In Memory of Governor John A. Johnson

Governor John A. Johnson, 16th Governor of Minnesota, was born in 1861 and died in 1909 while in office. He was born in St. Peter, Minnesota and was the first Minnesota-born governor. He was elected governor three times in 1904, 1906, and 1908.

Winter Olympics Stamps

Ice Dancing

Alpine Skiing

Nordic skiing

Ice Hockey

These maximum cards were issued by the U.S. Postal Service. The stamps are from a block of four 20-cent stamps that were issued to honor the 1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The stamps were issued in Lake Placid, New York which was the site of the 1980 and 1932 Winter Olympics.

The sports highlighted on these stamps are ice dancing, Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, and ice hockey.

The video below shows Winter Olympics stamps from a variety of countries and years.

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

A Century of Progress Exposition - 100 Postcard Views

Originally I planned make to make a post for Sepia Saturday 100 using a few of my Century of Progress postcards. I figured the "century" that the exposition was named for, the hundred years 1833-1933, would fit the "100" theme. However, when I saw the special Sepia Saturday 100 logo, I had the idea of making a video using 100 postcards.

I had previously made a Century of Progress video using brightly colored linen postcards, so I planned to use only black and white postcards. While I was scanning, I changed my mind a couple of times about which cards to include. I ended up including some color ones and scanning a total of 142 postcards. It was hard to choose which ones to include and end up with exactly 100 (actually 101 if you count the postcard used for the title). The scanning was time consuming, but it was probably easier than thinking of something intelligent to write.

This is a special post for Sepia Saturday 100, the 100th Sepia Saturday.

Chief Bemidji

The postcard above is Shaynowishkung, commonly called Chief Bemidji . The following information is from the back of the postcard.

He was the leader of about 50 Indians who had settled along the south shores of Lake Bemidji, Minn. Actually, he was the 'chief Indian' or spokesman for the group and he was not a chief and his name was not Bemidji. In Ojibway, his name was Shaynowishkung--a word which means 'rattler.' When the first white men arrived in this area, they were met by him and upon asking his name, were given instead the name of the lake, which sounded to them like Bemidji. Thus, he was called Chief Bemidji.

The next postcard is the first statue of Chief Bemidji, carved in 1901.

The last postcard is the second (and current) statue of Chief Bemidji made in 1952. There are currently efforts to create a third statue in bronze. Critics of the current statue feel that it is not artistic or respectful.

The following information is from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database and was taken from a plaque by the statue donated in 1993.

Shaynowishkung known as "Chief Bemidji" 1824-1904. In the 1800s, Shaynowishkung and a band of Ojibwe Indians lived on the south shore of a lake known to fur traders as Lac Traverse. The Ojibwe word for traverse is bemidgegumaug, and it means 'the river (route) flowing crosswise.' As time passed, the lake was called "Bemidji." The first white settlers, George E. and Merian E. Carson came in 1888. Shaynowishkung housed and fed them and others. Although he was not a tribal chief, those early homesteaders respectfully called him “Chief Bemidji." When his daughter, Bahgahmaushequay, married Marian Carson, Bemidji's first postmaster, the relationship was cemented between the original inhabitants and the white settlers. In 1896, the northernmost town of the Mississippi River was incorporated and it was named Bemidji. Lumberjack Gustaf Hinche carved the first Chief Bemidji statue in 1901, honoring a living Shaynowishkung. In 1904, the town mourned Shaynowishkung's death and erected a monument in his name at the Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927 Bemidji's park commission placed Hinche's 'Chief Bemidji' statue in Library Park to overlook the flowage of the Mississippi River through Lake Bemidji. Years and weather took its toll on the original statue and it was replaced in 1952 by a replica carved by retired lumberjack Eric Boe. Coated with fiberglass to protect it from the elements, it remains a symbol of esteem for the Ojibwe Indian Shaynowishkung, known honorably as 'Chief Bemidji.' Plaque donated by Joyce Bedeson Skelton, Oct. 1993.

More history of Chief Bemidji can be found here.

Ohio Map & Sesquicentennial Stamp

When I first saw this postcard, I just saw the cancellation on the front and didn't notice the stamp which blends in with the pictures on the card. Then I realized that this is a maximum card. The postcard is one of a series of linen map postcards published by Kropp. The stamp commemorates the state of Ohio's sesquicentennial in 1953, and there is a first day of issue cancellation.

