Deep Roots Family Tree Blog

This postcard gave me very little information to go on. I could not find Mrs. H. M. Looker, and I wonder who Joe is to her.

Postcard Transcription: Dear Madam. I thought you were coming here this winter but have not seen you yet. Yours, Joe. (write box 712).

The post card was dated the 14th of February, 1914. 

Perusing newspapers.com I did find an article unrelated to other Mrs. Looker or “Joe” that was interesting, considering I am currently living in Alaska.

The article states “This statement was made by Franklin K. Lane, secretary of the interior to a representative of The World in discussing the prospective construction by the government of a railroad system in Alaska along the lines authorized by the bill which recently passed in the senate and is now pending in the house.

“I am convinced that we should think of Alaska as a land not only of mines and fisheries, but of towns, farms, mills and factories, supporting millions of people of the hardiest and most wholesome class,” said the secretary. “This may be called an ideal conception of Alaska, but if it is a true one, congress should pass such legislation as will most certainly bring about this possibility. My judgement is that there will be much less of hazard if the United States itself builds the transportation system that will make Alaska’s fertile interior valleys accessible and bring its wealth of coal, iron, copper, and other minerals within reach of the outside world.””

– The Miami Herald: Sat, Feb. 14, 1914 (page 12)

I found this interesting considering how much of the land in Alaska is protected National Parks and conservation efforts. Yes, the railroad is still huge, and we now have the oil pipeline, but it feels like what was promised in that article never really came to fruition. I also find it interesting that there is no mention of the Alaska Native population at all. I don’t dare say much more on the subject as the Alaska Studies class in high school was mediocre at best, and I have not yet given myself the opportunity to really dig in to Alaskan history. Let’s just pretend that I didn’t work for Alaska Resource Library and Information Services (ARLIS) in college….

Meanwhile, nothing super interesting happened in Detroit on 2/2/1914, according to their newspapers. There was a lot of reporting on the plays and theatrical productions going on at the time.

The postcard itself is in great shape. Everything is legible. It appears to be a stamp of George Washington. The front is apparently of moonlight reflecting on Biscayne Bay in Miami. The color is much more vibrant on the physical postcard rather than the scan.

Where did my brain go when I read the message? Immediately my mind was wondering if Mrs. Looker was having an affair with this “Joe”. It seems common of the times that the sender of the postcard rarely gives their full names, and most of the postcard recievers use initials instead of full names, which makes my job more difficult. After playing with the adultry idea, I thought maybe Mrs. Looker and Joe snowbird in Florida to get away from the cold. According to research, the average high around that time would have been 35.2F and the low would be -7F.

I would have preferred the cold. 🙂 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.