1920s postcard from Bruges

This postcard of of Saint John's Hospital in Bruges, Belgium, was mailed to Moylan/Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, in August 1928, if I'm reading the year on the postmark correctly.

Saint John's opened as a hospital in the 12th century and was still in operation when this postcard was sent. It didn't close as a hospital until 1977 — not a bad run! — and is now a museum.

The cursive message from Louise to Alfred is a bit hard for me to fully decipher. My eyes and ability to suss out the handwriting of a century ago aren't what they were when I started this blog in 2010. (I may be getting a second cataract surgery this fall, so maybe those skills will bounce back.) The gist of the letter, however, is a rave about Bruges and its old brick buildings and beautifully decorated churches. 

It's still a destination worthy of raves. English actor James Frain described Bruges thusly in an interview with the BBC:

"Bruges is a beautiful medieval city almost untouched by time. If you like jazz you will be well catered for. If you like chocolate and beer you will be in heaven."

Related post

• 1920s postcards: A walkable street and an adventurous path

Hans Holzer's "The Witchcraft Report"

I haven't had an installment of the Hans Holzer series since February and The Psychic World of Plants, so today — the day we mark the autumnal equinox — seems like a great day to delve into this 1970s book about spookiness, weirdness and incantations.

• Title: The Witchcraft Report
• Additional cover text: "An up-to-the-minute report on Pagan groups in America by the author GHOST HUNTER, ESP AND YOU and CHARISMATICS."
• Back cover excerpt: "What makes a person of sound mind and body turn to Witchcraft and the 'Old Religion' as opposed to the traditional, orthodox forms of worship?"
• Author: Hans Holzer (1920-2009)
• Publication date: October 1973
• Publisher: Ace Books 
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 222
• Cover price: $1.25
• Epigraph: "Ye shall dance, make music, sing, feast, and make love — all in my praise." (The Gospel of Aradia)
• What's the Gospel of Aradia? Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches is an 1899 book by Pennsylvanian Charles Godfrey Leland comprising his translation of a religious text believed to be used by pagan witches in Italy. Though there are many questions about whether the religious text was genuine, Leland's book had a major influence on Wicca's development in the 20th century.
• First sentences: Ever since I wrote THE TRUTH ABOUT WITCHCRAFT and THE NEW PAGANS people from all over have been writing to me in the hope of becoming witches. Some of these are twelve and thirteen year olds whose chances of being introduced to a coven or even a solitary practitioner of "The Old Religion" are practically nil until they reach the age of reason, or what passes as the legal age.
• Last sentence: Finally, if you who seek the ways of Witchcraft find that it is a philosophy that goes deeper than surface, a religion that is more than skin deep, don't be ashamed to get involved: body, mind, and spirit are the true trinity of life.
• Random excerpt #1: Individual witches may still practice in Cincinnati but there is, to the best of my knowledge, no organized coven now in operation. 
• Random excerpt #2: A pert, dark-haired lady who goes by the craft name of Cassandra Salem, or Sandy Salem for short, rides her jolly broom around Anaheim, California. 
• What was Sandy Salem's real name: Judy Malis, according to Holzer. And she lived in Huntington Beach.
• Random excerpt #3: If anything, it proves that Pagans have the same basic problems Christians, Jews, and Mohammedans have and, for that matter, all religions all over the world: sometimes they can't get along with each other, sometimes they exaggerate things out of proportion because they are so close to their problems, they cannot see how really insignificant these problems are to someone taking a long range view of things.
• Online reviews: This specific book doesn't have any reviews of note on Goodreads, Amazon or elsewhere online. And a search of Newspapers.com also came up empty. In 2002, Holzer published Witches: True Encounters with Wicca, Wizards, Covens, Cults and Magick, a hefty tome that incorporates some witch-themed material from his 1960s and 1970s books. Of that 2002 book, Green Stone wrote this review on Amazon in 2011: "The main problem I have with this book is that it seems to have been primarily written in the 1970's, and then updated to include a LITTLE 21st century (year 2000 and later) culture and Witchcraft information. ... If you want details on some of the goings on in Witchcraft in the 1960's or 1970's, or a taste of what some of the covens were like then, this book may give you some help with that. The many highly imaginative prayers, invocations and rites by Lady Svetlana of Feraferia which are included will give a good taste of the 'loose' 1970's when if what you said was beautiful and poetic, you weren't expected to make any sense." [Feraferia is mentioned extensively in The Witchcraft Report.] 

