If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 690

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas greeting card illustrated by Helen Marion Burnside, early 1900s

 

Merry Christmas!

 

These three Victorian Vintage postcards are reproductions by Laughing Elephant, a small printing company in Seattle that preserves and reprints vintage illustrations.  The card above has the signature of H. M. Burnside [1841-1923].  She was famous not only for her illustrations but also for the verses she included on the cards.  Over 6,000 of her verses were put on Christmas cards and 150 of her songs were put to music.  She aspired to become a musician when she was young but she became deaf as a result of scarlet fever and chose to write verse and became a talented artist at a young age.  She also wrote several children’s books.

 

 

Christmas greeting with an illustration by James Brundage

 

Not all the early 1900s postcards have the name of the illustrator or their signature but this one was signed by James Brundage. 

 

 

 

Christmas greeting with an illustration by E.A.S.

 

This third card dates from the same era as the other two but has only the initials of the illustrator. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/library-rnid/2017/10/06/helen-marion-burnside-r-a-carried-the-radiance-of-her-very-soul-in-her-face/

 

https://laughingelephant.com

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 689

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coit Tower, San Francisco, California

 

Featured on this unused Selithco [Security Lithograph Co.] True Color, from Ektachrome, postcard is a photograph of Coit Memorial Tower, San Francisco, California.  The card was published by E F. Clements of San Francisco.  The number 1652 and a blurb appear at the upper left corner on the reverse.  The blurb:  “Coit Memorial Tower, Pioneer Park, San Francisco, is on the summit of Telegraph Hill.  The glass enclosed observation gallery atop the slim fluted-concrete column, is 540 feet above the water of the Bay, affording a view of the entire Bay Area.”

 

Also known as Coit Tower, it was built between 1932 and 1933 using a bequest from Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco.  In 2008 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  The tower is constructed of unpainted reinforced concrete and designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr., and Henry Temple Howard.  It has an Art Deco style that was popular during the 1930s.  Fresco murals in the American Social Realism style were painted by 22 different onsite artists and assistants.  Other artworks were completed on canvas offsite. 

 

The views from the tower of San Francisco from Telegraph Hill are spectacular.  There were two bequests from the Coit estate.  One was to honor volunteer firemen, the other to beautify the city.  Some have confused the two and erroneously claimed that the design of Coit tower resembles a fire hose nozzle.  However, the monument to the firemen is in the form of statuary located in Washington Square and is not connected with the tower.  Above the main entrance to the tower there is a concrete relief of a phoenix by sculptor Robert Boardman Howard.  The relief was commissioned by the architect and cast as part of Coit Tower. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower

 

 

If this is Thursday this must be postcards, 688

 

 

 

 

 

Laie Hawaii Temple

[photo by Loye Guthrie]

 

This unused postcard features a color photograph of the Laie Hawaii Temple by Loye Guthrie.  It is a Mirro-Krome Card by H.S. Crocker Co., Inc. of San Bruno, California and published by Hawaiian Service, Inc. of Honolulu, Hawaii.  There is a blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse:  “The beautiful Hawaii Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is at Laie on the windward side of the island of Oahu near the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University.  Construction of the temple was undertaken in 1916 and completed three years later.  The temple is one of the earliest examples of architectural concrete in America.”

 

The temple is located about 35 miles or 56 km from Honolulu and sits on a small hill ½ miles from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Laie.  As the blurb mentioned it is near the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University.  The Visitor center attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually.  Groundbreaking for the temple occurred in 1915 with the temple completed by 1919 and dedicated by Heber J. Grant.  Since then the temple was expanded in 1978 and rededicated by Spencer W. Kimball, and then after seismic upgrades and remodeling it was rededicated again in 2010.  This temple is the oldest temple to operate outside of Utah and is the 5^th oldest temple still in operation. 

 

 

Laie Hawaiian Temple, 2008

 

 

George Q. Cannon, BoPa (aka FarFar)’s great-grandfather, was among the first 10 missionaries to arrive in Hawaii in 1850.  There is a statue with a commemorative plaque of him and Jonathan Napela on the grounds of the cultural center.  When were there in 2008 we visited the cultural center and took a picture.  

 

 

 

George Q. Cannon and Jonathan Napela

 

Commemorative plaque

 

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laie_Hawaii_Temple

 

if this is Thursday it must be postcards, 687

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving, ca early 1900s

 

This card is a reproduction by the small local printing company, Laughing Elephant.  They specialize in printing vintage cards, books, and posters.  It may not be the traditional cornucopia usually seen on Thanksgiving Day cards but it contains most of the ingredients from cornstalks with ears of corn, pumpkins, apples, grapes, and fall leaves. 

 

My wishes to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all can spend time with loved ones, enjoy good food and conversation, lots of laughter, love, and share thanks for times past as well as look forward to things to come.

