Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Long-ago holiday greetings from Edna Belle Curtin


We've had a good run of small, cozy vintage holiday cards this month, and here's another one.1 It measures just 2¾ inches across. Inside, the following message is printed:

The end of a perfect
day be yours,
When the evening stars
appear.
And may every day be
a perfect day,
to the end of a perfect
year.

Enda Belle Curtin.

I discovered a little about Enda in a wedding announcement that appeared on page 5 of the June 1, 1933, edition of the Ogdensburg (N.Y.) Journal:2

MISS CURTIN IS WEDDED TO OLAND BOWMAN
Ogdensburg Girl Bride of Hammond Man — Rev. MacIntyre Officiates.

Miss Edna Belle Curtin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Curtin, Proctor Avenue, was married this morning at 8 o'clock to Oland J. Bowman of Hammond. The ceremony was performed by Dr. William C. MacIntyre at the home of the bride at 414 Proctor Avenue.

Attending couple was Mr. and Mrs. alton Porter of this city. The bride was prettily attired in light blue chiffon with white hat and accessories, and carried a bouquet of white sweet peas. Mrs. Porter wore dark blue crepe and carried pink sweet peas. The house was prettily decorated with lilacs, tulips, spires and honeysuckles. The wedding march was played by Mrs. Everett Smithers, pianist.

After the wedding, a wedding breakfast was served to the members of the two families and friends. ...

After an extended wedding trip, Mr. and Mrs. Bowman will be at home July 1 at Black Lake where they will reside during the summer.

Oland lived from 1889 to 1972, while Edna lived from 1900 to 1993, according to this gravestone in Ogdensburg Cemetery.

As to the small piece of prose inside Enda's card, I found another reference to it in the December 1918/January 1919 edition of The Linotype Bulletin:3
Joseph L. Newland, Sr., machinist-operator, Brown-Morrison Co., Lynchburg, Va., was out with a New Year's card that hit us right between the eyes. It was Christmas-belled, -hollied, patriotically adorned, and — yes, further embellished by a photographic reproduction of the sender's classic bust. The sentiment is entirely too good to keep. Here it is:

May the end of a perfect day be yours,
When the evening stars appear;
And may every day be a perfect day
To the end of a perfect year!


Footnotes
1. Earlier cozy cards:
2. The 1933 newspaper page also includes the following intriguing items:
  • An advertisement for a June 4 baseball game between the Chateaugay Ponies (1932 champions) and Ogdensburg (1932 runner-up). Admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.
  • An advertisement for the Saturday night performance by Eddie's Dance Band at Danceland. Admission was 10 cents for women and 30 cents for men.
  • An advertisement for "permanent waves" at Edie's Beauty Shop, which cost either $2.50 or $5 (the equivalent of $44 or $88 today).
  • An advertisement for a bankruptcy sale at Murray's Clothes Shop.
  • This announcement of a birthday party:
    "A delightful birthday party was given Wednesday afternoon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Averell, Riverside Drive, on the occasion of their daughter, Miss Dorothy Averell's 11th birthday. Fifteen little friends were present and enjoyed the afternoon playing games, a girl's baseball game proved an enjoyable feature on the program of events. Dinner was served at 7, with a pink and yellow color scheme being carried out effectively in the table decorations."
3. That edition of The Linotype Bulletin also includes this graphic about border matrices and border slides, which I'm sharing here. Because ephemera.

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