Lost Greetings

A new, broader blog.

At “Sprigged & Spotted,” I’m exploring the material culture of the past, while reflecting on its influence on the way we live in the present.

https://www.spriggedandspotted.com

There you’ll find fascinating rabbit holes exploring the intersection of the present and the past, enjoy historically-inspired crafts, and try quizzes to test your knowledge of the tactile aspects of history. Consider this your formal invitation! See you there.

1940s Postcards, Military Postcards, North America

War Dads Canteen, Part 2 [1944 – Springfield, MO]

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021 Kate

Like the previous Lost Greetings post, War Dad’s Canteen, Part 1, this card was produced to promote a service members’ place of respite near a major military hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Whereas the previously posted “War Dad’s Canteen Chapter No. 6” image showed the interior of the building, this one features the exterior and notes its location at “Frisco Station,” a significant depot on the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The postmark “P.O. ST-SF Sta.” stands to indicate this note was also placed in the mail at Frisco station.

The postcard was sent by Sgt Marvin L. Ward to a youngster living at the same residence in Morrisville, North Carolina as previously featured on this blog. Though, this postcard was delayed in reaching that destination.

Continue reading →

Military Postcards, Postcards, United States

War Dad’s Canteen, Part 1 [1945 – Springfield, MO]

September 7, 2020January 28, 2021 Kate

Communities found innumerable ways to support the war effort, and locations like this service members’ canteen popped up like mushrooms wherever military personnel congregated in the early 1940’s.

The American War Dads of Springfield produced this postcard to highlight their canteen, located adjacent to a passenger train station, but they also raised funds to sponsor the travel expenses of mothers visiting their sons at O’Reilly General Hospital. Known as “the Hospital with a Soul,” this Army medical center in Springfield, Missouri specialized in reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery, and physical therapy. Between 1941 and 1946, O’Reilly General Hospital provided extended care for injured veterans returning from the fight abroad. Worth a watch, a local news story about the history and fate of the “Hospital with a Soul” is included below. Continue reading “War Dad’s Canteen, Part 1 [1945 – Springfield, MO]” →

Military Postcards, Postcards, United States

Keep ’em Flying: Writing on the Move [“Camp Boardwalk” – Atlantic City, New Jersey – 1942]

August 11, 2020May 12, 2021 Kate

For the two years my husband was in Army flight school, we dated long-distance. Then, cell phones had slide-out keyboards, Taylor Swift was a pubescent country artist, and the quest to post the coolest AOL instant messenger “away message” often occupied a corner of my thoughts. I sometimes wrote him letters, even though such a thing was, by then, terribly old fashioned for people our age. I remember occasionally writing to him while trying to stave off boredom in my Strategic Management class, as I worked toward finishing my senior year in college. Much of my correspondence is tucked away in storage somewhere, but a few months ago, I came across one letter with a large jittery squiggle snaking across the page. Continue reading “Keep ’em Flying: Writing on the Move [“Camp Boardwalk” – Atlantic City, New Jersey – 1942]” →

Military Postcards, United States

From Ruth to Ruth in the Hospital [1942 – Salisbury, Maryland]

June 25, 2020August 3, 2020 Kate

Have you ever found yourself in a close relationship with someone who shares your first name? For me, it was my roommate during freshman year of college. Someone in the housing office probably thought it was cute to assign us to a room together, or it could have been random happenstance. We coexisted well enough, but were certainly never bosom buddies. And, I don’t know about her, but I was frequently asked if I felt confused about our shared name situation. The harmless inquiries still strike me as mildly obtuse.

I supposed in some scenario — if we had a visitor perhaps — we might both look up upon hearing our name. But, clearly, I always knew that if I wasn’t talking to myself, there was only one other Katie I could possibly be addressing. As the diversity of names in the U.S. continues to expand (i.e. the proportion of people who have the most common names is declining), perhaps more people exist who have never met someone who shares their first name. That’s certainly not the case for me.

In this postcard, we meet not a pair of Katie’s, but of Ruth’s. Continue reading “From Ruth to Ruth in the Hospital [1942 – Salisbury, Maryland]” →

Military Postcards, United States

Summer Camp and Boot Camp [1943 – Galilee, PA]

April 2, 2020August 3, 2020 Kate

This postcard traveled from the itty-bitty town of Galilee, PA to Great Lakes, Illinois, home to a massive Navy installation which trained a staggering number of sailors for service in World War II.

