The Prayer of the Woods Sign

According to the description on the back of this postcard, this Prayer of the Woods sign dedicated to our forests was (is?) located in Silver Gate, Montana at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

The author of this prayer is unknown, but it is "from the Portuguese." The words on this sign appear to have an error. It probably should say "timber that builds your boat," not "timber that holds your boat."

THE PRAYER OF THE WOODS

I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on.
I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat.
I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin.
I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer: Harm me not.

I'm participating in Signs, Signs

Minneapolis 1911 Civic Celebration - Lake Harriet Pavilion

This postcard promoting the 1911 Minneapolis Civic Celebration was mailed 100 years ago today, on June 27, 1911. It is one of a series of postcards promoting the city of Minneapolis. This one has a picture of the Lake Harriet Pavilion, "where the bands of the world give free concerts every summer." The front of the card has an invitation to the Minneapolis Civic Celebration held July 2 to 8 with "Seven Great Days of Pageants and Spectacles.'

All of the cards in this series have a reason "WHY MINNEAPOLIS CELEBRATES week of July 2 to 8" on the back. This one is Reason No. 2:

Because it has more manufacturing, giving steady employment in proportion to population than other cities, there beeing over 1,000 manufacturing concerns in 137 lines of industry, with 20,000 skilled laborers on payrolls that aggregate $15,000,000 annually; capital, $80,000,000.

A June 12, 1911 article in the Minneapolis Tribune, "Greatness of Minneapolis Told in a Series of Pretty Post Cards" about these postcards gave a list of 22 reasons why Minneapolis was celebrating. The article reported that

Pictorial postcards, giving Minneapolis scenes are being mailed by the thousands. Many business firms, the real estate board and individuals have ordered the cards in large numbers. The Civic celebration committee also offers to provide them to those who will make application at headquarters 214 Plymouth building. This post card advertising has been found effective in other cities that have tried it. The Civic celebration post cards are arranged in a follow-up series and each card specifically mentions some particular reason why Minneapolis celebrates.

Some of the postcards also had advertising imprinted on the back. This one has a picture of the L. S. Donaldson Co., Glass Block Store. Dolly wrote on the front of this card, "Mother I am at Donaldsons.

Although there are 22 reasons, there are fewer cards in this series. I have ten and have heard there are fourteen. You can see the other Minneapolis 1911 Civic Celebration postcards I have here.

United States 1984 Summer Olympics Stamps

The United States Postal Service issued five series of four stamps intended to draw attention to the 1984 Summer Olympic Games that were held in Los Angeles. Above is a postcard showing one of the sets of four stamps issued. The postcard was issued by Marigold Enterprises, a licensee of the U. S. Postal Service.

Below is one of the 1984 Summer Olympics maximum cards that were issued by the U. S. Postal Service. Maximum cards were issued for each of the twenty stamps.

These were the stamps issued for the 1984 Summer Olympics:

• 40-cent international airmail
  Issued on April 8, 1983. The designs featured a shotputter, a male gymnast, a swimmer, and a weightlifter.
• 28-cent airmail
  Stamps issued on June 17, 1983. The designs featured a female gymnast, a hurdler, a basketball player, and a soccer player.
• 13-cent postcard rate
  Stamps issued on July 28, 1983. The designs featured a discus thrower, a high jumper, an archer, and two boxers.
• 35-cent airmail
  Stamps issued on November 4, 1983. The designs featured a fencer, a bicyclist, volleyball players, and a pole vaulter.
• 20-cent letter rate
  Stamps were issued on May 4, 1984. The designs featured a diver, a long jumper, wrestlers, and a kayaker.

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

Women Workers & World War II Aircraft Production

These two WWII era linen postcards are as close as I can come with postcards to the theme of the Sepia Saturday 80 image from the Library of Congress Photo collection. That photo's description says "Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif." Its topics are listed as follows:

* Douglas Aircraft Company
* airplane industry
* Women--Employment
* World War, 1939-1945
* engines
* Assembly-line methods
* United States--California--Long Beach

My first postcard says to "Keep 'em Flying" and shows a variety of airplanes. Many of the workers employed in aircraft production during WWII were women. The second postcard is "A Busy Worker's Correspondence Card." Women are prominent among the workers pictured on the card. The idea behind this type of postcard was that a busy person could just check the appropriate message, saving the time and trouble of writing. The message options with particular relevance to wartime workers are those in the second (blue) group. These include spaces to fill in the hours worked, and choices of "buying war bonds" and "finding scrap."

The two photos below are also from the Library of Congress and show women involved in airplane production. I chose these because I like their graphic quality. Both of these photos show woman workers at the Long Beach, California, plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. In the second photo the women are installing fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17F Bomber.

I found the number of airplanes produced in the early 1940s mind boggling. Here are some figures from an article on The American Aerospace Industry During World War II:

During 1939-1945, the industry became the largest single industry in the world and rose from 41st place to first among industries in the United States. From 1939, when fewer than 6,000 planes a year were being produced, the industry doubled production in 1940 and doubled it again in 1941 and 1942. In the first half of 1941, it produced 7,433 aircraft, more than had been produced in all of 1940. From January 1, 1940, until V-J Day on August 14, 1945, more than 300,000 military aircraft were produced for the U.S. military and the Allies.

This table on United States aircraft production during World War II is from Wikipedia:

For a humorous look at WWII Aircraft Production, see Production Line's Gettin' Too Fast on my Postcard Funnies blog.

Visit Sepia Saturday for More Vintage Photos

Sequoia National Park Entrance Sign

Sequoia National Park is located in the southern Sierra Nevada in California. It was established in 1890 and is famous for its giant sequoia trees. The park's General Sherman tree is the largest tree on Earth.

The Ash Mountain Entrance Sign pictured on this vintage postcard was constructed in 1935 by Civilian Conservation Corps craftsmen. It features a Native American face carved from blocks of sequoia wood.

I'm participating in Signs, Signs

Dreamland Dancing Pavilion, Minneapolis

Dreamland Dancing Pavilion was located across Fifth Street from the Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. An article in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune on November 30, 1914 reported that, after nearly five years, Dreamland had voiced its swan song the previous night. The hall was to be converted to roller skating and rechristened "New Arcadia."

The end of Dreamland was blamed on new dance fads, which the manager called "freak dances." According to the manager, the average man danced for relaxation and did not care to spend time in training his feet in new fads.

John Sloan, American Artist Stamp

This is a maximum card with the 8-cent John Sloan postage stamp issued at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on August 2, 1971. This was the tenth stamp in the American Painting Series that began in 1961.

The stamp honors American painter John Sloan (1871-1951) and reproduces his painting "The Wake of the Ferry II." The painting is in the Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC. Sloan was a leading figure in the Ashcan School of realist artists and was known for his urban genre paintings of New York City.

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