I thought it would be appropriate for black cat Stubby to pose with today's paperback.

"Triple Horror Bill" in Greeley, Colorado

While I was looking for something else on Newspapers.com, I came across this awesome newspaper advertisement for a "Triple Horror Bill" in the June 25, 1943, edition of the Greeley (Colorado) Daily Tribune.

"WARNING. Don't attend if you can't stand thrills" the advertisement states.

The trio of cinematic terror consisted of:

1. Dead Men Walk, (1943), a 64-minute flick that IMDb.com describes thusly: "The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan." It has a 4.8/10 rating. It was shot in six days and was one of the final movie appearances for Dwight Frye (1899-1943), who gave memorable performances in the 1931 classics Dracula and Frankenstein.

2. Terror House (aka The Night Has Eyes and Moonlight Madness), (1942). This 79-minute film from the UK has a respectable rating of 6.2 on IMDb.com. It's a thriller that takes place in an Old Dark House¹ amid the Yorkshire moors and stars James Mason a young man who may or may not be the villain. I'm going to track this one down, and I love what one reviewer wrote about it on IMDb.com in 2010:

"Of all the movies I love, none has had a wider ranging impact than this one. I saw it on late night TV when I was 9, Halloween night, at a sleepover where everyone else was sleeping. I had nothing to do and couldn't figure out how to change the channel on the TV, so I was sitting there grumpily watching something random when this... strange movie came on. It was in black and white, but the people in it were beautiful, as were the clothes, the sets, everything. I was transfixed. ... Thank you to the people who made this film with love. They'll never know what it's meant to me."

3. Nightmare, 1942. I don't know that this one truly falls into the category of horror. But it's a thriller. The IMDb.com summary: "An ex-gambler helps a beautiful widow, and becomes involved with a murder, secret agents, and saboteurs." It has a 6.3 rating and features the wonderfully named Elspeth Dudgeon, who is so memorable in 1932's The Old Dark House.

Also on the bill is the screwball comedy The Palm Beach Story, a Preston Sturges film that's well-regarded but certainly doesn't fit thematically with everything else.

The films were shown at Greeley's Park Theatre, which was in existence from 1922 to 1952, according to Cinema Treasures. Admission would have been about 20 cents, a darn good deal. That's about $3.60 today. Popcorn not included, though.

Spooky footnote

1. Some links for more about Old Dark House type movies:

• Martin Grams blog post from 2019
• Letterboxd list by Rugby
• Original Cinemaniac blog post from 2020
• Papergreat: Poster for 1935's "One Frightened Night"

From the readers: Scribble-In Book, decorating horrors, recipes and more

I'm so happy that people are still finding Papergreat after all these years and despite the low volume of my new output. Here are some comments that came in over the summer.

Late 1930s college expenses logged in The Scribble-in Book: Anonymous writes: "I have a Scribble-In Book of my grandmother's beginning December 29, 1932. She would jot down poems from various poets, particularly, Winifred Woods, Winifred Black, Charles Mackay, Ada Parker Smith, Ada Burke, Dorothy Henderson. The history is so rich!" 

What a wonderful family keepsake! I'm curious about some of the poets, because I have very little knowledge of that literary genre.

I can't find anything about Winifred Woods, but there was a Winifred Letts from that period who was a poet.

Is Winifred Black the American journalist Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils, who wrote under the names Anne Laurie and Winifred Black?

Ada Parker Smith is probably Ada Elizabeth Smith.

I can't find anything about Ada Burke or Dorothy Henderson, but would love to learn something!

Saturday's postcard: America House Motor Inn: Two more memories spurred by this postcard came in over the summer.

Anonymous #1 writes: "My family stayed at least twice at America House in the 1970s; the last time was during the summer of 1976. I remember that we loved it both times. Surprisingly, my biggest memory is of the restaurant, which was excellent from a kid's perspective."

Anonymous #2 writes: "Yearly stop with my family in the 70s on the way to Cape Hatteras. I looked forward to dominating the upstairs ping pong table! Demolished in 2018 to build homes."

