G.021.2 - Ladies With Bicycle, 1902

December 1902: Gustaf has moved to Port Allegany, PA, USA

To: Herr Gustaf Ekman

Address: Ben (?) K. Andersson, Port Allegany

Pennselvania Box 101, Nordtamerica
Sent from: Sörby, 17.12.1902

Arrived at: Port Allegany, PA, 29.12.1902

Grolanda

Käre broder!

Hoppas du mår godt. Jag väntar på bref.  Känner du igen någon här? Önskar dig en god och fridfull jul. Till nyår reser jag hem till Fristad. Kära hälsningar från din syster Ester.

Av Esters fråga att döma, gissar jag att en av kvinnorna på bilden kan vara hon själv.

Grolanda

Dear brother,

I hope you are well. I'm waiting for a letter. Do you recognize anyone here? I wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas. At New Year I'm going home to Fristad. Best wishes from your sister Ester.

From Ester's question, I assume that one of the ladies may be her. 

 Cropped and edited photo

Grolanda: Det har framgått av tidigare vykort i albumet att Ester bodde där 1902. (G.017.3)

Port Allegany: From the address on this and following postcards, I conclude that Gustaf emigrated to America in the autumn of 1902, and the first place where he settled for a while was Port Allegany, Pennsylvania. The first three cards he received there are addressed to hime care of a Ben K. Andersson, Box 101.  He soon got his own postbox, though (148). 

Originally known as Canoe Place, the town's name was changed to Port Allegany in 1838. - The town developed as a port on the Allegheny River and provided a place where travelers coming overland from the Susquehanna River could continue by boat. - This part of the state is rural and heavily forested. Before the arrival of the first European settlers, the area was densely forested with Eastern Hemlock*. Many of these sometimes massive trees were cut for lumber or sometimes only for their bark, which was used in tanning industry. /Wikipedia/