Sending and receiving postcards and poems

Postcard published by Arctic Circle Enterprises, Anchorage, Alaska

It occurred to me today that my blog (besides being neglected too often) only exhibits postcards that I am adding to my collection. That is only half the story. Any collector also sends out as many or more postcards as they receive. Here is a recap of today's activities.

To England and Beyond
Today I sent out seven postcards (England, Iowa, Finland, Washington,Canada, P.R. China, Poland). The beautiful image above was sent to Victoria, a collector in Cornwall, England. The interesting connection to Victoria was that she describes herself as a "young mum." That does not mean she tends to be quiet. It is an affectionate name for a mother. I told her that Mum was the name I called my grandmother. Do you think I have any English in my background?

Unfortunate Title
This postcard I have sent to collectors before. It is often favored by them. I think its a beautiful representation of the varied faces of native culture in Alaska. Yet I would like to see a revised title. I may be reading this a bit too close but I think the title is unfortunate and awkward. A better title would be Native People in Alaska. I know it was not intended but the current title suggests native people belong to the state. This is not true politically or humanely. 

Postcard Poetry
All of the postcards going out today were to collectors from the Postcrossing: the Postcard Crossing Project, save one. This month I am part of the August Postcard Poetry Fest. The fest challenges poets to write an impromptu poem each day and send it to a poet on the list. There are five groups of 33 poets who will send 31 poems each. If everyone sends all their poems out there would be 5,115 new poems sent out into the world. That's a lot of poems. To date, I've sent seven poems. This is a real challenge for me. I prefer to set first-draft poems aside for a time and revise several times before calling it a poem. You can see some of my poems, drafts and finished products, here.

Can postcards save our national parks?

The Eldridge Glacier in Denali National Park
Alaska Color Card Company, Anchorage, AK

Postcards are helping save our national parks.

That’s the opinion of a University of Alaska professor. Though I’m skeptical of the claim, the idea may sit well with some postcard collectors, especially those who specialize in national park postcards. They can’t help but be happy with this news. A few will be licking their chops because news like this stands a fair chance of increasing the value of their postcard collections, both contemporary and vintage.

Who wouldn’t want to buy a postcard that would save the national parks? Of course, postcards or curios of any kind are not going to save the parks because our parks don’t need saving. They are protected by law and have a rather high regard by the American people and policy makers. 

According to Dr. Ken Barrick , associate professor of geography, souvenirs bought at and around national parks whether buttons, beads, earrings or postcards are a way of taking home a piece of the park without taking home an actual piece of the park. “Souvenirs prevent people from collecting natural objects such as feathers and rocks,” he was quoted in an article by Johanna Love, published this week the Jackson Hole News & Guide and syndicated today in my home town newspaper, The Fairbank News-Miner. He’s right on the money here.

Barrick other idea is that keepsakes like postcards, which people save into old age, somehow help translate into support for the parks. This sounds a little too good to be true to me. I suspect that what he said was more nuanced. It’s more likely that a visitor’s experience at a park, not the memento, does the heavy lifting in terms of support and advocacy and the mementos remind us of that experience.

I do think Barrick is on to something. We do tend to keep souvenirs and recall past experiences, especially pleasant ones, through them. This is what imbues them with value for us. Such mementos have an impact on reminding us of the grandness and splendor of a particular park and our visit there. I simply doubt that these collectibles are the sole triggers by which we become passionate about the mission of the park service. It is rather the enriching experiences in the wilderness inside the park which embolden us to speak well of a particular park and the park service in general.

I don’t think that the postcards of the parks I accumulated motivate me to support the parks. My visits to Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Kenai Fiords, Isle Royal and Denali have convinced me that these landscapes and ecosystems are valuable and are worth persevering for future generations. The postcards I have of these marvelous places are valuable to me because they remind me of these marvelous places and in some cases how that experience changed me. 

As a collector, postcards must stand on their own. They must have a history themselves. They were commissioned by a certain publisher or patron. They are an example of a certain artist or illustrators work. They are limited because most of the cards were destroyed in a warehouse fire prior to distribution. All these circumstances and a multitude of others influence value.

Hype also influences value. A story like this one can become, and I suspect it will, a factor that can influence value in a genre of postcards. Barrik is a collector of 400 images of photo chrome lithograph prints produced from 1898 to 1906 by the Detroit Photographic Company, including the 65 of Yellowstone. I’d love to see those prints and hear his talk today, 6:30 p.m., at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Wyoming. Maybe if we're lucky, Barrik will repeat it here in Fairbanks in the near future. I’d really like to know how postcards will save our National Parks. 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100+ years

A bird's-eye view of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

This postcard shows the indomitable Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as seen from the air looking south. The 559 acre facility was opened in 1909 for balloon, motorcycle and auto racing. The first 500 mile race was held in 1911.