 

If you want to see other items printed by Laughing Elephant, here is a link:

 

https://laughingelephant.com/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 686

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edgartown Light House and The Harbor View Hotel, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

 

This unused postcard was probably originally available at the Harbor View Hotel, seen at the right.  It is a tourist card produced by McGrew Graphics and printed in Kansas City, Missouri with has the number 531180 at the bottom of the center line on the reverse.  At the upper left is a blurb:  “The Harbor View Hotel Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard Island, Mass. 02539.  Telephone (617) 627-4333.  Overlooking our picturesque harbor is the famous Edgartown Light House.  The Harbor View at the right, is equally famous.”

 

In the late 1700s and early 1800s there were a large number of vessels, mostly whalers, frequenting the harbor necessitating a lighthouse at the harbor entrance.  The original Edgartown Lighthouse was a Cape Cod style two-story Keeper’s house, built of wood on wooden spiles, similar to piling, on an artificial island ¼ mile from shore in 1828.  It was the first lighthouse at the entrance to Edgartown Harbor and also served as the lighthouse keeper’s home.  In 1830 a wooden causeway, known locally as the “Bridge of Sighs,” was approved and built.  People would gather on the causeway bridge to watch the whaling ships depart on voyages that could last up to 5 years, hence the nickname for the bridge.  The old lighthouse structure, which had had several rebuilds and repairs, was demolished and replaced by the current cast-iron tower in 1939.  Today it is surrounded by a beach made of accumulated sand around a stone causeway that connects to the mainland.  

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia,org/wiki/Edgertown_Harbor_Light

 

PepperWool knives

 

 

 

My son, Beren, has just launched his new pocket knife, the Merino MM. It is elegantly beautiful as well as useful and carefully engineered. Check it out on the website: https://pepperwool.com/ or to order one use this shortcut link: https://pepperwool.com/merino-mm/

Troublesome Creek Trail, Index, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Troublesome Creek

 

 The day we hiked the Erinwood trail we also hiked the Troublesome Creek trail.  There are several tributaries that feed into the North Fork Skykomish River and Troublesome Creek is one of them.  The campground is about 15 miles from Index on the Index-Galena Road that has been closed for about 7 or 8 years due to river washout.  Open now, the new road is paved, up higher on the hill, with crews installing erosion control terraces and plantings going in on the day we visited.  

 

 

One of the other tributaries to the North Fork Skykomish River, Trout Creek 

 

Named Troublesome Creek for the difficulty the railroad had in getting around it, the camp ground is closed for the season but the trail can still be accessed.  We passed one small outhouse that was part of the camping area but it looked like it was locked, hence prepare for no facilities if you want to hike here in late fall or early winter. 

 

 

Most of the trail looks like this

 

 

With just a few stairs

 

 

The trail we took is a loop with a lower path following along the creek and an upper mini loop that joins the lower loop again before returning to the campground proper.  We chose to do the lower loop since it was right along the creek which is really a small mountain river with a torrent of fast, powerful water running down the day we were there.  We followed the upper loop for a short distance to see where it went, but preferred being along the water so turned around and kept to the lower trail.  It is a short loop even adding the extra part of the upper loop.  Bob estimated that it ended up being about the same as the Erinwood trail, .8 miles for the loop. 

 

 

Metal bridge

 

 

 Wooden bridge

 

There are two sturdy foot bridges crossing the creek that offer opportunities to take pictures of the rapids, falls, and rushing water in the creek. 

 

 Pools

 

 and rapids

 

with water that is incredibly clear and a blue-green color.  There are pools, rapids, waterfalls and wonderful water music all along the lower loop trail.

 

 

 

 Our only animal sighting for the day was this busy, busy, woolly bear caterpillar hurrying to somewhere ...

 

 Little yellowish mushrooms

 

Medium sized flat topped brown mushrooms

 

Larger pink-purple cup shaped top mushroom

 

Cream colored concave mushrooms

 

There were mushrooms growing in this forest too, but perhaps not quite as many as we encountered in Erinwood.  

 

 

 

 

Only one place with an almost obstacle--Watch your head

 

 

 North Fork Skykomish

 

On the return trip toward Index, we pulled over and took a picture into bright sun over the North Fork Skykomish River.

 

 

Looking over the roof tops of Index was this view of the peaks in the Wild Sky Wilderness.

 

All in all, a wonderful day of solitude and peace, cool but not too cold, sunny and bright, no traffic noise, and beautiful nature surrounding us.

 

 

Count for the day:

No people, no dogs

.8 mile loop, a couple of small hills, no perceptible elevation gain

65 miles from home

 

 

 

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 685

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapel by the Lake, Auke Bay, Alaska, ca 1960

[photo by Howard C. Robinson]

 

The unused postcard shared this week features a photo by Howard C. Robinson of the Chapel by the Lake.  At the bottom left on the reverse there is C8716 and credit to Robinson.  At the upper left on the reverse is a short blurb:  “World famous Chapel by the Lake, Auke Bay, Alaska, with Mendenhall Glacier in the background.”  The card was published by C.P. Johnston Company of Seattle, Washington using color by Mike Roberts.  This card was one of several found in a jumble box at a local antique mall. 

