If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 748

 

 

 

 

 

Ohio Amish Country, ca 1970

 

Wilbur Evans published this unused postcard from the 1970s.  The blurb at the upper left on the reverse: “Ohio Amish Country.  During the summer months the AMISH hold Sunday Church Meetings outdoors.  White shirts, black vests, and straw hats if the dress of the Amish gentlemen.”  One woman can also be seen in the picture.  She is wearing the traditional bonnet, black jumper style dress with a long-sleeved blouse.  The card is identified as a “Lusterchrome” product made by Tichnor Bros. of Boston, Mass.  The trademark for the company was filed in 1955 and expired in 1996.  

 

Holmes County has the largest settlement of Amish in Ohio with Geauga County coming in second.  There are approximately 84,000 Amish people living in Ohio.  They are one of the religious groups that formed from Anabaptist Christianity.  Those groups include:  Old Order Amish, New Order Amish, Beachy Amish, Old Order Mennonites, and Conservative Mennonites. 

 

The Ohio settlement began when Jacob Miller and his sons, Henry and Jacob, came from Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1808 and built a cabin at Sugarcreek, Tuscarawas County.  Henry wintered over on the claim while his sons returned to Pennsylvania.  The rest of the family returned the next year.  By 1810 and 1811 eight more families had joined the group now at Walnut Creek.  By 1818 prices per acre had been reduced by the government encouraging more people to move to Ohio.  By 1835, 250 Amish families had settled in Holmes County.

 

The traditional source of income is farming.  They use manual and horse powered labor only.  There is a cooperative wholesaler, Green Field Farms, of organic agricultural products.  Membership in the co-op is limited to only those who use horse-drawn vehicles.   Many of the Amish people supplement their farming income with sales of hand-made goods, such as brooms, baskets, quilts, leather goods, woodworking, and other items sold from homes or from local shops. 

 

I remember when my son and his wife, who had just moved to Ohio, joined a “box” cooperative that supplied vegetables and other produce in season.  Part of the requirement was to work a certain number of hours at the farm.  My son, a college professor, was there one summer day when a few Amish girls or young women arrived and began working the fields, planting and digging.  He marveled that they could be out there all day in the heat and humidity wearing long dark dresses and bonnets, while he had to retreat several times to the cool shade and have drinks of water.   

 

For additional information, see:

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

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 733

 

 

 

 

 

Sitka, Alaska, 2025

 

I picked up several postcards when we took an Alaska cruise in July.  This card features a view of small islands near the town of Sitka.  The card was purchased on the ship and I sent the original to my friend who lives in Italy.  The cards were printed in Canada and part of a set with pictures of Alaska. 

 

The cruise ships do not dock right in the town of Sitka but there are free shuttle buses that go from the dock to the town.  The bus ride is about 15 or 20 minutes and passengers are dropped off near the shopping area.  There are several buses and they run continuously every few minutes making it convenient to shop, walk, take an excursion, or just meander around. 

 

Last time we were here we walked to the Pioneer Home and the Pioneer Cemetery to find information about Adolph Landaas the younger brother of Maggie Landaas Lorig and Petra Landaas Lee.  Adolph had been part of the Alaska Gold Rush.  He lived in Fairbanks until his retirement years when he moved to the Pioneer Home in Sitka.  We also walked to the National Park but only looked at the things close to the entrance.  This time we wanted to walk through the park where there are beautiful totem poles all along a trail through the woods.  We did not walk the entire loop but went far enough to see many of the poles.  In one case we watched a crew cleaning a pole.  

 

 

 

Sign at the entrance to the park

 

 

 

One of the many totem poles in the park

 

 

 We thought this was interesting.  A crew was cleaning one of the totem poles using soap and water.  The men were in the cherry picker basket and could be raised or lowered as needed to do the cleaning.

 

 

 This pole was roped off and either unpainted natural wood or was getting a new coat of paint.  

 

 

Close up look at one of the carvings 

 

 

Here and there we found placards similar to this one that provided information about the poles and general history.

