night and had a lousy time. We are going around the lake this afternoon on the boat.

Fellie
(at least that's what I think it says, the other two cards look like they're signed as "Bella").

I bet she took the Queen on the lake excursion. Bummer that she "had a lousy time" at the dance.

An even bigger bummer is that, after 142 years, the Oakwood Lodge is no longer in operation. Apparently everything was auctioned off last November 10th and their website is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Vintage Madison Postcard

Another nice nighttime lake scene depicted on a dusty old postcard from my archives. This one depicts "Moonlight on Lake Medota, Foot of Park Street, Madison, Wis."
Looks like the author was all about keeping the message short-and-sweet. Simply (and somewhat artistically) signed and addressed to Miss Minnie Bradseth of Rice Lake, Wis. Mailed on October 10, 1918.
A little Googling found Miss Bradseth on the registry of the Nora Cemetery of Rice Lake. Born 1890 and died in 1965.

And seeing where Madison's north Park Street meets Lake Mendota, it's evident that the cottage depicted is also no longer with us either.
Now home to the UW Madison Memorial Union. One of my favorite places in all of the Midwest. No better place to enjoy some beer (and/or Babcock Hall Ice Cream) than during sunset on a warm summer evening.

Vintage Spring Green, WI Postcard

Okay, another trifecta of things I love - Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, Wisconsin and vintage postcards of places I've visited.
This example shows the Hillside Home School on the grounds of Taliesin, just outside of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Click on the card for a larger image - I dig the three schoolboys looking at the camera.

Allie and I toured the School back in the mid-1990s while camping at Tower Hill State Park and cycling around the Spring Green area. I don't remember exactly why we didn't take a tour of Taliesin itself - it was likely a combination of not having enough time and not having enough money. Still, we thoroughly enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing the school. Okay, on to the card.

This card is postmarked August 30, 1906 - three years after the school opened.
I tried doing a little Googling of Miss Hatz - no luck, although I did discover a number of Hatzes who settled the Prairie du Sac and Baraboo area.

Thankfully the School is still standing proud 106 years after it's construction. I wonder what people thought of it back then. You can see some recent images of it here.

Vintage Boulder Postcard(s)

Allie and I lived in Boulder from Jan '97 through March '01, at which point we moved south to Arvada - a NW suburb of Denver as we couldn't afford to buy a single-family home in Boulder. Boulder was great for us, a fun adventure where we picked up and moved 1000 miles away from our family and friends. Sure we missed them all, but it was a great experience for us to explore a beautiful and new part of the U.S. together. Especially cool as we moved into an apartment sight-unseen and I started at a job with Schwinn Cycling and Fitness having never previously stepped foot in the building.

On to the postcard. Titled "Boulder Valley and range from Lakeside, on paved highway to Boulder, Colorado"
I'm thinking this may be Arapahoe Ave. (Hwy. 7), east of Boulder. Anyone have a better guess? There are a number of small ponds on the north side of the road.

Flip 'er over...

printed copy: "Boulder lies at the foot of the mountains at the beginning of a flat, grassy and luxuriant valley covered with well kept farms. Canons open at its edge making avenues up in the hills where mining camps and resorts are scattered."

Postmarked June 6, 1937

written copy:
1216 Pleasant
Boulder Colo

Well "Granny" (?) got me out of Indiana and we are located here at base of foot hills. This is road we entered on. And say you can not see the town until you are almost in it. On any road you come. Dot like's (sic) school fine.

Ballanch (?)

To: O.A. Risley
Oaktown Ind.

Surprisingly it looks like 1216 Pleasant still stands as a house up on "the hill", likely a college rental. Marked with the orange and blue arrow below. Amazed that an errant couch fire hasn't taken it out sometime in the last 70 years.
For reference for you Boulderites or one-time Boulderites, the venerable "The Sink" restaurant is shown top dead center in the photo. Mmm.. The Sink. Yeah, it's kind of a dumpy college bar and grill, but still fun. That and McGuckin Hardware (aka "McGuckins") are two of my favorite places in Boulder.

