Alice’s Postcard Collection

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Alice’s Postcard Collection

July 8, 2015 by Luanne

I lost my oldest cat, Mac. He passed away a week ago last Sunday. His actual name was Macavity, and he was named after T.S. Eliot’s “Mystery Cat” (in the poem and the Broadway musical). I’m a dedicated animal lover, so I always like to see evidence of animals in the lives of my ancestors. I wrote a post called Dogs in the Family that showcases some photos of pets from 100 years ago, as well as my own four cats.

I found a postcard from 105 years ago that features a type of tabby cat. My cat Mac was an orange and white tabby, so this caught my attention. It’s part of a collection of cards received by Alice Leeuwenhoek.

This card was mailed from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1910. Alice was my grandfather’s first cousin–their mothers were sisters–and she was born in Kalamazoo in 1897.

I wish I knew what the inside joke about eating well means! Alice was a very slender woman.

Notice that the postcard isn’t signed. So frustrating! Does it sound like a good friend or a relative? Does the handwriting give a clue? Alice was 13 years old when she received this card.

Here she is seven years later (age 20)–dressing fashionably, posing, and with a young man!

Alice wouldn’t marry until 1923, at age 26, and it wasn’t to the man in this photo.

If you go to Dogs in the Family, you will see a photo of Alice as a child with her aunt, my great-grandmother Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, and my grandfather, Adrian Zuidweg–with the family dogs.

I’ll leave you with photo of Alice and moi when I was 3 years old. Alice was 61. I knew Alice quite well when I was a child. She passed away when I was 8 years old, in 1963.

Posted in Adrian Zuidweg, Cora DeKorn Zuidweg, DeKorn, Family History, Genealogy, Jennie DeKorn Culver, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo late 1800s - early 1900s, Leeuwenhoek, Photography early 20th century | Tagged Adrian Zuidweg, Alice Leeuwenhoek, antique photos, antique postcard, cat postcard, DeKorn genealogy, Dutch Genealogy, early 1900s, family history, genealogy, history of Kalamazoo, identification of antique photograph, Kalamazoo history, Kalamazoo Michigan, Leeuwenhoek, Michigan history, Paak genealogy | 25 Comments

25 Responses

on July 8, 2015 at 6:51 am | Reply Janet

Reblogged this on Janet’s thread.
- on July 8, 2015 at 6:20 pm | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Janet, thank you so much!
on July 8, 2015 at 7:44 am | Reply Sammy D.

So sorry about MacCavity. How I love those Cats cats, and see their personas in other cats. I collected postcards for years when I lived in Michigan and ‘antiquing’ was a preferable activity to shopping malls in lousy weather. I collected them for dates, postmarks, addresses, front art, and messages. The messages were almost always about weather or health (little has changed!) and many were not signed. It occurred to me that their habit of not signing the shirt notes is our eq
- on July 8, 2015 at 6:22 pm | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Sammy, thank you about Mac. He was such a big baby. A mama’s boy who could intimidate anybody else with a “mild” glance. hahaha He was great. My dad had a wonderful postcard collection. Eventually he got rid of it, but he framed a few pretty antique postcards for me. What an art form!
  When I was a kid and at camp, guess what postcards I collected into my postcard album? KITTEN ones. haha
  I would have loved to have seen your postcards. What did you do with them?
  - on July 8, 2015 at 8:41 pm | Reply Sammy D.
    
    I gave them away to an antique dealer during one of my moves. I sometimes wish I’d kept them. I used to use them for Christmas gift labels with my family so that was always fun to have them look at and read them during our Christmas gathering.
    
    I still go occasionally to look at them in local antique stores. Had lots of fun with street vendors in Paris – brought some home with me.
    I should write about them some day …
  - on July 8, 2015 at 8:43 pm | Reply Sammy D.
    
    I love it when you talk about your cats’ personalities, and find that interesting about your kitty postcards 😀 Hopefully Mac has bonded with a whole slew of heavenly cats of musical persuasion 😎
on July 8, 2015 at 7:45 am | Reply Sammy D.

