A hundred years ago it seems to have been commonplace to have postcards made from personal photos. I found this example of an “occasional postcard,” meaning it was made on the occasion of Harold Remine sitting on the moon.
The two men with Harold are his brother-in-law Frank Tazelaar on the left and his father Richard Remine on the right (the taller man).
Here is what it says on the back:
The postcard is addressed to Harold’s sister, Therese Remine or Genevieve Remine Tazelaar. He was the youngest of three children, the only boy, and Therese was the youngest girl–six years older than Harold. I think it might have been Therese. Apparently, at this young age, Harold didn’t believe in basic punctuation, such as periods and commas–or know how to spell “rode”–(and you thought only kids today are lazy), although he went on to graduate from the University of Michigan and become the Chief Engineer of the Quebec Hydro Electrical Commission.
Well sister how do you like the picture we got this taken on Burdick Street after leaving you at the train papas broke one plate so we had to pose twice before we could get a good one we told ma we had road out to Otsego and back on the moon isn’t that a _____ for you life ___ me. YHE Harold Remine
Can you read that last line? I can’t quite make it out. Also, what does YHE mean? I tried Googling it, but came up empty-handed. I assume the Y means Your or Yours. What do you think?
When he refers to Papa breaking a plate, he means a glass plate or negative of the image.
Do you think Harold is about 14 or 15 here? If so, that would make this photo from about 1911-1912. Genevieve and Frank Tazelaar were married in 1906, so the timing on that is correct, as well. Harold seems big, but he could even be a bit younger, I suppo
Harold Henry Remine
1897–1975
BIRTH 7 SEPTEMBER 1897 • Kalamazoo City, Kalamazoo, Michigan
DEATH DECEMBER 1975 • Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The Family Kalamazoo 
I love that postcard! Great story.
Thanks, Karen. I was thrilled to find the postcard!
Very nice. I am glad that these photos survived all the moves and handling that they must have gone through. You are very lucky to have all these lovely memories to write about.
Imagine all that these photos have gone through to make it to me. And then I worry where they will go when I am done with them. I am hoping someone in the young generation genuinely wants to be the next caretaker for them.
It sure looks like “a sonill for you life on me” or “ronill” and maybe “one me”. I’ve no idea what that would mean, even with creative spelling.
YHE—??? Not a clue.
Glad to see a post from you! Hope that means you’re feeling better.
That’s what it looks like to me, too, which makes no sense at all. Ugh, such a simple little message, too!
I’m starting to get better. Thanks, Amy!
Glad to hear it! And sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Very frustrating! I even googled sonill, but came up empty. What can you expect from a young boy!?
Hahaha, so true.
The Google Machine wasn’t much help with YHE or filling in the blanks. I’ve been playing the license plate game with YHE all morning… Your Heroic Employee, Yellow Hair Envy, Yes Henry Everthing, Yours Hastily Enjoyed… LOL You must tell us what you come up with!
Hahahaha, Your Harold, Esquire?
What a fun postcard! It reminds me of people today who sometimes get pictures taken while on vacation in costumes representative of the area they are visiting (for example, cowboy/cowgirl outfits when visiting Deadwood, SD).
Great bit of history, Luanne. I wish I could more helpful deciphering his handwriting. I have no clue! I love the man in the moon prop. It reminds me of that famous b & w vintage film of the trip to the moon in a rocket ship. (Can’t recall the name right now!)
Going to your next comment . . .
Here it is…George Melies, Voyage dans la Lune….
1902! So cool to see the images humans have had of the moon, isn’t it? One of my earlier memories is a wall sculpture on my nursery wall of the cow that jumped over the moon :).
Hi, Luanne. Yes, I remember an image like that too.
I have a similar photo of my grandfather and his brother, probably taken just before my grandfather shipped out to France to fight in The Great War. They are posed on a “battleship”, with my grandfather leaning against a railing.
Oh, wow. So the battleship was a cardboard or wooden cutout to use for photographs?