For the two years my husband was in Army flight school, we dated long-distance. Then, cell phones had slide-out keyboards, Taylor Swift was a pubescent country artist, and the quest to post the coolest AOL instant messenger “away message” often occupied a corner of my thoughts. I sometimes wrote him letters, even though such a thing was, by then, terribly old fashioned for people our age. I remember occasionally writing to him while trying to stave off boredom in my Strategic Management class, as I worked toward finishing my senior year in college. Much of my correspondence is tucked away in storage somewhere, but a few months ago, I came across one letter with a large jittery squiggle snaking across the page. Continue reading “Keep ’em Flying: Writing on the Move [“Camp Boardwalk” – Atlantic City, New Jersey – 1942]”
Tag: Postcards
Leonard’s: More Merchandise for Less Money [1944 – Fort Worth, TX]
Apparently Leonard’s department store was quite a place to see in its heyday. This store, located in Fort Worth, Texas, was a modern marvel before its time, even including at some point an indoor monorail. I found out about Leonard’s by way of Pvt. Luis France who sent this from Texas to a friend in Durham, North Carolina.
Leonard’s is now home to a museum about its spectacular history.
Hello Ruby,
I am on my way back to camp from furlough. I am sorry I didn’t go through N.C. I wished I had gone by that way. Was fine being home again. I had a swell time.
Will write later.
Love Luis
Postmark: Fort Worth, Texas – Jan 28, 1944
To: Miss Ruby Lou Atkinson | 515 Chapel Hill St. | Durham, N.C.
From: Pvt. Luis France 38439718
205th Ord. MMCo. Ft Dix, N.J.
Following Buddy Marress, WWII G.I.
I was excited to find Buddy’s postcards because of the longer story they reveal.
Buddy was born in 1918. His enlistment record indicates that he worked in the education field and had completed 3 years of college. (I don’t often try to look up the names on my postcards, but since I had so much information, in this case I gave it a shot.)
Postcard Timeline
Enlisted: May 23, 1942 – Fort Oglethorpe, GA (age 23, unmarried at time of enlistment)
Source: National Archives Enlistment Record
Date | Sent from | Current Unit/Base | Rank | Recipient Name | Recipient location |
26-Aug-42 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Army Air Base, Salt Lake | Pvt | Gladys Bell | Lobelville, Tn |
5-Apr-43 | St Louis, Missouri | 21st Sqd. Topeka, Ks | ? | Mrs. E Bell | Lobelville, Tn |
29-Aug-43 | Topeka, Kansas | 21st Sqd. Topeka, Ks | Sgt | Mrs. L. H. Marress | Lobelville, Tn |
13-Sep-43 | Topeka, Kansas | 21st Sqd. Topeka, Ks | ? | Mrs. L. H. Marress | Lobelville, Tn |
9-Apr-44 | Topeka, Kansas | 25th Adr’m Sq. (S) | Cpl. | Gladys Marress | Linden, Tn |
It seems that Miss Gladys Bell became Mrs. Marress during the summer of 1943.
Buddy Marress’s wife is buried in Perry County Tennessee: Marress, Gladys Bell, Apr. 1916-Dec. 9, 1989, “Wife of Loyd Marress”

Is National Air Mail Week still a thing?
It seems that the “National –insert cause here– Week” concept has been around for much longer than I thought.
At its introduction, one had to pay a premium for air mail service (24 cents) compared to regular first-class mail (3 cents). With the serious occupational hazards the first air mail pilots endured, I think the price was justified.
According to Edward A. Keogh, 1927, the earliest Air Mail service in the United States carried many more postcards than other type of mail, by a landslide, though the dates over which this tally was amassed is unclear.
Postcards | 32,415 | 87% |
Letters | 3,993 | 11% |
Circulars | 1,062 | 3% |
Total | 37470 |
Though postcards are becoming rarer, we are now more dependent on air transport of mail than ever. How could we get our online purchases “over-nighted” without our packages continuing to take to the sky?
Side note: Philately is far too competitive for my taste, but I recently learned more about the famous “Inverted Jenny” stamp, the holy grail of stamp collectors valued at about $1 million. The stamp came about because of the rush to produce the 24 cent air mail postage. I much prefer the humanity that is revealed on vintage send postcards, but it’s also a hobby that’s much easier on the wallet than stamp collecting.