 

 

When we returned to the area near the bus stop, we looked in a few shops and bought a couple of items.  Then we went inside Saint Michael’s church, also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel.  It is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox church.  When we were here before it was closed.   We had heard it was amazing inside.  And it is.  The walls are almost entirely covered with religious icons, there are candles, lots of decorative gold gilt, and is not very large inside.  It was relatively crowded when we were there but quiet.  Apparently, cookies and cocoa are sometimes sold in the basement of the church but we did not investigate the lower level.  

 

St. Michael's is a cathedral of the Orthodox Church in the America Diocese of Alaska. The church is in the Russian Orthodox architectural style.  The old cathedral was built between 1844 and 1848 from logs of native wood and lasted about 100 years.  Some of the icons were salvaged from the 1813 wreck of the Neva.   After the cathedral was destroyed in an accidental fire in 1966 it was rebuilt.   A National Historic Landmark since 1962, it is notable as an important example of the Russian influence in Southeast Alaska.  Items retrieved and restored after the fire included treasured icons, a chandelier, the royal doors, and some silk and brocade vestments.  The handmade bells and the clock in the bell tower were lost as was a large library with books in Russian, Tlingit, and Aleut languages.  

 

 

 

View of St. Michael's Cathedral from the back

 

 

The entrance to St. Michael's.  As can be seen it is a popular place for tourists to visit.

 

 

This is the view when entering 

 

Closer view of the gold doors and interior

 

 

 

There are icons on the walls, on stands, and everywhere.  

 

 

Candles 
 

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitka,_Alaska

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Michael%27s_Cathedral_(Sitka,_Alaska)

 

 

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 721

 

 

 

 

 

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum, Stirling Castle, Scotland

 

 

Printed by James Fleming & Co., of Callander, Scotland, this unused postcard features a photograph from the interior of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum housed in Stirling Castle, Scotland.  The card has a divided back with the title located on the reverse at the lower left corner.  No other credits are found on the card.

 

Counties in the United Kingdom that have organized regimental armies have museums dedicated to the history of specific army regiments.  Yeomanry, Militia, and Volunteer regiments also have museums or exhibition spaces.  Many are open to the public, some are open by appointment only. 

 

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, also known as Princess Louise’s, was created under the Childers Reforms in 1881 and is a light infantry company.  In 2006, as part of the restructuring of the British Army’s infantry, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were assimilated with the Royal Scots, The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the Roy Highland Fusiliers, the Black Watch, and the Highlanders to form the seven-battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.  Defense cuts in 2012 reduced it to a single light infantry company called Balaklava Company, Royal Regiment of Scotland.  

 

 

It was fun to find this old picture of Bopa aka FarFar’s father, “Mac” who served a mission in the Highlands of Scotland when he was about 20 years of age.  While he was there, he visited the town of Thurso where his parents had lived before emigrating.  No bag pipes, here he and a companion are dressed in the traditional kilt, bonnet, and sporran, while the third member is wearing a more traditional looking dress suit.  The picture taken around 1913 or 1914.

 

 

 "Mac" McKay in the center with two companions, ca 1913-1914

 

 

The black & white photo does not let us see if the kilts are in the MacKay plaid.  Standing in the middle, Grandpa McKay was almost 6 feet 4 inches tall, which would make it easy to pick him out even if we did not have other pictures of him to be sure.  Note the Argyll knee socks.  

 

  

 

MacKay plaid

 

 

The Regimental Museum for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is housed in Stirling Castle.  That castle was built in the 1490s and was known as the “King’s House,” or the “King’s Old Buildilng,” because it was thought to have been the private residence of King James IV.  The castle sits atop a crag giving it a strong defensive position.  The castle is considered one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland.  This castle has withstood at least eight sieges including one in 1746 when Bonnie Prince Charlie tried unsuccessfully to take it.  Today the castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a tourist attraction managed by Historic Environment Scotland. 