 

Architects Howard Foss and Linn A. Forrest designed this Presbyterian church located in Auke Bay, Alaska.  Construction began in 1954 and was completed in 1958.  There is no date or postmark on the card but the date of the card can be estimated based on the new-like appearance of the interior shown on the card.  The style is an example of Rustic architecture.  There are large windows behind the altar that look out across Auke Lake to the famous Mendenhall Glacier.  The scenic, suburban location makes this chapel a popular venue for weddings. 

 

Auke Lake is found in Auke Bay, Juneau, Alaska.  In addition to Dolly Varden, cutthroat, and steelhead there are four other varieties of salmon live in the lake.  The views from the Glacier Hwy side of Auke Lake are often photographed. 

 

Mendenhall Glacier has been significantly receding.  When my parents visited in the early 1960s the glacier was close to the visitor center and the lake was much smaller with almost no beach.  When Bob and I were there in 2019, Mendenhall Lake had increased and the visitor center was at the beginning of a trail down to the large lake beach.

 

 

 Mendenhall Glacier, 2019

 

As can be seen in these photos from 2019, Mendenhall Lake has grown in size between the edge of the glacier and the pathway down from the visitor center.  The glacier is still massive but is continuing to shrink. 

 

Mendenhall Glacier and beach with people standing by the lake, 2019 

 

Mendenhall Glacier is about 13.6 miles or 21.9 km long and is located about 12 miles or 19 km from downtown Juneau.  The glacier and the surrounding areas are protected as the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area within the Tongass National Forest.  Since 1942 the Juneau Icefield Research Program has monitored the outlet glaciers.  Since 1929 when the lake was created, the glacier has receded 1.75 miles or 2.82 km.  It has receded a total of 2.5 miles or 4 km since 1500.  A statement from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Mendenhall Glacier, says: “because glaciers are a product of climate, they respond to climate change.”  The glacier is expected to continue receding in the foreseeable future due to a generally warming climate in Southeast Alaska. 

 

Nugget falls, the beach, lake, and Mendenhall Glacier, 2019 

 

Nugget Falls

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, 2019

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_by_the_Lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Glacier

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auke_Bay,_Juneau

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auke_Lake

 

 

Erinswood Trail, Index, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Sign pointing the way to the Erinwood trail, Index

 

This past week we planned to hike to Heybrook Ridge near Index.  We had been on this trail before and were looking forward to waterfall views.  However, we had not counted on high water from previous rainy days, nor the broken rail on the two-log crossing, or the slippery rocks, mostly submerged in quick running water.  Bob tested out both the log “bridge” and the stepping stones and pronounced both too slippery.  The risk of one of us falling was too great to chance it.  A short off-shoot loop on the Heybrook trail is a newer trail that is still being worked on.  It is the short Erinwood trail.  We decided to try it.  This is a free county park with land purchased by the county and the community to preserve the forest. 

 

 

 

 

Rain forest, moss everywhere

 

 

Nurse logs with new trees growing in the old stumps

 

Erinwood is an extremely nice, wooded area trail.  It has the feel of a rain forest with moss growing on all sides of the trees and fuzzy mossy branches making strange shapes.  At this time of the year the leaves on the deciduous trees are mostly down, the flowers are gone, but there are mushrooms aplenty nearly everywhere.   

 

 

 

Licorice ferns growing on the tree trunk

 

Licorice ferns grow in profusion on the trees. It is quiet, and solitary.  The area was logged and interesting nurse logs now playing host to another tree can be spotted all along the route.

 

 

Mushrooms

 

 

More interesting mushrooms

 

 

 

 

Mushrooms growing in the moss

 

 

 

 

Tree almost covered in mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 White coral mushroom

 

Trail surface is dirt and gravel covered in damp decaying fallen leaves

The trail surface is mostly packed dirt with gravel on some parts.  Probably the entire trail will have gravel when it is completed.  We enjoyed this walk in the woods.

The Heybrook Ridge trailhead parking area is fairly large.  There is a public restroom with flush toilets and running water a short distance away in the Index city park and a port-a-potty at the trailhead.  The trail winds and twists around until it finally meets up near the paper sign and rejoins the main trail back to the parking area.  The sign says the loop is .6 miles RT; however, we added a little by walking as far as the creek crossing to Heybrook Ridge, making it about .8 miles RT.  This seemed like not quite enough, so we drove another approximately 15 miles, on a road that had been previously closed but is now open, to the Troublesome Creek camp ground where there is a slightly longer loop trail.  There will be a separate post about the Troublesome Creek trail.

Count for the day, .8 miles RT

No people, no dogs

About 50 miles from home