A 'Swenglish' journey through family photos, notes and postcards
from the early 20th century.

2021-04-11

G.034.03 - White City, Chicago (1907)

Temple of Music, Animal Circus and Johnston Flood, White City, Chicago
No. 299, V.O. Hammon Pub. Co., Chicago

 


To: Mr Gust. Ekman, Mortimer, Caldwell co,  Box 24, N.C.
From: Gerda (Chicago, Ill., Oct 2, 1907)

Mycken tack för brefvet, som nu är länge sedan jag fick. Roligt höra du mår bra. Jag mår bra, jag skall snart skrifva. Sänd mig ett vykort om det finns många der du är. Kära hälsningar från Gerda.
*Hit skulle du komma, skulle du få se på en vacker plats. Hoppas du kommer snart.

Many thanks for the letter which I got a long time ago. Glad to hear you are well. I am well, I will write soon. Send me a postcard if there are many where you are. Best wishes from Gerda.
*You should come here, this is a beautiful place. I hope you'll come soon.

* White City, or White City Amusement Park, was a recreational area in Chicago from 1905 until the 1950s. At the time of its opening on May 26, 1905, it was claimed to be the largest park of its type in the US. [Wikipedia]

...

Tydligen var Gustaf hösten 1907 i North Carolina. (Vid jultid samma år var han tillbaka i Galeton.)  UPPDATERING: Jag läste först adressen som "Coldwell", och tolkade Mortimer som ett personnamn. Slår mig i efterhand söka på Mortimer som ortsnamn, och "Caldwell county". Hittar uppgifter om att Mortimer numera är en "spökstad" i Wilson Creek Township i N.C. som övergavs efter översvämning 1940, men där finns forfarande lämningar efter industri och byggnader. En gång i tiden hade platsen 800 invåndare. Gustaf kan ha arbetat en tid på platsen snarare än bara ha besökt någon där.

It seems that Gustaf spent some time in North Carolina in the autumn of 1907. (By Christmas the same year he was back in Galeton.) UPDATE: At first I read the address as "Coldwell" and interpreted Mortimer as the name of a person, or perhaps company. Then it occurred to me that it might not be Coldwell but Caldwell county, and a new search brought me to information that Mortimer is a nowadays a ghost town in Wilson Creek Township, Caldwell county, in northern N.C. It was abandoned after a flood in 1940, but  was once a mill town with 800 residents; and there are still remains like machinery from the mill and foundations of buildings. Gustaf may have worked there for a while, not just visited a friend.

No comments:

Post a Comment