 

The grounds are used as an open-air concert venue.  Like some other castles, Stirling Castle has ghost lore.  A maid servant to Queen Mary, called the Green Lady, has been sighted by residents of visitors.  She is thought be a warning or omen of impending danger.   There is a fee to tour the castle and the museum.  The entry ticket fee to tour the castle incudes entrance to the museum.  Public donations is the main source of support and maintenance.  The governing body is the charitable trust:  The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum Trust. 

 

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 694

 

 

 

 

 Skykomish River, Washington

 

Used as an advertising postcard for Union Oil Company, this unused card features a view of the Skykomish River from a spot near Index, Washington.  The card was part of the Natural Color Scenes of the West series in “Tour the West this year with 76 gasoline”.  There is a information blurb at the upper left corner on the reverse.  See if you can find the spelling error in the blurb: “Skyhomish River, Washington, wends its way from the Cascades to Puget Sound amid such scenic beauty as this.  Take State Highway 15 from Monroe.”  The card has a color photograph, a one cent stamp required, and names the highway as 15.  This information can help place the date of publication to before 1954 because the postage rate for postcards increased from one cent to two cents in 1954.  State Highway 15 was renamed and became U.S. Highway 2 in 1964.

 

The name, Skykomish, comes from the Lushootseed name for the Skykomish people and means “upriver people.”  Nicknames for the river are Sky River and The Sky.  The North and South Forks of the Skykomish merge near the town of Index.  The snow-capped mountains seen in the background are part of the Wild Sky Wilderness.  There are several tributaries that feed into the Skykomish, that later joins the Snoqualmie River then together they join to form the Snohomish River eventually emptying into Puget Sound. 

 

The Skykomish is a large, wide, fast running river.  Many of the smaller tributaries also are known to have rapids and rushing waters.  When I was a girl, our family had friends who owned a dairy farm near Sultan.  One tributary, called The Little Sky, ran through part of their land.  All of us had been warned not to swim or play in the river because the water was cold, had a strong current, ran extremely fast and could be dangerous.  My brother told me of a time when he was staying there during one summer that the farm dog went into the water and was swept away.  One of the girls jumped in after the dog to save it and was almost also caught in the current.  The kids on the bank watched with fear as she struggled to reach her dog.  Somehow, she managed to save the dog and herself and they both ended up safe downstream.  All the kids who witnessed this event were told by the girls who lived on the farm not to breathe a word of the incident to their parents.  I don’t think anyone did.  It is not uncommon during the summer months to learn of drownings in pools formed in the river that look deceptively inviting but can be treacherous.  Watching that event probably was more a deterrent to the kids than the warnings of their parents. 

 

For more information, see:

 

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

 

 

The spelling error:  Skykomish is spelled as Skyhomish in the blurb.

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, 661

 

 

 

 

 

Bornholm, Denmark, 1982

 

Published by Colberg Boghandel a/s Rønne, Denmark this week’s used postcard is an Eneret card #1640 and features a cute illustration from the island of Bornholm showing fishermen, herring, and smokehouses.  At the lower right is “Hvor silden går I brede stimer ligger øen med de fleste solskinstimer” that roughly translates to:  Where the herring nets are found in wide shoals lies the island with the most hours of sunshine.”  The card would probably be termed a novelty card because of the cartoon-like picture.

 

Unlike most of the rest of Denmark, which is somewhat flat with low rolling hills, Borholm is a rocky island rising high out of the sea.  The northern part of the island is very rocky while the southern tip has a beach with some of the most fine grained sand found anywhere.  The middle of the island is farmland.  In addition to its round churches, the island is also famous for its herring fishing and smokehouses.  Two smokehouses can be seen at the upper left on the card.  Herring drying are found at the right edge, and the rest of the picture shows the process of fishing, cleaning, preparing the herring, and smoking the fish.  Drying racks can be seen just in back of the two women taking fish out of a basket.  The catch of the day is found on the docks and by the building in the center of the card.  There is even a whimsical black cat who has just finished eating a herring.  The artist’s signature is found along the right side “Bjerno.”

