I was born and raised in Louisiana, a fact about which I'm pretty proud (though my home state frequently ranks high on the bad lists and low on the good lists). You can't beat our food!
Once I decided to start building my vintage postcard collection, my first destination was eBay. A large portion of the Louisiana postcards up for sale are of New Orleans--there's so much more to the state! Using the search Louisiana postcards -"new orleans", I discovered the large-letter Greetings from... postcard was very common. I like bold, colorful graphics, and these postcards are anything but boring.
The above postcard was my first Greetings from... purchase. Monroe, Louisiana, the parish seat of Ouachita Parish (pronounced Wash-a-taw), was founded as Fort Miro. Though many believe its current name is derived from President James Monroe, the city was actually named after a steam ship...which was named after President Monroe. Located at the western edge of the Mississippi flood plain, Monroe served as a cotton port along the Ouachita River. Monroe was home to the first Coca Cola bottling company as well as the birthplace of Delta Airlines. During World War II, Selman Field (today the Monroe Regional Airport) was home to a navigation training school.
So why Monroe? I grew up about an hour from there. Well, my boyfriend at the time (now husband) was from Monroe. If you've ever visited the city, you'll know there's not really anything special about it (even though many locals would disagree with the exploding popularity of Duck Dynasty). Even this postcard doesn't really think it's special. If you look at the scenes depicted within the letters of Louisiana, none of them depict Monroe. This postcard was produced for other Louisiana cities and as a Greetings from Louisiana card.
The message on the back of the postcard doesn't mention anything about the city. However, it does provide a glimpse of life in Monroe during World War II--the card is postmarked December 26, 1942, at 6:30 p.m. The postcard is addressed to PFC William "Bill" P. Hostler at Lincoln AFB in Lincoln, Nebraska. His sister Katie has just gotten married to Art, who was probably stationed at Selman Field at the time. They had married at 11:15 that morning--a lieutenant at the base had given Katie away. Art had to return to camp at 7:30 that evening.
William Paul Hostler was born in May 1, 1906, in Liberty, Ohio, the son of Elloyd William Hostler and Elena Cornelia King Hostler. He was about twelve years older than his sister Catherine E. Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 27, 1941, at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. He had completed two years of high school and was working as a farmer. Bill died November 9, 1987, in Sandusky, Ohio.
Sources:
U.S. Census
the Wikipedia entry on Monroe along with my memory of Louisiana history
Monroe Regional Airport website
Seneca County, Ohio, Birth Register, Book 5, Page 73
Ohio Death Index (Family Search database)
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records (Family Search database)
Once I decided to start building my vintage postcard collection, my first destination was eBay. A large portion of the Louisiana postcards up for sale are of New Orleans--there's so much more to the state! Using the search Louisiana postcards -"new orleans", I discovered the large-letter Greetings from... postcard was very common. I like bold, colorful graphics, and these postcards are anything but boring.
The above postcard was my first Greetings from... purchase. Monroe, Louisiana, the parish seat of Ouachita Parish (pronounced Wash-a-taw), was founded as Fort Miro. Though many believe its current name is derived from President James Monroe, the city was actually named after a steam ship...which was named after President Monroe. Located at the western edge of the Mississippi flood plain, Monroe served as a cotton port along the Ouachita River. Monroe was home to the first Coca Cola bottling company as well as the birthplace of Delta Airlines. During World War II, Selman Field (today the Monroe Regional Airport) was home to a navigation training school.
So why Monroe? I grew up about an hour from there. Well, my boyfriend at the time (now husband) was from Monroe. If you've ever visited the city, you'll know there's not really anything special about it (even though many locals would disagree with the exploding popularity of Duck Dynasty). Even this postcard doesn't really think it's special. If you look at the scenes depicted within the letters of Louisiana, none of them depict Monroe. This postcard was produced for other Louisiana cities and as a Greetings from Louisiana card.
The message on the back of the postcard doesn't mention anything about the city. However, it does provide a glimpse of life in Monroe during World War II--the card is postmarked December 26, 1942, at 6:30 p.m. The postcard is addressed to PFC William "Bill" P. Hostler at Lincoln AFB in Lincoln, Nebraska. His sister Katie has just gotten married to Art, who was probably stationed at Selman Field at the time. They had married at 11:15 that morning--a lieutenant at the base had given Katie away. Art had to return to camp at 7:30 that evening.
William Paul Hostler was born in May 1, 1906, in Liberty, Ohio, the son of Elloyd William Hostler and Elena Cornelia King Hostler. He was about twelve years older than his sister Catherine E. Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 27, 1941, at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. He had completed two years of high school and was working as a farmer. Bill died November 9, 1987, in Sandusky, Ohio.
Sources:
U.S. Census
the Wikipedia entry on Monroe along with my memory of Louisiana history
Monroe Regional Airport website
Seneca County, Ohio, Birth Register, Book 5, Page 73
Ohio Death Index (Family Search database)
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records (Family Search database)