Santa Postcard, HSV Lithograph Company, New York, New York

Hello, Donald, I received your card. Would like to see you. Hope Santa will bring you what you want. I want a pair of Skates but mama is afraid for me to have them.  ~Ralph*

On this second day of the Postcard Advent Calendar I reveal another Santa in the American style. Outfitted in his fur-trimmed red suit and hat, this sainted man’s rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes are buried in a full snow-white beard.  His posture, finger paused by his nose, seems to suggest Ralph interrupted him to write Donald’s note.  “Remember, Ralph and Donald, I am watching you boys.”  Wreathed in a holly-covered horseshoe, Santa generously offers the promise of dreams fulfilled: “Good luck learning to skate!” “Here’s your drum and trumpet! Play in the town square!” “Scare your sister with this toy mouse and then calm her down with Dolly!”

This silver bordered postcard was sent to Donald Minor on December 18, 1909.   A one cent stamp was all that was required for young Ralph to send this Christmas greeting from South Connellsville to Carmichaels, towns in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

Blair and Ralph, Photocard postmarked June 17, 1908

I delight in trolling through family heirlooms, discovering the bits and pieces of my story. This current project is but my second reading of the postcards and I am still discerning the relationships various writers have with my grandfather.  One thing IS clear; a good percentage of these cards are sent by family members.  Therefore, I am willing to wager a pair of skates that Ralph is  Donald’s cousin.

*To make the note easier to read, I have corrected spelling, grammar, and punctuation.