Shoot – their habit of not signing the short notes is the equivalent of our unsigned facebook and twitter messages.
- on July 8, 2015 at 6:22 pm | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Oh, that is so true. I hadn’t thought of that, but you are so right. Very casual “back and forth” communication!
on July 8, 2015 at 11:37 am | Reply jeannieunbottled

Loved the postcard. It was like an email…just a bit slower…between people who knew one another’s handwriting well enough not to have to sign. I also loved all the photos….shimmering with the mystery of other folk’s lives.
- on July 8, 2015 at 6:23 pm | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  WJ, isn’t it true?! I hadn’t thought of that, but now it makes perfect sense. So like our casual communication today. What a beautiful way to put how to see “old photos.”
on July 8, 2015 at 1:58 pm | Reply Amy

I hope you are doing okay. I certainly know how long it takes to grieve for our furry friends. I will be looking behind me for Cassie and for Luna for a long time,

I think the post card was written by a woman, but only because it’s such nice handwriting. Sexist of me, I know! Back then I guess everyone had good penmanship. (Would our kids even know what that means??)
- on July 8, 2015 at 6:25 pm | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  I am doing sort of ok, but Mac followed closely on my dad and then my cat #2 got sick, so it’s all keeping me from the main business of mourning, if you know what I mean. I know what you mean about Cassie and Luna. I feel that way.
  Yes, a woman’s penmanship. It must be. And an adult, right? Or would a teen have written like that?
  - on July 8, 2015 at 7:25 pm | Reply Amy
    
    I think an adult, but again—people had penmanship drilled into them, so it could be a very well-trained teenager.
    
    Hang in there.
on July 9, 2015 at 3:45 am | Reply Su Leslie

So sorry to hear about you loss. I know how much our fur babies mean to us and how hard it is to say goodbye. The postcard is fascinating. I don’t even have a theory!
- on July 12, 2015 at 11:46 am | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Thank you so much, Su. They do mean SO much!! I really wish the writer had signed the card!
  - on July 12, 2015 at 12:11 pm | Reply Su Leslie
    
    🙂 I guess if you’re confident the recipient knows you’ve sent it, signing a card seems a bit redundant. I don’t sign the notes I Ieave my son and hubby.
on July 10, 2015 at 9:44 am | Reply Brandy Heineman

Oh, I’m sorry about your kitty, Luanne. I love that he was named for Eliot’s “Mystery Cat”! I have a copy of Old Possom’s Book of Practical Cats, although it’s been a while since I last read through it.

This is a neat post about Alice. I agree with your comment about postcards–I’ve had several that I wish were signed.
- on July 12, 2015 at 11:47 am | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  My favorite poems involve Jennyanydots and the Jellicle cats :)!
  I think people are right that they didn’t sign the cards because they were a very informal way of communicating and it was assumed that the writer and recipient were so close it wasn’t necessary, but it sure makes our jobs harder!
on July 10, 2015 at 3:05 pm | Reply hilarycustancegreen

What a charming archive of photos and history. I’m sad for you about your cat.
- on July 12, 2015 at 11:48 am | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Thank you so much for your sympathy and your kind words, Hilary!
on July 13, 2015 at 9:56 am | Reply ancestral archaeologist

Very sorry about your cat … We also have a tabby kitty named Mac, although since we were not as literary-minded, he is named after Dr. MacDhui from the Disney movie “The Three Lives of Thomasina.” (And you guessed it, Mac has a sister who is Thomasina.) The photos are wonderful. Even if the mysteries are frustrating, it’s still great to have the images.
- on July 13, 2015 at 11:53 am | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  Those are cute names from a cute source! Is Thomasina a tabby, too? Cats are so great! I definitely feel blessed to have all these postcards and photos!!
on July 15, 2015 at 5:21 am | Reply The Leeuwenhoek Connection | The Family Kalamazoo

[…] « Alice’s Postcard Collection […]
on July 22, 2015 at 9:27 pm | Reply innatejames

I’ve never thought about researching ancestors’ pets. What a great insight into their lives! Thanks for the idea, Luann!
- on July 23, 2015 at 10:32 am | Reply Luanne @ TFK
  
  You’re welcome. Enjoy the search!