New Zealand Health Camps and Stamps

New Zealand Health Camps for children were founded in 1919 by Dr. Elizabeth Gunn. The first camps were temporary and were for children who were malnourished or were suffering from tuberculosis. Later, permanent health camps run by the government were set up, and the reasons for sending children to the camps were more varied.

The first New Zealand Health Stamps were issued in 1929 and focused on eradicating tuberculosis. The Health Stamps are a combination of postage and a surcharge used in funding the Health Camps. During the early years, there was usually one stamp per year. Most years from 1939 to 1973 had two stamps; some years had three stamps. Children's Health Stamps are still being issued. The 2010 Children's Health stamps and covers picture butterflies.

There were three 1969 Health Stamps. Two of the 1969 Health Stamps are on this cover. One stamp commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Health Camps and their founder Dr. Elizabeth Gunn. 1969 was also the 75th anniversary of the New Zealand Cricket Council. The other two stamps had a sports theme, with cricket as the subject.

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

April Fools and April Weather

This postcard is one of my favorite finds. I love the Arts and Crafts design; it's the only American April Fool postcard I have; and it's one of only two cards I have from the Geo. W. Parker Art Co. of Minneapolis. It also has an unusual back with Welcome Card in place of the usual Post Card.

Both the greeting on the front and the message on the back are very appropriate considering the weather we have been having this year. The message is dated 3/25/14 and says: "have just had a light storm, but more snow than any one time this winter. Will be glad when spring weather prevails."

President Reagan Shot - March 30, 1981

© Aqua Ink inc. 1981

On this date thirty years ago, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. as they were leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel. This postcard refers to that event. It has a real adhesive bandage stuck to the front of the card. The caption on the back is "WHAT A BOO-BOO!"

This video was made for the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt.

The Village Blacksmith - Poem by Longfellow

My postcard is a souvenir of the Colonial Village at the 1934 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. This post with the image of the The Village Blacksmith and the famous words from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem was prompted by the Sepia Saturday 68 image of the strong muscled mechanic at work in Lewis Hine's photo Power House Mechanic Working On Steam Hammer.

Longfellow's poem was first published in 1841. It is about a local blacksmith and his daily life. The first words are the best known part of the poem:

Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith a mighty man is he
With large and sinewy hands
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

Wikipedia has a synopsis and analysis of The Village Blacksmith:

synopsis:
The poem is about a local blacksmith who is noted as being strong and for not owing anyone anything, working by the sweat of his own brow. Children coming home from school stop to stare at him as he works, impressed by the roaring bellows and burning sparks. On Sundays, the blacksmith, a single father after the death of his wife, takes his children to church, where his daughter sings in the choir. He goes through his life following the daily tasks assigned to him and has earned his sleep at night.

analysis:
The title character of "The Village Blacksmith" is presented as an "everyman" and a role model: he balances his commitments to work, the community, and his family. The character is presented as an iconic tradesman who is embedded in the history of the town and its defining institutions because he is a longtime resident with deeply-rooted strength, as symbolized by the "spreading chestnut tree".

Here is an illustrated version of The Village Blacksmith from Google Books:

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Prom Ballroom, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Prom Ballroom was located at 1190 University Ave. in St. Paul, Minnesota. It opened in 1941 and closed in 1987. Here is the description from MinneWiki, The Minnesota Music Encyclopedia:

The Prom Ballroom was a dance hall on University Avenue in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood. Glenn Miller and his Orchestra played the grand opening in 1941, to be followed by other well-known artists including Count Basie, and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

Swing, polka, jazz, and rock n' roll groups played the space, spanning such diverse musical acts from Lawrence Welk to Buddy Holly and Crickets, to The Police. The house orchestra was the Jules Herman Orchestra.

The Prom offered a 9000 square foot hard maple floor. Small booths and tables ringed the edge, where dancers could rest and order food.

This postcard was originally published in 1941, the year the Prom Ballroom opened. The marquee shows the names of some fairly well-known orchestras: Cliff Kyes, Orrin Tucker - Bonnie Baker, and Ralph Slade. Dancing was on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Park-N-Eat Fountain Grill sold hamburgers for 5¢.

The Orrin Tucker Orchestra and Bonnie Baker were featured in the 1941 movie You're the One, a 'B' movie that was written for the orchestra.

March 8 Postcard and Belarus Stamps

This week I received this lovely March 8 International Women's Day postcard from a Postcrosser in Belarus. On the back of the card are three spring flower stamps in the same spring colors as the postcard. The names are given in both Belarusian and Latin. The Latin names are Paeonia lactiflora (Peony), Narcissus hybridus (Narcissus), and Tulipa gesneriana (Tulip).

Three animal stamps, not so springlike, but equally nice are also on the back of the card.

Belarus Post has a nice online catalog in English where you can see stamp issues since 1992, including these and other stamps in the Garden Flower and Wild Animal series.

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

Third Avenue Bridge, Minneapolis - Then & Now

The black and white photo above is from the MNHS Visual Resources Database and shows the construction of the Third Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in 1917. This view is looking toward the milling district on the west bank.

The postcards below are from my postcard collection. The first card shows the completed bridge looking toward the east bank of the river. The large building in the center is the Industrial Exposition Building (1887-1940). The Third Avenue Bridge was originally called the St. Anthony Falls Bridge. The description on the back of this card is as follows:

ST. ANTHONY FALLS BRIDGE at Minneapolis, Minnesota, completed in June, 1918, at a cost of $865,000. It is the largest concrete arch bridge, built on a reverse curve, that spans the Mississippi River at any point from the source to the mouth. Designed and built by the Minneapolis City Engineering Department.

The next postcard shows another early view looking toward the Milling District on the west side of the river.

Here is some more information about the bridge from the Minneapolis Riverfront District website:

This 2,223-foot-long span was originally called the St. Anthony Falls Bridge, as it is built over the upper portion of the St. Anthony Falls Dam. Its alignment follows a shallow reverse S-curve in order to avoid fractures in the limestone bedrock supporting the bridge piers; it has the distinction of being the largest concrete arch bridge on a reverse curve. Much of the design work was done by Minneapolis city engineer Frederick W. Cappelen, who was responsible for a number of other local bridges and other structures, including the Cappelen Memorial (Franklin Avenue) Bridge. Construction of the $650,000 bridge used techniques which were state-of-the-art for the time, including the placement of water-tight cofferdams within which the bridge piers were poured. The concrete arches were formed against “falsework,” which supported and shaped the arches and then were removed after completion. A number of modifications have been made to the bridge over the years, including a major renovation in 1979- 80.

I didn't realize until I saw the description on the Lost Bridges page of the Minneapolis Riverfront District website, that the next postcard shows the "falsework" used in the construction of the Third Avenue Bridge. The falsework of the Third Avenue Bridge can be seen in the distance on the right side of the picture behind the smoke stacks. Here is the description of this card from that website:

Postcard showing the following bridges, heading upriver: Minneapolis Western Railroad, Lower (10th Avenue), Stone Arch, and falsework for the Third Avenue bridge, under construction; ca. 1917 .

The last postcard is a recent view of the Third Avenue Bridge. The bridge has not changed much, but the focus and style of the postcard have. This view is toward some of the downtown Minneapolis buildings on the west side of the river. The description does not even mention the bridge, saying only "A golden sunset casts its hue on the skies over Downtown Minneapolis and is reflected in the Mississippi River."

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