 

Because of its weather and the geology of the island it is known as the “sunshine island.”  The heat from the summer is stored in the rock formations and the weather stays warm until October.  The southern sandy beaches are popular vacation swimming and camping areas.

 

I was surprised and delighted to find that my mother had kept this card we mailed to her while on a trip to Scandinavia in 1982.  My youngest son was 4 years old and quite taken with the picture on the card.  He wanted to send it to his grandma and so he did with some help.  The main reason for visiting Bornholm on that trip was to see where my paternal grandfather, Axel Schrøder, was born and lived as a boy.  Although we were not able to find his exact home, we found the town, got an idea of where the farm was located and what it was like where he grew up. 

 

 Danish stamp, issued 1981

 

The stamp, issued in 1981, has a picture of N.F.S. Gundtvig’s childhood home.  Gundtvig (1783-1872) was a Danish Lutheran pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician who was one of the most influential people in Danish history.  He and his followers are credited with influencing modern Danish national consciousness.  He was a contemporary of Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard; however, his writings are not as well known internationally.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

https://visitbornholm.com/en/cities-places/selected-places/smokehouses

https://en.wikipedia.org/N._F._S._Gundtvig

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 660

 

 

 

 

 

Skiens Kirke, Norway, 1933

 

On the front bottom margin of this used Eneret:J.H.Koenholdt postcard is:  3655 Skiens Kirke [Skien’s Church] together with the postcard photographer-printer’s name.  The black & white picture is of the red brick parish church located in the town of Skien, Norway.  The card was sent to Petra Lee as a Christmas and New Year greeting from I.C. Lee’s sister, Ingeborg Hvalen, postmarked 30 December 1933.

 

This church was built in 1894 and is shaped like a Latin cross with two towers.  It is 154 ft or 47 m long with the towers 223 ft or 68 m high.  Located on a ridge overlooking the harbor it is impressive.  One of Norway’s largest organs with 5000 pipes is found here.  The primary artistic decorations are in the form of stained-glass windows and painted ornamentation on the walls and ceilings.

 

There was an earlier church here that was partly destroyed by fire in 1777 and restored.  Another fire in 1886 burned the church again and this time it was not salvageable.  Only the baptismal font, the holy vessels, two gilded wooden figures and the altar piece could be saved.  An interim church was erected and used between 1886 and 1894 when the red brick church was finally completed.  The interim church was later converted to a school building, then demolished in 2011.  There have been several maintenance repairs since this church was built, the most recent one involved replacing the brick façade in 2004.

 

 

 

The stamps are ones often seen on letters and cards from the 1930s.  The cancellation mark was clearer than some others, making it easy to date the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

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

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 659

 

 

 

 

 

Telemark, Løveidkanalen, 1906

 

This used Eneberettiget postcard, with a black and white photograph dated 1906, shows ships near the Løveid canal, Telemark, Norway, was printed and distributed by Peter Ålstrup Kunsforlag, Kristiania.  The card was mailed to I.C. Lee as a Christmas and New Year greeting from friends Kathrine og Hans Koblad.  This divided back card has a hand-written note dated 16 December 1907 at the upper right on the reverse.  For another more modern view of part of the canal and lock system, see the Thursday postcard #61 from 18 October 2012.

 

The canal links several long lakes in southern Norway connecting the towns of Skien and Dalen.  There are 18 locks in the series and took from 1854 to 1861 to complete.  Today there are river boats that take tourists down the staircase locks.  Originally there were two canals, the Norsjø-Skien, that linked Skien with Norsjø lake and a longer canal, Bandak-Norsjø.  The Bandak-Norsjø Canal which opened in 1892, was built mainly to transport goods and passengers, log floating and to prevent flooding.  It was made a National Cultural Heritage in 2017. 

