Friday, July 31, 2009

Postcard Friendship Friday - Cold in a Warm Place

Welcome to Postcard Friendship Friday! Thank you to our host, Marie of Voila! Vintage Postcards for continuing these fun and friendly Fridays.

Today's postcard pictures a residential Ft. Lauderdale street with Royal Poinciana's and Jacaranda's in full bloom. The Florida version of spring.
Royal Poinciana in Key West, Florida

Jacaranda blues


Both of these trees can be found in warm climates throughout the world. They are both valued for the intensely beautiful and showy blooms that attract hummingbirds and tourists.




The card is postmarked December 6, 1943, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The green 1 cent stamp shows Lady Liberty and includes the message: "Freedom of Speech and Religion, from want and fear." an appropriate message for 1943.

On December 6th, WWII was grinding on in Europe and the Pacific. President Roosevelt declared the end of the Great Depression. This was due to the increased employment during WWII.

.

Two days after the card was posted, Jim Morrison of The Doors was born.

.

The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded in 1943.


The addressee was:

.
Lake Avenue at Circular St.
.
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Saratoga Springs has many freshwater springs just as the name implies.

There are currently 17 public mineral springs in various locations throughout Saratoga. Each one is naturally carbonated. No two springs taste exactly alike - each one produces its own unique mineral content, imparting its own distinct flavor. The purported health benefits vary from spring to spring... some are said to help with skin ailments, assist in digestion, or even strengthen the blood!




A public freshwater spring.


The message on the card reads:

Dear Mrs. Luther,

This is a beautiful city. Climate is warm and pleasant.

Took cold on the train and had one of the worst colds I've ever had. coughed and naised. Mrs. Budd also has a very hard cold. We both are getting better of them, but have enough yet.

Are pleasantly located in a private home. Will not take an apartment.

Have you snow and cold weather?

With love,

Lelia M. B.

***

Mrs. Luther reads the latest post from Lelia on the way to the trash bin. It has always been Lelia's habit, since their primary school days, to go off on lovely vacations in the dead of winter. That's all well and good, but she insists on complaining about health problems - as a means of downplaying the Utopian vacation spots - then mentions her lovely and comfortable quarters and then innocuously ask about the weather in Saratoga Springs as if it would do anything else except snow it's brains out in December. Duh!

.

Cold remedies were then - as they are now - just a series of medications and warm drinks that will made the cold sufferer feel a little better for a few moments. Some Vicks Vapo-Rub perhaps. A pot of chicken soup. A mustard plaster. Smith Brother's Wild Cherry Cough Drops were soothing to the throat and a local product - manufactured in Poughkeepsie, New York.

.

An old remedy: 1 medium onion chopped very finely, sprinkled heavily with brown sugar. Let sit for 3 hours. Give to patient (including children) to eat as much as they feel like. (How about if I don't feel like having any?) The thought is that there is a "cure" ingredient in onions that will come out only if the onion is cut and allowed to sit for a while.

.

My family's remedy - passed down through generations is a mixture of honey, lemon and whiskey. Yummy! Good for a sore throat and a cough.

.

You'll be especially relieved to know this:

.

In 1924 facial tissue as it is known today was first introduced by Kimberly-Clark as Kleenex. It was invented as a means to remove cold cream. Early advertisements linked Kleenex to Hollywood makeup departments and sometimes included endorsements from movie stars (Helen Hayes and Jean Harlow) who used Kleenex to remove their theatrical makeup with cold cream. It was the customers that started to use Kleenex as a disposable handkerchief, and a reader review in 1926 by a newspaper in Peoria, Illinois found that 60 % of the users used it for blowing their nose.

.
Saratoga Race Course is a famous horse-racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. I can just hear you Brits and Europeans snickering whenever we Yankee's refer to any of our architecture as "old".
.

Supposedly the club sandwich was invented in Saratoga Springs in 1899 and Saratoga Springs was also the site where the first potato chips were made. I've got no proof - just some hearsay found in various articles about Saratoga. So don't hold me to it. In fact, I don't believe it either.

15 comments:

Paul van Yperen said...

Fun post, again. You made out of a boring card text (Nobody want to receive such a message)something imaginative and wonderful. Thanks.

Postcardy said...

Interesting tidbits about a variety of things. Never heard of the onion cure!

Sheila said...

I especially love jacaranda trees! I've heard of the onion cure from a homoeopathy practitioner. She said a cheese and onion sandwich was a great way to relieve the effects of a cold, especially red onion. I haven't actually tried.

Terry said...

Howdy Muse
Happy PFF to you.
What an awesome post.
Loved the information for the Hot Toddy as my Granny called them .I never knew about the history of the kleenex .Thank you so much for adding so many delightful unique ,fun,quirky facts to your post.
I am so glad to be back blogging I really missed reading your post last week.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Happy Trails

viridian said...

As always, fun with Muse Swings. Love your interpretation. I wonder if people still come to Saratoga to drink the waters, or just for the racing.

viridian said...

Oh! and another comment! I was at an antiques mall yesterday and glancing at old postcards, when I saw some linen postcards from Florida. I HAD to read them to see, just see, if any were from Pvt Burns! How crazy is that. (None were.)

Aimee said...

Great card & I love all of the "extras" you post too! Great story about Kleenex! With allergies like mine I don't know what I'd do without them!

My grandmother gave me the ol' whiskey, honey, lemon juice rememdy when I was a kid...I thought it was just awful, but she swore by it!

Debby said...

Great post!!! Always fun to get the info. The cards are fab!

Robin said...

I so enjoy and always look forward to your posts.

My mother always gave us whisky, lemon & sugar too. My grandmother was known to have given us grandchildren a clean cotton handkerchief wrapped around a sugar cube and dipped in whisky for teething.....something my mother (her daughter) frowned upon). :-)

I hope your weekend is beautiful.

Marie Reed said...

Chris' wild postcard cold remedy would do the trick too! I was just listening to the Doors yesterday! I always force the kids to listen to my hippy music. Dylan makes them run away screaming but Jimmy seemed to float their boat:) Happy PFF!

Lavinia said...

I think I am in need of a dose of that cure!!

Maui Mamma said...

I love interesting little bits of history like that. I am a history minor and teach it some years, but can't get into the "who killed who" aspect. This is what I like. Thank you. I will use some of you info in class....

MoxieMamaKC said...

I love it! What an absolutely fascinating history lesson. I work part time at a museum and I'm always looking for the interesting and curious that is out there. Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely adding you to my GoogleReader so I don't miss any of your great posts!

Unknown said...

Very interesting!

LORI said...

I LOVE ALL THE TIDBITS OF TRIVIA! STUFF YOU CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE, UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, WHICH IT SEEMS I RARELY DO! CONGRATS ON YOUR SITS DAY!