The "magical" world of early 1970s interior decorating: Wendyvee writes: "Oh, that green still haunts ... no matter how fashionable it may become once again. I dig the swirly rug; but that chair does make me think that Karen Black, Mia Farrow, Sissy Spacek, or Margot Kidder will be chased around a Greenwich Village brownstone by something evil causing that chair to roll. I'm not typically neurospicy but what is WITH all of those off-center paintings in this collection?"

The 1970s offer more unanswered questions than any decade in history. Which is why I love that decade.

The One Where I Get Sucked into the Mecki Universe: Anonymous writes: "Mecki has always been part of my childhood. I have a 7-inch Steiff Mecki my mother had shipped from Germany for me around 1954 or 55. I was about 3 or 4. I was allowed to play with it until she discovered I was chewing on his nose. Then he went up on the shelf. I still have him, in excellent condition except his nose is a little chewed."

Wonderful memory! Thank you for sharing this.

Zita Spangler: From St. John's Reformed to Rolling Green Park: Anonymous writes: "I knew Rita Spangler/Cortright. She was my stepfather’s mother. Extraordinary woman. Smart, kind and so talented. She went on to become a textile artist. I don’t know what inspired me to google her, but I found your article and now know another part of her story. Thank you."

And now we know another part of the story, too, thanks to this comment.

A neat piece of Phillies history: Joan writes: "I am fairly certain the Roadside America hex sign is a [Jacob] Zook design as well." 

Oh, this is worth looking into!

Montoursville 2018: Hurr's: Anonymous writes: "My aunt was connected to the Millers and gave me this recipe: Hurr's Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce -- Boil together 3/4 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water. Then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 16 oz of Hershey's syrup + 12 oz. Peter Pan peanut butter. Beat with electric mixer (slow) till smooth. Refrigerate. You can serve it warm or cold. Enjoy. Makes about 1 qt."

Oh my! What a delicious recipe that appears to be. I imagine some of us will try it!

Flashback to outer space: Joan writes: "I miss the word of the day!!! We still have binders of them, though."

Old postcard: "The World's Most Famous Chicken Dish": Anonymous writes: "I remember when the Richmond Chicken in the Rough burned down. Our family loved that place. My church youth group used to go to the Clover Room on Sunday nights sometimes."

"The Valley of Hell" in Germany's Black Forest: Reba Birmingham writes: "Thank you for posting. I am writing a series (fiction) which has headquarters of both the good and evil camps in the Black Forest. In the next book (#6 Hercynian Forest Series) my characters will go through the Valley of Hell. I am researching now."

Thanks for letting us know about this fantasy book series, which is praised by reviewers for its fun characters, LGBTQ representation and more  And good luck with finishing your next one!

McCall Chair Co. ink blotter: Anonymous writes: "I am currently trying to recreate the #90 chair. Have been told it was a pistol to upholster, so I'll see."

Some tasty cookie recipes from Joanne van Roden: Anonymous writes: "I just acquired her Favorite Seafood Recipes from a local Goodwill. Great pamphlet. Glad you posted some recipes from her cookie recipe book. If the recipes in the cookie book are anything like her seafood book you have quite a find."

There are so many great finds to be had at Goodwill stores. I love donating to them, too, to keep the recycling of treasures going.

Sunday family photo

Top: Monkey, the elder statesman of the group

Middle (from left): Orange, Nebula and Venus

Bottom: Big Boi

Nebula is the daughter of Orange and Big Boi.

Venus is the son and/or grandson of Big Boi, by the best of my reckoning. His mother is Cirque and his grandmother is Mamacita. He lives inside with two of his siblings now. And another sibling, Drac, makes occasional appearances outside. 

I just realized Mamacita has never been pictured on the blog. She's doing great outside, as she approaches her third birthday. 

