Remembrances - Photo Post Cards
By Sylvia Henricks
First printed in the Franklin Township Informer
Postcard collecting is a hobby that many people enjoy. Postcards are easy to find at yard sales, antique malls and flea markets. They don't cost much. They take up little storage space. They don't have to be dusted. They encourage your interest in whatever category you choose to collect. They give you something to talk about to your collector friends.
Collecting with a theme in mind adds to the fun. Categories are endless - animals, bridges, disasters, Main Streets, your own hometown, Abe Martin sayings, Riley's poetry, "real photo" postcards.
The Historical Society has in its permanent collection a number of postcard albums which have been given to us. These include a set of Interurbans shown in front of stations in various Indiana towns, Indiana covered bridges, and two scrapbooks of cards collected by Dr. and Mrs. Stanley on several vacation trips. (He was a long-time community veterinarian.) The society's favorite collection may be our "real photo" postcards of Franklin Township scenes taken by a Shelbyville postcard company in the early 1900s when postcard sending and collecting was at its peak.
We also have had postcards given to us with the option of our selling them, either as a service to members and friends, or to help with our society expenses. A group of these will be offered for sale at Open Hours on Sunday, July 18, 2010. Our "resident authority," Joe Seiter - also a member of the Indianapolis Postcard Club - has suggested prices. "Some dog-eared cards are worthless," Joe says. "Others might be a dollar or two, depending on condtion, subject, and rarity." We are pricing them all at $1 each.
We will have our society's albums available for viewing. For those persons who are already collectors, if you want to bring some or all of your cards, we will enjoy looking at them. This program is informal, and the building, 6510 S. Franklin Road, will be open for all visitors from 1 to 4 p.m.
Below: A post card of the Interurban Terminal Train Shed in Indianapolis. It is postmarked June 7, 1909.
RANDOM FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP FACT: