Sunday, December 31, 2017

Old business card for the Soudersburg Motel



This snazzy little relic is a 3½-inch-wide business card for the Soudersburg Motel in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. My best guess is that it's from the 1970s. The signage that can be seen in the photo of the front of the motel includes "Master Charge" (which became Mastercard in 1979), "Diners Club," "Heated Pool," "Color TV in Rooms," and "Guided Tours."

The information on the back of the card, as you can see, adds that the motel is opposite Dutch Haven (famous for ShooFly Pie since 1946) and beside The Pancake Man. It also notes that the rooms have air-conditioning and are within walking distance of three restaurants.

The Soudersburg Motel has now, sadly, gone corporate and is an Americas Best Value Inn. It touts itself as follows:
"The Americas Best Value Inn, formerly Soudersburg Motel, is comfortable, easy to get to, and close to all the attractions you want to visit in Lancaster County. Surrounded by Amish Farmland, the Motel is located within five miles of attractions like American Music Theatre, Millennium Sight & Sound Theatre, Strasburg Rail Road and Dutch Wonderland family amusement park. Enjoy shopping at the Tanger Outlets and Rockvale Outlets located within three miles of the Motel. There are a number of restaurants nearby, some within walking distance, including famous Miller's Smorgasbord, and Dienner's Country Restaurant."
I bet it doesn't have business cards as snazzy as this one, though.

Lost Corners addendum

In doing some light research for this post, I came across the postcard blog Having a Nice Time, which only had 57 posts in 2008 and 2009 but is worthy of preservation. In the blog's description, author Mark writes: "In this era of e-mail, instant messaging, and cameraphones, the notion of a handwritten note in the mail seems like ancient history. Postcards were once a quick and inexpensive way to drop a line. Today, old postcards provide remarkable insight into our past; massive archived collections provide sources for historic research. The images can be hilarious, nostalgic and bizarre, and the messages quaint, puzzling and often poignant."

The blog has an October 1, 2008, post titled "Beside the Pancake Man, Soudersburg, PA." You should check out the "Had a lousy vacation" postcard that he documents in that post.

1 comment:

  1. Hey, I know the Dutch Haven! As an aside, I'm curious if that area still goes by Soudersburg or not.

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