Mardi Gras King and Queen

February 20, 2007 is also Mardi Gras.

This linen postcard probably is more than fifty years old. I consider this a "stunner" with "human interest"—terms used in the book Linen Postcards which I reviewed on my Postcardy.com website.

This postcard doesn't give any additional information on the back, so it is somewhat of a mystery. The title on the front seems a little confusing too. It implies that there is only one King and Queen. However, it probably should say "one of the many carnival balls," because each ball has its own King and Queen.

National Pancake Day

February 20, 2007 is Pancake Day, the day of the International Pancake Race held in Liberal, Kansas and Olney, England. The date changes every year because it is held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day all refer to the same day.

The Liberal, Kansas Pancake Race started in 1950 after a resident saw a magazine picture of the Olney, England race. The Olney race had been held there for over 500 years. Since 1950 there has been a friendly competition between Liberal, Kansas and Olney, England. Women race down the street with a pancake in a pan. Racers wear a head scarf and apron. They must flip their pancakes at the starting signal, and again after crossing the finish line, to prove they still have their pancakes.

Liberal, Kansas is also home to The Land of OZ animated entertainment and Dorothy's House, a 1907 farmhouse that has been restored and furnished to replicate the house shown in the movie The Wizard of Oz.

Links:
City of Liberal
Pancakeday.net
International Pancake Day

Mount Rushmore & President's Day

Mount Rushmore is often used as a symbol for President's Day, the third Monday in February. This real photo postcard of Mount Rushmore shows the monument during construction. This postcard was mailed in 1940.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota is a monumental granite sculpture with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four former U.S. Presidents. Between 1927 and 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the huge carvings of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.

Washington's face was completed and dedicated in 1934. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and the face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated in 1937.In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.

Mount Rushmore represents the largest work of art on earth. For more information on the presidential portraits and construction process, see the American Park Network page on The Making of Rushmore.



Detail View:

Whitney Valentine Postcard

Whitney Made cards were American made by a Worcester, Massachusetts company. Whitney produced many holiday postcards in the teens and twenties, most of which featured cute children on a white background. Their Valentines must have been especially popular, judging from the number still available.

I have about a hundred Whitney Valentine postcards. Most of the the ones I have have not been mailed, but many do have the "from" and "to" names on the back. I am showing this one (mailed and postmarked 1916 from Mankato, Minnesota) because of the interesting message on the back—also because it's very cold in Minnesota this Valentine's Day too!

Dear Evanore:
My isn't it cold today? How is school? It makes me think of the Valentine box we had at Rush Lake school, ha ha didn't we have fun. We've got a swell new bob and go coasting nearly every nite. Loren is sending Valentine's to all his girls.
Love from Mary R.
- - - - - - - -
Write some time.

Groundhog Day Postcard

February 2 is Groundhog Day. According to tradition, Phil the Punxsutawney (Pennsylvania) groundhog emerges from his hole early on February 2. If he sees his shadow and returns to his hole, there will be six more weeks of winter. If Phil does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

This Groundhog Day postcard is a promotion sent to newspapers from "National Pork Producers Council 1996 in cooperation with National Pork Board." It listed a phone number to call for ideas that spotlight the great taste of ground pork, "Groundhog Day Recipes."

Groundhog Day Postcards Celebrate Ancient Tradition is an article about other Groundhog Day postcards.

The official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club reports that Phil, the Punxsutawney Groundhog, officially forecasted on 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob to "Expect an early spring!!"

The Daily Pork, the website of the National Pork Board has news, information, pork recipes, and "fun stuff" related to pork. Today's recipe is Asian-Style Pork Sloppy Joes. I found another ground pork recipe on that site that I really would like to try—Hot Tamale Pie.

Winter Carnival (1917)

This postcard advertises the 1917 Saint Paul Outdoor Sports Carnival, one of the earlier versions of the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The first carnivals were held from 1886 to 1888 and 1896. They were again held in 1916 and 1917 and from 1937 to 1942. The Winter Carnival has been held annually since 1946.

Many pictures, including the 1917 ice palace, can be seen on an unofficial Winter Carnival website. That website also has links to other known St. Paul Winter Carnival websites.

California Oranges

Today's postcard is related to news about the freeze that damaged the citrus crop in California. From a recent news report :

Cold weather and freezing temperatures have decimated California's orange crop leaving the state's growers facing losses that could run to more than $1bn.

The freezing temperatures prompted Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, to proclaim a state of emergency in 10 of the state's counties.

This particular postcard also has an interesting back, so I have shown that too. The cancellation advertises the 1915 World's Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. The stamp is carefully placed, but upside down. I believe this is probably an instance of the Language of Stamps. An upside down stamp has become associated with the message "I love you."

I don't know whether the sideways writing in the message space is of any significance, but the message itself is quite interesting. It is written from Aunt Vera to Vera Mae:

What do you think of this? Are you a nice girl,
and do you take good care of Grandma? If I hear good reports of you —
"We'll see what we'll see."

Among a number of hits on the web for Language of Stamps (most of which refer to a 2005 New York Times story) was one at a blog named "Orange Crate Art." What a coincidence! From this I learned that Orange Crate Art is a song by Van Dyke Parks and the title of a 1995 album by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson. "Orange crate art was a place to start."

Nowadays, if you want to send someone some oranges from California, you don't even have to be in California. You can place an order online at a number of companies (e.g.,The Orange Store)—at least when oranges are available.