Postcard Friendship Friday #6

Ida Cason Callaway Gardens


It's Postcard Friendship Friday!

What caught my eye about this postcard is the notation on the back. The hybrid rhododendrons pictured on the card are called "Cynthia". These were propagated for the Rhododendron Trail, planted by the Ida Cason Callaway Gardens along the Appalachian Trail near Chipley Ga, about 50 miles north of Columbus Georgia.
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The card is not dated either by writer or the postmark, so I got out my Hello Kitty CSI Kit and determined it was probably written in the mid to late 50's for 3 reasons. 1) The Ida Cason Callaway Gardens opened in 1952, 2) the purple 3 cent Liberty stamp was in use in the 50's and Chipley GA. was renamed Pine Mountain by 1960.

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The message reads:
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Tue. Eve - Staying at Garden Motel tonight. It's beautiful! Didn't cover many miles today. Stopped at college to see Ron Marren. Also a couple of young people from Gull Lake. Going to Weeki Wachee Springs in Fla. tomorrow - 525 mi. Enjoying our trip so much. 70 degrees at 5:00. Love, Us
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It was mailed to Pentwater Michigan - a small village of less than 1,000 people (2000 Census) in Oceana County in west central Michigan on Lake Michigan. The young people she referred to are from Gull Lake which is near Kalamazoo. They may have been attending West Georgia College which is now West Georgia University.

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Weeki Wachee - 1950's

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My take on the back story:
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Wanda and Ted are taking a driving tour of the South in their new maroon Buick. They are unencumbered by children, pets or Ted's mother-in-law to whom the postcard was mailed. They are dutifully visiting friends along the way and taking in gardens and botanical sites at every opportunity.
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They have had to send their breakfast plates back to the kitchen on several occasions because of the mushy white mass of something called grit (or is it grits? Wait until I tell Elvira about this!) that those antebellum cooks insist on plopping next to their 3 minute eggs. The waitresses all say "Now, Hon, you just try them! We would all just die if we didn't have our gree-uts in the mawnin!"
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Wanda is not quite sure what this Weeki Wachee springs is all about either, but Ted has heard about the mermaids that eat bananas and drink Coca Cola and breath underwater. He absolutely insists they drive an extra 525 miles just to see this. His foot hits the gas just a bit harder each time he imagines his face pressed against the glass of that underwater theater.
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Wanda looks up from her knitting every single time he strays over 50 mph. He's told her to keep an eye out for the Florida border. The Welcome Station gives everyone free orange juice and the rest rooms are air conditioned!
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For more Postcard Friendship Friday Fun pop over to see my dear bloggy friend Marie at Voila! Vintage Postcards