SPECIAL BONUS BOULDER POSTCARD - since you've scrolled down this far, here's my only other vintage Boulder postcard. Sadly it was never sent so there's no indication of the date.

But it depicts a Boulder landmark in glorious "color", Red Rocks in the foothills. This is one of the places that Allie, Jupiter (our black lab) and I hiked up to within a week or so of moving to Boulder. We also watched the fireworks from this perch on July 4th, 1997. Good times.

Vintage Madison Postcard

On my old Madison-area commute to work, I would ride down Waunona Way past Esther Beach twice a day, virtually every day. However, these days you're not very likely to find ladies in their Sunday best on the shores of Lake Monona nor men wearing straw hats and white jackets while tying up their row boats. You're more likely to find an empty lifeguard stand and piles of weeds. And Canoelover paddling by getting his daily fix of odonates.


But hey, that was then, this is now. Yada, yada, yada. I still dig this postcard (and Madison's fine lakes for that matter). Here's what's on the back...

Postmark: 3-30-1912

addressed to:
Miss Margaret Schulz
De Forest, Wis.
RD #2 Box 57

copy:

Dear Sister! Are in (?? kinda looks like she wrote over "Mad" with "uptown") this P.M. I am going to come to Sun Prairie Thursday. I want to go to the dentist's + take in the doings. I want you folks to come I will come in the 1.30 Say can you go to Suz + phone and tell Cobb I am coming. You drive down Wed eve you are at this (??).

Vintage Chicago Postcard

Another old postcard that had never been sent. Hmm, just how much has the Chicago skyline changed since this was printed?
Probably more than a little bit. Only one cent postage is required, so it's pre-1952.

Backside:
"Chicago's skyline viewed from the Lake Michigan Shore over Grant Park. This beautiful front yard of the metropolis was under water until 1871 when debris from Chicago's great fire of that year was dumped into the lake at this point to start one of the greatest projects in beautifucation in history."

Vintage Wisconsin Postcard

Since we're currently on vacation, here's a vacation-themed postcard from my favorite state in this great land.

Titled "The Nation's Summer Vacation-Land", this card dates from 1944. Wisconsin Dells, Interstate Park, Copper Falls State Park and Devil's Lake State Park are all called out in captions. Now to the back...
"Wisconsin, area 55,265 square miles, the 'Land of Lakes,' fishing streams, deep pine forests, diversity of scenery, good fishing, extremely interesting state parks, is the ideal vacation land."

Dear Friend -

Thanks for the nice card. I hope you (strike through) this one is new to you. We are having spring weather. Write again.
Mrs. Aug. Van Acker
Ft. Atkinson
R2 Wis

(addressed to)
Mrs. Phyllis A McLeod
2255 W Diversey Ave
Chicago-47 IL

If Google Street View is correct, that nice Chicago two-flat is still standing proud on Diversey.

Vintage Madison Postcard

A great image of one of my favorite parts of the Yahara Lakes. Looking south from the Yahara channel out onto Lake Monona. At the opposite end of the channel, cutting across Madison's Isthmus, are the Tenney Locks. A fun trip to make by boat. This card was never mailed - no notes on the back.

Carlsbad Postcard

Quick cell phone snapshot of the Canon Road strawberry fields and Agua Hedionda (the least-pronounceable of the area lagoons), taken during today's lunch ride.

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Time for another postcard in the series. This one shows many of Green Lake's natural features - including Lone Tree Point, Sandstone Bluff, Sliding Rock (top right image - not labeled) and the same deer that is pictured on a number of my vintage Green Lake Postcards - like this one.

Nothing too exciting on the back side, just addressed to Clarence Netting of Hausfield, Ohio. Postmarked Aug 22, 1906.