Scholastic classic: "How to Care for Your Monster"

• Title: How to Care for Your Monster 
• Author and illustrator: Norman Bridwell (1928-2014). Bridwell was previously featured in a 2019 post about The Witch Next Door.
• Publisher: Scholastic Book Services (TX 1688)
• Year: First published in 1970. This is the seventh printing from October 1973.
• Pages: 64
• Format: Paperback. Perfect bound, but with a pair of staples near the spine, to boost durability.
• Dedication: "To Eddie Stalling" ... There's a neat story behind this dedication. In the 2000 reference book 100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators, Sharron L. McElmeel writes: "One of Bridwell's most faithful fans was a second­ grade boy, Eddie Stalling, who wrote to Bridwell several times each year. By the time the boy was a fifth grader, he wrote Bridwell and asked him to write a book 'for fifth graders.' Bridwell responded by writing How to Care for Your Monster (Scholastic, 1970), which he dedicated to Stalling, and Monster Holidays (Scholastic, 1974). Stalling grew up and became a forest ranger in Alaska."
• First sentences: If you are lucky enough to live in a town that has a monster store, getting a monster should be easy. Just show Dad the ad and ask him for some money.
• Last sentences: There, that's all you need to know about monsters. Now go out and catch one. Don't be the last in your neighborhood to have a monster.
• Random excerpt from the middle #1: You might also try looking through the museum's trash barrels. Perhaps an old, used mummy is being thrown away.
• Random excerpt from the middle #2: Never give a silver medal to a vampire. Vampires are terrified of silver for some reason. Toss a vampire an old dime sometime and see what happens. [The illustration for this is pictured below.]
• Random excerpt from the middle #3: Werewolves are always thinking of their stomachs. Give them a prize they can eat. Give them the judge. 
• Rating on Goodreads: 4.46 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review excerpt: In 2017, Jeffrey Anderson wrote: "Second grade and I'm blessed to have the Scholastic Book Services and their catalogs. I chose this one and for years it sat in the bottom shelf of my nightstand. ... I cherished this book on that long ago autumn day when it arrived in my classroom, and today I cherished it again. This is a cool book. Snag a copy if you can."
• Rating on Amazon: 4.6 stars (out of 5)
• Amazon review excerpt #1: In 2014, Obi Wan wrote: "This was one of my favorite books as a kid. I got a copy in a school used book fair when I was about 8 years old. It was torn up and tattered, and I loved every minute of it! I had forgotten it for 25 years until it just recently popped into my head for some reason. So I found it again and sure enough it really holds up as a good kid's book. ... There are no hidden messages or redeeming social issues discussed. There is nothing to be learned from this book. It's just pure fun!"
• Amazon review excerpt #2: In 2010, Robert Marsh wrote: "One of my all-time favorite books from childhood. Got it through the Scholastic Book Club and read it over and over until the binding snapped. Taped up the spine then read it some more."
• Amazon review excerpt #3: In 2000, Rocky Morrow wrote: "Consider it a primer to the 'Goosebumps' series: introducing pre-schoolers to the Monsters which informed our pop-culture during the 20th Century. ... This would be a great book for a child who has a fear of the 'boogieman' in the closet, in that it treats the subject of Monsters with EMPOWERMENT: it lets the child know they CAN tame that Werewolf or Dracula."
• Blog excerpt: There's a wonderful essay on the Frankensteinia blog from 2008 in which Geof Smith writes: "Though it mentions castles, labs, pyramids, and swamps, the pages are populated with smiling suburban kids wearing turtlenecks and Chuck Taylors and playing with their big monster buddies in TV rooms, backyards, and basements. It was the perfect synthesis of lore and reality for a six-year-old mind, and it charged my imagination. ... It’s funny and slightly comforting to see the image of the Frankenstein monster cowering under the basement stairs. It tells children that they can master their fear, but it’s also true to the hulking man-child nature of the character; it hints at the pathos that makes the monster so timeless and especially appealing to children."
• Other blog links: This popular book has also been featured on The Haunted Closet and marklewisdraws.com, among many other places on the internet. 

A neat piece of Phillies history

Larry Shenk, the former longtime public relations director for the Philadelphia Phillies, tweeted this image on August 26 along with the message: "Honoring a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition Phillies give a hex sign to kids accompanied by a paying adult, Sunday, August 9, 1970, Connie Mack Stadium. The Double Distlefink is symbolic of good luck."¹

A short news item that was published on LancasterOnline in 2020 gives some history associated with the Phillies' hex sign giveaway:

"In June 1970, the Philadelphia Phillies were suffering from a truly stunning series of injuries, and had decided to turn to Pennsylvania Dutch superstitions to try and turn their luck around.

