August, 1883

A slice of paper about the size of a dollar bill ... on one side the railroad name and some art work, on the other side ... a calendar for August, 1883, and some words suggesting a stay at Lake Minnetonka (or a thousand other attractive spots) to avoid the heat. We do not know how these little monthly calendars were distributed ... perhaps in railroad stations or other places catering to travellers. Click the images to see a slightly larger than actual size view. We like the art work ... How about you?

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Union Station - Washington DC [1914]

The grand Union Station, Washington, DC, as it appeared on a postcard mailed October 14, 1914 ...

The back includes a brief message ... Trust you are well and happy little girl. Love from Father.

Addressed to Miss Jones, Oswego, New York.

Information on the back ... Card number 4011 -- "Union Station Waiting Room Washington. The new Union Station was built by the U. S. Government and the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The cost of the land, building and terminal improvements was $18,000,000. The structure is the finest railway station in the world. The building, of white granite, is 760 feet in length and 343 feet in width." Publishers: B. S. Reynolds Co., Washington, D. C.

To get a glimpse of how the same space looks today click here. Credit: District GPS --- a blog for students who intern in Washington, DC.

Update --- Sports

Since our blog is our journal, today's post would not be complete without mention of yesterday's National Football League's National Football Conference Championship game played in our home city, Seattle. In perhaps what was one of the most unusual games we have ever watched, our team, the Seahawks, with less than 3 minutes in regulation time found themselves with a 12 point deficit behind the challenging Green Bay Packers. Through what seemed like a series of miracle plays, by the time the clock ran out, ending the regulation play, the score was tied at 22. There was a coin-toss to see who would get first possession of the ball in the Overtime Period and Seattle won, and elected to receive. They then put together a drive that resulted in a touchdown and won the game 28 to 22. The Seahawks are Champions of the NFC and will, for the second year in a row, go to the Superbowl. Edition 49 of the world championship game will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, February 1, at 3:30 PM on NBC. Go Hawks! 

  

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Card Mailed 106 Years Ago Today [1909]

From our collection, a card postmarked Chicago, Illinois, January 18, 1909, featuring the Overland Limited ...

The Overland Limited
Chicago - California

We like the face of this card a lot. For one who loves trains, the background sketch is cool. And then, the art in the 3 ovals to illustrate 3 parts of the country ... On the left, downtown Chicago ... in the middle, a horseback rider, probably in the Rocky Mountains ... and on the right, the beach in California. How do you like the beach attire? Have we come a long way or what?

Note gentlemen standing on beach in suits ... not swim suits!
And the lady in blue is ... we guess ... getting a loving splash.

No street number, no zip code.

The  message.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Fred Harvey [1941]

From our collection, a postcard mailed in 1941 showing the locations of Santa Fe Hotels and Dining Stations under management of Fred Harvey. These cards could be purchased at Dining Stations along the railway and mailed home. By marking the red circle you could show family or friends your location. This particular card was mailed in Winslow, Arizona, which does have a red circle on the map, but the sender did not mark it.

The following is from Wikikpedia ...

The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the western United States. The company traces its origins to the 1875 opening of two railroad eating houses located at Wallace, Kansas and Hugo, Colorado on the Kansas Pacific Railway. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The café operation ended within a year, but Harvey had been convinced of the potential profits from providing a high quality food and service at railroad eating houses. His longtime employer, the Burlington Railroad, declined his offer of establishing a system-wide eating house operation at all railroad meal stops, but the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) subsequently contracted with Harvey for several eating houses on an experimental basis.

In 1878, Harvey started the first of his eating house-hotel establishments along the AT&SF tracks in Florence, Kansas. The rapid growth of the Harvey House chain soon followed.

Possible history on this card ... Mailed from son to mother as he departed for duty, WW II, just about 3 weeks after the date that will "live in infamy" ... December 7, 1941.  On December 8, 1941, the United States Congress declared war upon the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day.

Read more about Fred Harvey here.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

SkyWatch Early January

Sunset, January 9, 2015
Seattle, WA, USA

Winter shadows are deep.

Remind us to show you this scene with leaves
in a couple of months.

A moment in time.

Linking up with SkyWatch Friday. Thank you SkyWatch hosts!

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Complimentary Pocket Calendar from John's Island for 2015

We apologize for being 15 days late getting this published for you. See construction steps below.

How to create your complimentary pocket calendar for 2015:

1. Download photos above.
2. Print -- Re-size first if necessary or desired.
3. Carefully cut out the front and back. If you are under 21, please use adult supervision.
4. Glue together ... printed sides out!
5. Enjoy for the remainder of 2015.

Yes, we know it says "1925" (90 years ago) but trust us ... the days are the same in 2015!

Don't miss the useful measures ... Metric on one side ... Inches on the other.

Yes, it looks a little bit like the Titanic ... but no worries ... it's the Aquitania!

You are welcome!

Linking up with Good Fences -- Yes, there's a fence along the bow of the ship to keep folks from falling off -- Yes, I know it's hard to see! LOL  Thanks for the link Tex!

Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

PS Really want to book a Cunard cruise? Contact info is here. Sadly, we are not registered agents, so no commission for us.

East on the Empire Builder [1946]

From our collection, a brochure published by the Great Northern Railway advertising a trip from Seattle to Chicago (and the Historic East) on the Empire Builder.

In 1946 passenger trains were operated by private railroads ... not AMTRAK. The Great Northern Railroad named its transcontinental train the Empire Builder. Today, AMTRAK still uses the name and most of the route.

Route of the Empire Builder
Low Altitude -- High Scenery

Graph of elevation along the line

Enlargement of map section.
Note stops for access to Yellowstone
and Glacier National Parks.

Radio in the Empire Builder Lounge

For some reason this looks like a better way to travel than on one of today's airplanes. Ahhh ... perhaps it's just because we don't fly "first class" LOL. And yes, of course, we want to get there fast, don't we ...

Empire Builder meals are Famous

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.