“Operation Postcard” is mission accomplished — at least the French Lick version of it, anyway.
A few weeks ago, we received an unexpected blast from the past in the mail: a vintage postcard of French Lick Springs Hotel, dated 1928. It came from Lowell Joerg, who’s made a hobby of this for the past 30 years: acquiring historical postcards, and sending them back to the properties where they originated.
This all started at an antique store in Minnesota, where Lowell spotted a postcard of a Pennsylvania church. He bought it and returned it to the address listed — just so happened the church was celebrating its 100th anniversary and was thrilled to receive a piece of its past. To Lowell’s surprise, they responded back to him with words of thanks.
A hobby was born. And it’s one that continues three decades later for Lowell, who lives at a senior living center in Stockton, California.
Lowell doesn’t get replies from all the postcards he helps send home. And that’s fine by him. It’s just something he does for fun, and to keep his mind sharp. He just turned 94 years old—the same age as the French Lick postcard, postmarked October 14, 1928. Who knows how this postcard survived the years, but from the meticulous script handwriting to the 1 cent stamp attached to it, this is an unmistakably cool relic from days gone by.
The text from this 1928 French Lick Springs Hotel postcard reads: "The Home of Pluto...French Lick Springs Hotel with two famous 18-hole golf courses, riding trails and tennis courts, is ideally located for conventions. French Lick is but a few miles from the center of population of the United States."
A portion of Lowell’s letter to us reads:
Good morning:
“Time has come round,” wrote Shakespeare, and indeed it has…
Some time ago I was at an antique store and found this circa 1920s picture card of your beautiful hotel. Now it’s back home again. Lots of changes over the years, I suppose.
I said to myself, “by golly, I’ll send it back where it can be appreciated.” Heritage is important. Enlarged and posted it will start a nice conversation.
My dear wife, now passed, used to laugh at me and say, “if you hear from those folks, you’ll have to take me to lunch.”
On June 26th I’ll be celebrating my 94th birthday. I don’t know where all that time went. But thank goodness I’m still going strong “as far as I know.”
I like to call my little hobby a “redistribution of happiness.” Our world sure needs it.
Here’s wishing you and the staff all the very best.
We repaid the favor to Lowell, sending back a package of French Lick Resort souvenirs — including a couple modern-day postcards. Cheers to Lowell and many more years of redistributing happiness all over the country, one postcard at a time.