 

For additional information, see: 

 

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

 

Lorig Family, Update, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Edd Lorig, ca 1919

 

Lorig Family history update.  The update comes as somewhat of a shocker.  We recently learned that Edd Lorig had been married first to Josephine Allower, on 5 February 1888 in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska.  Josephine was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1867 the daughter of Lew Allower and Josephine Evers.  It is likely that the Allower name was changed from the French-Canadian spelling of the name Alloir [Alloyier] or Alloir-Roy to the more English Allower or Alawer.  Her father’s given name mostly likely was Louis rather than Lew or Lewis.  We do not know what happened to Josephine or how the marriage ended.

 

 State of Nebraska, Trinity Cathedral, Omaha—marriage certificate 1888

 

Edd’s name on the 1888 marriage certificate is listed as E.P. Lorig.  His parents are listed as:  Henry Lorig and Catherine Schloeder.  His birthplace is given as Mt. Pleasant, Henry, Iowa.  These facts fit the records we already have.  Helen Fuqua, the granddaughter of Edd’s sister, Maggie [Margaret] Lorig Ford, said that her grandmother always called her brother Pete or Peter rather than Edd; however, Edd’s baptismal record does not show a second or middle name. 

 

There are a few additional records to check to see if we can piece more of the history together.  Since Edd is listed on the 1892 Washington Territorial census as single, and two years later married Maggie Landaas in 1894, we can determine that something happened between 1888 and 1892 that ended his first marriage.  Oral history suggests that he may have been in Seattle as early as the time of the 1889 fire but that needs to be confirmed.  A first wife was never mentioned.  Either Josephine died, the marriage was annulled or they divorced, or they separated without benefit of a legal process.  So far, no children from this first marriage have been discovered.  In any event, this first marriage was a short one, possibly less than one year or up to almost 4 years in length. 

 

At first it was thought that Edd’s sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Charles Keller, were already in Seattle and that was why he came out west.  However, they were still living in Chicago in 1910 according the census record.  What else could have caused him to travel across the country from Nebraska or Iowa to Seattle?  Perhaps it was because this was still the time period during the Alaska gold rush and Seattle was a boom town, the starting place for heading north to the gold fields.  It was a natural destination for many, especially young, single men.

 

 

St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, parish register, 1867, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa

 

Concerning Edd’s first name, he was always called, and often wrote his name just as Edd.  When he and two of his sisters, Mary Magdalene and Margaret Mae, were baptized in 1867 at St. Michael’s Episcopal church in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, his given name is written Edolph.  The witnesses at the baptisms were their parents and their maternal uncle, Adolph [written Edoph] Schloeder.  We see that Edd was named after his uncle, a common practice.  Some have thought there were two sons, Edward and Edolph, and two daughters, Margaret and Margarette; however, that is not the case.  These three children, Mary, Margaret and Edd, were baptized as young children instead of infants mostly likely because there was no German speaking Catholic church near where they lived.  Their German speaking parents may have thought the Episcopal church was a Catholic church or they may just have wanted to have the children baptized in a German language church.  Uncle Walt Lorig reported that his father always said there were 6 children in his family and he, Edd, was the only boy among the girls.  FamilySearch.org shows 8 children but two, Edolph and Margarette, are duplicates, they are Edd and Margaret [Maggie].  

 

1870 U.S. Federal Census

 

Only three years after the baptisms, on the 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Iowa, the family is found on lines 7-14 with the surname written not as Lorig but as Larice, with Henry [head of household], Catherine [wife], children:  Anna [15], Elizabeth [13], Mary M.[10], Margaret [8], Adolph (aka Edd) [5], and Martha [1]. 

 

 

 

 Marriage certificate, 1894, Edward Lorig and Maggie Landaas

 

On the marriage certificate in 1894 to Maggie Landaas, Edd signs his name as Edward Lorig.  Then on the 1900 U.S. Federal Census for Washington Edd is found again as Edward Lorig with Maggie as his wife, and children:  Clara E., Harry and Walter.  On the subsequent, 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Census records his name continues to appear as Edward Lorig.  

 

 

If I find more information, I will update again.