Picturesque Long Island Waterfront

This vintage postcard was sent to my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster. It's a "Plastichrome" color photo postcard showing a harbor on Long Island's North Shore. The photo was taken by Milt Price, Northport, N. Y., and was published by the Tomlin Art Company. The postmark/cancel date on this vintage postcard is March 27, 1953.

Transcription from back of postcard:

Typed Description of Postcard Image:

PICTURESQUE LONG ISLAND WATERFRONT. Rowboats and yachts of all descriptions can be found in this sheltered deepwater harbor on Long Island's famous North Shore.

Handwritten Message:

My Dear Folks,

Very shortly will write you. Have never had such a busy winter. Have some snap shots to send & also a page, in newspaper, about Brazil to send that think you would enjoy. We are both well & rushing about daily. Our Long Island is growing very fast & so many people coming here to live & so many house (sic) being built.

Love to all,

Helen

Thought you folks would be here before now

Unfortunately, I'm not sure who Helen is or how she knew my maternal grandfather, Debs Warren Webster. In the summer of 1952, my grandfather, Debs, and his family emigrated from Brazil to the United States. The family arrived in New York, purchased a car and some camping equipment, and then traveled across the country toward their final destination in Southern California. Perhaps they stopped to visit Helen before they left for California.

I think it's interesting that Helen said, "Our Long Island is growing very fast…." According to an article in Wikipedia, the population of Long Island in 1950 was 5,237,918. In 2012, the population was listed as 7,686,912.

I also think it's interesting that Helen added that she thought my grandparents "would be here before now." Had my grandparents planned on visiting them before March of 1953? I wonder if they ever did get back to Long Island to pay Helen a visit.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 - 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

California's Golden Oranges And Waxlike Blossoms

This vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection was manufactured by the Longshaw Card Company of Los Angeles, California. I don't know the exact publication date of this postcard, but I found it on ebay.com, and on that website it says the postcard is from the 1940s.

Transcription from back of postcard:

Oranges are 58% of California's total fruit crop. Between 35 and 40 million boxes are produced in this state every year. The Naval orange (seedless) is a native of California and is highly prized for its fine flavor.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

The Salt Lake Temple ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

This is a 1933 genuine Curt Teich, C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The Salt Lake Temple was commenced in 1853 and completed in 1893 at a cost of approximately $4,000,000. It is 186½ feet long by 99 feet wide. The stone footing is 16 feet thick. The basement walls are 9 feet thick, and the upper walls 6 feet thick. The side walls are 107½ feet high. The east center tower is 210 feet high, surmounted by a hammered copper statue of Angel Moroni, 12½ feet high, gilded with pure gold leaf.

My grandparents and their family visited Utah on their way across the country in 1952. They had emigrated from Brazil and arrived in New York. After buying a car and some camping equipment, they set out on their journey across the country toward their final destination in Southern California.

My grandparents and their family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a couple of years before they immigrated to the United States. I'm sure that visiting Utah was a very special experience for them. There are several vintage postcards from Utah in their collection, as well as photos too.

During the week of Thanksgiving, my husband and I went to Utah to spend time with some of our children. While we were there, we took the opportunity to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. The Salt Lake Temple (pictured in this postcard) is located at Temple Square. It is a magnificent and beautiful temple. Construction of this temple took 40 years to complete.

I thought I'd share a few pictures I took of the Christmas lights on Temple Square.







Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Home of Bing Crosby, Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, California

How fun is this vintage postcard!? I'm so glad my grandparents included it in their collection.

This linen postcard was manufactured by the Longshaw Card Co. of Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly when it was manufactured. According to the Postcard Collectors' Reference Guide by Postcardy.com, linen postcards were produced from 1933 until the early 1950s. So, this information at least gives us a rough estimate of when this postcard was produced.

The Los Angeles Times' website posted a photo gallery of this famous home. If you'd like to see these photos, click HERE.

Can you believe it's already December? Of course, that means Christmas is just around the corner. Yay! One of our family's favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas, which stars Bing Crosby. In this movie, Bing Crosby sings the Irving Berlin song "White Christmas."

And so, for your listening pleasure, please enjoy listening to this recording of Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas."

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Mulholland Memorial Fountain, Entrance to Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California

This is a 1940 C.T. Art-Colortone vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection. It was published by the Western Publishing & Novelty Co. of Los Angeles, California. The postcard shows the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain.

Transcription from back of postcard:

The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain is located at the junction of Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside Drive at the entrance to Griffith Park. It was erected in commemoration of a life devoted to Civic Development, the building of the Los Angeles aqueduct, and his service with the Metropolitan District.

The blog, Big Orange Landmarks, has a blog post about the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain. There are several photos of this beautiful fountain in this blog post. If you'd like to check out the photos, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Praca Da Estacao – Rio Claro, Brazil

This vintage Wessel postcard shows Praca Da Estacao in Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. If I'm not mistaken, Praca Da Estacao means Station Square in English.

This is a special postcard because my mom was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She, along with her family, immigrated to the United States in 1952. After the family arrived in New York, they bought a car and some camping equipment and traveled across the United States to California. Along the way, they took pictures and bought postcards. I've written about their immigration in my genealogy blog. If you're interested in their story, click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

General U. S. Grant's Bed Room in Grant's Home, Galena, Illinois

This genuine Curt Teich C.T. American Art vintage postcard from my grandparents' collection shows the bedroom of General U. S. Grant. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how old this postcard is. I'm not familiar enough with the Curt Teich postcard dating system to figure out what the 2320-C-N means. Those numbers and letters are located at the bottom right of the postcard.

With other Curt Teich vintage postcards in my grandparents' collection, I've been able to determine their dates by using the "Guide to Dating Curt Teich Postcards" on ebay.com. 

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last