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Hattie Sherwood Park is just west of the city of Green Lake and has been a popular swimming destination for generations.
This postcard is postmarked August 9th, 1945 from Green Lake.
Addressed to:
Mrs. W. W. S. Carpenter
210 S. Elmwood Ave
Oak Park, Ill

Text (sadly cut off by my cheapo scanner)

Dear Grandma -

I'm sorry that I forgot to write you all the time. We had fun on the mail boat ride yesterday. Will write tomorrow.

Love Jane.

(Thankfully the old Victorian home still stands at 210 S Elmwood. According to Google Streetview anyway)

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Ahh, another one of my favorites. "Deer on Sandstone", printed even though there's a large crack on the glass negative. As a kid, my brother, cousins and I used to paddle our grandparent's tipsy pale yellow fiberglass Forester canoe on down to Sandstone Bluff. Quite an excursion when you're eleven or so. I also remember the majestic deer statue on top of the bluff when I was very young. Not sure what ever happened to it (maybe someone can fill me in). Some drunk teenagers probably pushed it into the lake late one night. Damn kids.

Postmarked August 15, 1922 from Ripon. Here's the text:


Addressed to:
Miss Irma Beresh
3116 Vliet St*
Milwaukee, Wis.
Aug 14.

Dear Irma.
Received Paula's Sid's, Irma's & Augustas letters, Mrs. Clayton's & Marg's & Paula postcards & the box of cookies today. Thanks very much. Will write a long letter when I get a chance. Am going to the Lower Glen this afternoon. The meals are not so good. We have to eat bread to fill up. Much love from me.

*3116 Vilet St is sadly now an empty lot. At least on Google maps:

Vintage Chicago Postcard

Okay, another vintage Chicago postcard that my scanner didn't want to include the border of. This one is also unsent. John G. Shedd Aquarium.

Copy from the back:

"In Grant Park at the lake front. An octagonal building of Georgia marble. Donated by John G. Shedd at a cost of $3,000,000. Exhibits ten thousand fresh and salt water fishes and other aquatic animals from all over the world. It is the largest and most modern aquarium in the world.?"

And still a fun place to visit. Allie, Celeste & I, along with my parents, visited the Shedd a few years ago. Fish are good.

Vintage Chicago Postcard

Okay, it's not all Green Lake postcards here in our den (aka the guest bedroom). Allie and I also have postcards from other places we've lived in or that mean a lot to us.

Here's Chicago's Navy Pier, long before it became a hellish tourist trap. Built in 1914 and 1.5 miles long.
My scanner keeps cutting off the cool border, aargh. Anyway, this card was never mailed, the only thing on the back is the copy:

"Devoted to the docking of lake boats. There are three deck levels for freight and passenger traffic. The outer end contains a concert and dance hall, with a capacity of 4000. Erected at a cost of nearly $4,000,000."

Vintage Green Lake Postcard

Another vintage Green Lake postcard from the collection, this one showing the "drive past Maplewood Hotel, Green Lake, Wis."
The Maplewood Hotel was known as one of the last of the early resorts. Situated on what is now south Lawson Drive just west of the city of Green Lake, the property encompassed what is now Hattie Sherwood Park. In operation from 1891 until falling into disrepair in the mid-1950s and eventually closing in 1958. The land was later sold for residential development.

Florence, the sender, says "Expect to be in WI after the 27th 740 Cass St. -Florence."

Nothing more than an address on the back. Postmarked June 21, 1906.

Vintage San Diego Postcard

Well, would ya look what arrived in the mail on Friday. Our very first vintage San Diego postcard.


Courtesy of our good friend Don Pal.

I not familiar enough with San Diego to know if any of the pictured buildings still stand.

Maybe if Don had included a special bonus "we don't deface your postcard" one cent stamp where indicated, the jackasses at the post office wouldn't have placed a barf code sticker across the caption on the front that tore when removed. But hey, at least they canceled the wrong side of the postcard.
Sweet rendering of our forthcoming LP!

Text:
Doodly greetings from Northern California!

Don P.

Thanks Don, that made our day!