Sepia Saturday 241: 16 August 2014



Every week I participate in a meme called Sepia Saturday and this week Alan suggests: 

Our theme this week revolves around letters home and you can interpret it as widely as you want. It might be letters, it might be cards, it might be writing, it might be people far away from home. All you need to do is to feature an old photograph and tell us a little about it.

I'm a bit short on time (and photos if I'm honest) so this week's contribution is a postcard.


Unfortunately I don't know the area well enough to say where this picture would have been taken from but I welcome comments and observations on same.

The postcard is from my maternal grandmother, Kit, who died before I was born and four years after this was written. It is addressed to my maternal grandfather Tom. 


Kit and Barbara - not quite sure where this photo was taken but it was around that time period.

 Here is the back of the postcard.


The card is dated 30 December 1952 so just before New Year's Eve.  It says:

Dear Tom

Hope you have managed all right.  We have had a very nice time up to date.  Bell has been very busy in the shop.  We gave her a hand over the holidays and went up to the beach every other day.  I just met Mrs Sutcliffe's daughter Mrs Eather from Glasgow Ave. Bondi.  She looks very well.  We will be home Monday or Tuesday morning.  Having a day or two with Joy first.  Love from us both Kit X.

"We" would mean my mother Barbara and Kit.  My mother would have just turned 17.  

Joy was Kit's niece and my mother's cousin - Bell's daughter.  Bell had two daughters: Joy and Shirley.

323 Pacific Highway Belmont is shown on the map below.  I assume it is where Bell lived but I'm not sure - maybe it is where Joy lived.

I've shown the route from the Highway North to the shop in Newcastle.  I think it's more likely Joy's place.  I shall have to ask cousin Douglas if he knows.



Google Street View Jan 2010



Bell's shop was a bakery called Wingfield's Bakery.


Trove as usual comes up trumps with an ad for a pastry cook at the shop around that time.


courtesy of the National Library of Australia  Newcastle Morning Herald Miner's Advocate Tuesday 16 September 1952

Kit and Tom used to live at Bondi when they were first married so I am assuming that Mrs Sutcliffe was a neighbour.  I could confirm that by checking electoral records.

For more letters go here.






Comments

21 Wits said…
Interesting, and all good questions. It's so important to ask questions from those that may know and before it's too late!
diane b said…
Love these old photos and snippets of someone else's life.
Anonymous said…
You've given yourself a few questions to answer - happy hunting. Sometimes in correspondence it is what hasn't been said that baffles us
Little Nell said…
It's amazing what we can glean from a simple postcard, and to be able to find the ad for the shop is wonderful; it makes it more meaningful.
Alex Daw said…
Yes Karen - this is so true!
Alex Daw said…
High praise indeed coming from you who always has such a great blog. Thanks Diane!
Alex Daw said…
Ah yes genepenn - indeed. Why were they apart at Xmas I ask myself but then Xmas can be a difficult time for families.
Alex Daw said…
I have to say I was a bit chuffed to find that Little Nell. Different search terms, different results.
Fun post! I also need to get some answers before there is no one left.
Wendy said…
It always surprises me to see a postcard mailed without a stamp. I guess people put it in an envelope, but then I wonder what was the point of the postcard. Oh well.

I have come across a few ads for my family. One was the sale of a bowling alley as part of settling an estate. That was how I learned that my grandaunt Violetta's husband was a bit of an entrepreneur (he was in the census as owner of a newspaper stand). I also learned he died young and that they had not been married long. Often an ad reveals a lot of good information.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks for dropping by Jackie. I always find the Sepia Saturday exercise useful for making me stop and have a closer look at things.
Alex Daw said…
Me too Wendy! I love the language of the ads as well. It gives you an insight into the voice of whoever placed it. Imagine if we placed that sort of ad now?
La Nightingail said…
Helping in a bakery over the holidays! What a 'terrible' temptation. Once upon a time I'd go nuts trying to resist, but now I have to be very careful about my sugar intake & the consequences of not doing so far outweigh the temptation . . . or so I keep telling myself as I'm forced to walk past the bakery dept. in the supermarket!
Anonymous said…
Beautifully researched as usual and very ineresting. I remember an aunt in a plaid skirt similar to the ones in the photo so perhaps I have a photo of her in it somewhere.
Sharon said…
I just love where Sepia Saturday posts take us!

Gotta love Trove!
Alex Daw said…
Tee hee La Nightingail. It would be a terrible temptation wouldn't it? I am hopeless when it comes to bakeries. I feel weirdly obligated to try their goods after all their hard work.
Alex Daw said…
Thank you boundforoz. Perhaps plaid or tartan skirts could be a theme one week.
Alex Daw said…
Hi Sharon. I know what you mean. We had a writer visit the library today and someone asked her why she liked writing so much. She said it was like solving a mystery or a puzzle and I think that's the same for us isn't it?
Sharon said…
Definitely. I love the hunt and solving puzzles (do puzzles every night!)
Sherri said…
I hope they found their "Smart Lad". :) Fun post. Thank you.

Popular posts from this blog

31 Things to do in August for National Family History Month

NFHM Blogging Challenge - Week 1

Merry Month of May Movie Meme