The front of this card features an aerial image of Camp Chicopee, a traditional summer camp which was located in the rural northwest corner of Pennsylvania near the New York state line. The camp was in operation until the late 1960s (source), but based on some Google Maps sleuthing, the land has since returned to private use and little trace remains of the buildings depicted in this photo.

Regarding supervising campers, I can personally relate to the sender’s sentiments. I myself worked as a camp counselor for one summer in rural Vermont when I was 19, and can attest that keeping a group of 8-year-olds entertained and out of trouble is no easy feat no matter the era. Though, for the recipient of this card, I’m sure a Navy life wasn’t much of a picnic either. Continue reading “Summer Camp and Boot Camp [1943 – Galilee, PA]” →

Military Postcards, United States

Postcard Casanova [Camp Barkeley, TX – 1945]

March 5, 2020March 30, 2020 Kate

On the front, we find a sedate pastoral image of George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon. On the reverse, we read a list of presumed conquests in the form of a litany of female names, though I wager this note was written with tongue firmly in-cheek.

This card was sent from Camp Barkley, Texas to Captain Cassidy, a chemical officer serving in Europe with the 9th Army (based on the APO listed, #339). The recipient may have needed some lighthearted cheer, because as of February 1945 (postmark of this card) the 9th Army had been heavily involved in the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive of the war. I hope that this implausible list of exploits was well received and that the sender wasn’t really the Casanova he purported to be. Though, I did enjoy reading the list of common female names of the time period, and I hope a few of these lovely monikers come back into style. Continue reading “Postcard Casanova [Camp Barkeley, TX – 1945]” →

Vintage Photos

Post Office in the Sand: Servicemen Sorting Packages on an Unidentified Island in the Pacific – [1940s Photo]

January 18, 2020March 30, 2020 Kate

This is not a postcard, but I also have an affinity for photos such as this.

Though postcards have fallen out of popularity as short-form communication, packages are still of vital importance to everyone of us. This is especially true for Americans still serving in far-flung locations around the globe, just as they were in this candid photo from the Pacific Theater of World War II. Instead of being secured with clear packing tape, the parcels pictured here were carefully tied with string before being entrusted to the mail service to bring a bit of home to service members abroad.

“Photograph of two U.S. Army Air Forces servicemen sorting packages in the sand in a post office hut at an unidentified camp on an unidentified island in the Pacific Theater during World War II. A row of Army Air Forces mail bags is seen on a stand. Photograph taken or collected by Capt. Ferd L. Davis of Zebulon, N.C., while he served in the 394th Bomber Squadron, 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), during the war (undated).”

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From Ferd L. Davis Papers, WWII 191, World War II Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

First Class of WAVES, Norman, Oklahoma 1943

Military Postcards, Postcards, United States

Making WAVES in the Sooner State [1944 – Oklahoma] US Navy

March 12, 2019August 7, 2020 Kate

A Naval base in the middle of Oklahoma? It may be hard to believe, but thousands of male and female Navy personnel spent time training in the wide open spaces of the Sooner State during World War II.

This post card was sent by a Navy service member stationed in Norman, Oklahoma, and depicts the hydroelectric Quanah Parker Dam to the West in what is now Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps the sender, Russell, found time for a weekend trip to this scenic part of the state during a reprieve from his hospital duties in 1944. Continue reading “Making WAVES in the Sooner State [1944 – Oklahoma] US Navy” →

Military Postcards, United States

Th’ Sarg Gave Me th’ Works [1942 – Sebring, FL]

November 23, 2018August 7, 2020 Kate

A drill sergeant picking apart a recruit seems to be a common vignette on military-themed comic postcards of this period. Though, I have to imagine that while the postcards are vivid, they would have been out-shown by the colorful language of the real drill sergeants of past and present. Breaking down the individual and building him back up as part of a team has long constituted the basis for basic American military training.

On this card, we meet Joe, a Private who uses this postcard image to relate his experience to a young lady in Pennsylvania. Continue reading “Th’ Sarg Gave Me th’ Works [1942 – Sebring, FL]” →