"It all started May 2, when Phils catcher Tim McCarver had his right hand fractured by a foul ball during a game in San Francisco. Mike Ryan replaced him and, literally minutes later, broke his left hand in a play at the plate.

"Three weeks later, starting May 21, five more players were out with injuries over the span of just six days.

"Thus, the power of the hex sign was enlisted.

"Jacob Zook, a 'hexologist' from Paradise, was enlisted to create three large hex signs to be mounted on the dugout roof at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The signs were installed without injury, but only time would tell if their mojo was successful in protecting the players."

George Crudden, who was sports editor of the Lancaster Sunday News at the time, helped Shenk and the Phillies get in touch with Zook for the dugout hex signs.² And the smaller hex signs that were later made for the Aug. 9, 1970, giveaway were produced in Lancaster County. According to an article by Lancaster New Era Sports Editor Larry Greybill that was published August 3, 1970, the signs were made by Dutch Peddler, a Reamstown company run by Ron Good of Ephrata and Dan Durso of Reading. 

Good approached Bill Giles, then the Phillies' vice president, about the potential giveaway.

"Giles liked the idea of buying the signs from a Lancaster County firm," Greybill wrote. "Good took care of the details. His firm will produce 8,000 hex signs in a deal that involves several thousand dollars."

At the conclusion of his column, Greybill asks: What if the Phillies lose with 8,000 hex signs in the crowd?

"I don't even want to think about," Good told him. "That's enough to keep me awake nights."

Well, it turned out to be a split decision. The Phillies hosted the Chicago Cubs for a Sunday doubleheader on August 9. In front of a crowd of 19,907, the Phillies lost the opener, 4-1, but won the second game, 6-1, thanks to the efforts of Tony Taylor and Barry Lersch.

Writing a column about baseball superstitions for the Philadelphia Daily News the next day, Stan Hochman began: "It was 'Double Distlefink Day' at the old ballyard and [Phillies coach] Doc Edwards looked at the gaudy little disk with two tulips and the two birds perched on the heart and he said, 'they look like pheasants to me,' which tells you how little West Virginia catchers know about Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs. The birds are supposed to be goldfinches and the arrangement is supposed to bring good luck. And when was the last time a Pennsylvania Dutchman struck out with the bases loaded? Anyway, there's a place for hex signs at the ballyard."

The Phillies finished the 1970 season with a record of 73-88, a half-game out of last place in the National League East. Would they have been even worse without the hex signs from Lancaster County? The following season, the Phillies moved into Veterans Stadium and lost 95 games. 

Today, those hex signs from the 1970 ballpark giveaway are extremely hard to find and likely sell for quite a bit of money on the rare occasions when they hit the market. 

Meanwhile, 54 summers later, the 2024 Philadelphia Phillies are 81-56 and have the second-best record in Major League Baseball. But I'll say no more. I wouldn't want to put a bad hex on them.

Footnotes

1. The widely accepted spelling of the word today is distelfink. But most of the coverage from 1970 that I came across spelled in distlefink.

2. I was LNP | LancasterOnline's sports editor for 4½ years during 2014 through 2018, but didn't do anything to directly help the Phillies. The Eagles, however, did win their Super Bowl during my tenure.

Flashback to outer space

Facebook reminded me of this photo post from 10 years ago today (Sept. 1, 2014), when Ashar decided we were going to start having a Word of the Day, complete with quotes and historical tidbits.

For fun, here are some of Papergreat's Star Trek-related posts from over the years:

• 1975 Power Records recording with a trio of Star Trek tales
• Unfortunate apparel of 1980: The official Star Trek duty jacket
• Advertisements for a pair of 1980s Star Trek games
• Telegram: Sandra & Leonard Nimoy plead with JFK for a safer planet
• 2014 snapshots from Geppi's Entertainment Museum
• The Nimoy Award for 1967 goes to Miss Nancyann Hiera!
• From 1982: William Shatner peddles Commodore's VIC-20
• Illustration: "Revolving Poker Rack" from Pacific Game Company
• Very authentic Star Trek postcard for Annika in Sweden
• Some WKBS-48 nostalgia
• Papergreat's 3,000th post, with a special celebrity guest
• Stay-at-home shelfie #43
• Snapshot & memories: Me in a Star Trek shirt
• RCA, NBC, Star Trek and color
• Not just any old Star Trek paperback