The following description is from the Arago website:

The Department issued this 3-cent Ohio Statehood commemorative stamp through the Chillicothe, Ohio, post office on March 2, 1953. The stamp's central design is an outline of the state of Ohio, which provides a flat-toned background for Ohio's Great Seal. Defining each side of the stamp are two dark, vertical panels, enclosing a row of eight stars in each panel, representing the sixteen states prior to the admission of Ohio into the Union. The seventeenth star, representing Ohio, appears in the top center, directly over the top border of the state. A buckeye leaf is shown in the lower left corner.

The postcard has nine numbered views of places in Ohio:

1. Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
2. State Capital at Columbus
3. Sunset on Lake Erie
4. Picturesque Ohio River at Cincinnati
5. One of the many fine beaches on Lake Erie
6. Sheet and Tube Mills at Youngstown
7. Soldiers' Home at Dayton
8. Coal and Ore Boats at Toledo
9. Sailboats on Sandusky Bay

I am participating in Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Santa Fe Railway's Indian Band

This postcard shows the Santa Fe Railway's Indian Band in the parade at the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, Gallup, New Mexico.

The Santa Fe All-Indian Band showcased musical talents of the railway's Indian employees. The band started in 1923 with three Native Americans who entertained for a Santa Fe Railway shop picnic in Winslow, Arizona. The original band included a trumpet, a tuba, and a bass drum. The inter-tribal band had members from as many as twelve tribes. Although most band members were Santa Fe employees, some family members were also included. The the Santa Fe All-Indian Band played at events for more than forty years. It was dissolved in 1964, because there weren’t enough replacement band members to keep the band going.

The Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial is still an annual event. The following description is from the New Mexico Tourism Department website:

Since 1922, the people of Gallup, New Mexico have been proud to present the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial each summer. A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Native American arts, cultures, and traditions, “Ceremonial”, as it is known throughout the region, is a special time when indigenous peoples from throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico travel to Gallup to share the best of their creative and performing talents and diverse heritages with the rest of the world, and to reunite with other indigenous groups. Nowhere else on Earth can you experience tribal ceremonial dances, a contest pow-wow, indoor and outdoor arts and crafts markets, all Indian rodeos, a world class juried art show, opportunities to buy authentic Native American art and jewelry, parades, Native American foods, a ceremonial queen contest, and crafts demonstrations, all in one location at one time.

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States. This is a time to celebrate the heritage and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives. President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar proclamations (with some variants in the name of the month) have been issued each year since 1994. The 2011 proclamation issued by President Barack Obama is online here.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

November 2, 1914 - Thanksgiving Greetings

I keep my postcards of Thanksgiving children in an album, so I usually don't see the backs. I discovered that this postcard has a long, interesting, and easily readable message when I was picking postcards to use in a Thanksgiving Fun postcard video I was making. It was written on November 2, 1914--97 years ago today. I think it really gives an idea of what daily life was like back then.

Nov. 2, 1914. Got your card this morning. It was real pretty. I intended to ans. it on a Thanks. card, but forgot so will write one now. I started to hunt you one today and decided this was the cutest I had. Mama picked its mate to send to Esther S. I seem to have missed answering one of your cards - Hello, People. I don't think your telephone calls were very fairly divided a week ago Sun. but maybe your turn hadn't come yet.
Leah and Catherine were here today. Had quite a nice visit. Gail and Aunt Kate came over a little while toward eve. with the team so the girls didn't have to walk home. I suppose they had an errand at Verna's so just drove around. I gave Catherine her apron. Finished one of papa's shirts today. Have the other 3 started. Guess I'd better quit as it's after 10. We've got 18 eggs several days lately. Pretty good for 30 hens. Some of the pullets are laying I think. Is this tobacco tag any good? Don't know where I got it, found it among some of your scraps maybe - I do sometimes.Any way I found it when I went to clean my safe drawer yesterday so will send it to you.
Katie to Algie

The card below is from the same series but has no writing on the back. It could have been the "mate" mentioned on the first card. Personally, I like the first card better. It is easier for me to relate to a girl feeding a turkey than to the fantasy on the second card.