Last year the speedway celebrated the 100th anniversary of the speedway. This year race, scheduled for Sunday, May 27, 2012, will be the 96th running of the race. It closed only during World War II, 1942-1945.

I date this photo postcard sometime after 1957 when a new control tower was built but before grandstands in the fourth turn at the southwest end were built. Today, yet another control tower is in place.

This postcard, along with several others, was purchased by me at the track during the 1964 race. I was 11 at the time and loved aerial views. Looking at the picture postcard now, I see it's publisher, the speedway, could have benefited from some cropping, flipping, and editing. Though the intent was to show the size of the speedway complex, a two and a half mile rectangular course, complete with 18 hole golf course inside and outside the race track, many details are out of focus.

In the 100-plus years of the speedways have seen many firsts. One of the novel changes to the usual racing milieu was the flying start. Instead of the cars lined up on the track at the starting, as in Formula 1 races of today, the start of the Indianapolis begins when the starter waves the green flag as the cars approach the starting line. The cars are arranged in 11 rows with three cars in each row. Most automobile races begin with cars two abreast. The effect of 33 cars exceeding 200 mph is both frightening and awe inspiring.

You can find four homemade videos of the Indianapolis 500 flying start below. The video gives you but a hint of the speed, the noise and the excitement of the flying start.

Find other Indianapolis Speedway postcards from my collection here.

Postcrosser and amateur photographer, Christine, sent this wonderful postcard image of her nephews eating watermelon. I think this one beats the usual kids in the bathtub. Then again, all baby pictures are like all babies, cute from the get go.

Chainsaw Artists

Though you won't probably find these works of art at the next art show in your town, unless you live in a rural town of less than 500, you can be sure that where there is a crew cutting pulp wood there is an artist among them. I found this card when I took my chainsaw into the local shop for service. My saw wouldn't start and they discovered diesel fuel in the thing. To save total embarrassment, I mumbled something about the kids. Anyway, the saw is running well again and maybe I'll try and carve an icon to gasoline to remind me what kind of fuel to use next time. Then again, maybe I'll just stick to cutting the wood I have into two foot lengths. If I need any special carvings I'll call the Stearns Family.

Guitar Dreams

My son left this homemade postcard on my bedroom dresser. It is a three dimensional card made of foam cut outs he made at school. I came up with the title.

Squeeze Me! Beg Your Pardon

Tracy from the United Kingdom sent this unusual and fun postcard, her first as a Postcrosser. I think this postcard will be a big hit with my middle school-age kids. If you can not read upside down, the label says "Rich Thick Obscene Noises." The card captures a common joke in many households when the over seriousness of the dinner table is interrupted by the near-empty ketchup bottle squeezed into flatulence by a giggling teenager.

Grass On Your Roof

Diane over at Artstanding Stranger sent these great photo postcards. "Trapper's Cabin" is an "alaska joe" original postcard. The other shows the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks Diane, I didn't have either card but do remember crossing the great divide as a kid on a family vacation and seeing that same sign. Sod roofs are traditional structures with many native peoples who populate the Alaskan region and with modern day trappers and National Park Service restrooms in remote locations.

Patrolling the Line: Alaska's Brave Smoke Jumpers

This year's wild fire season was unusually active and close to home. In May, a wild fire came a quarter mile from my work camp trailer north of Healy. This summer there were several fires in Denali National Park, one in the front country where I work. A plane crashed close to our work camp, killing three, and starting a wild fire. A few weeks ago a wind-stoked fire raged through a Healy subdivision. Fortunately, late August has been wet, cool and calm, so the fires here have died down.

I bought this postcard (along with several others I'll post in the coming months) at the air base of the Alaska Smoke jumpers Headquarters on Fort Wainwright, Alaska, literally, my next door neighbor in Fairbanks. The title of this postcard is Patrolling the Line. My friend, an Alaskan smoke jumper in the late sixties, made his yearly pilgrimage here to spend two weeks hiking in Denali National Park and while in Fairbanks we paid a visit to the smoke jumpers headquarters. Surprisingly, the base has a small but wonderful collection of smoke jumper postcards. I think this card shows the environment in which the smoke jumper works. Surrounded by fire and smoke he carries a Pulaski axe/adze or hoe putting out hot spots around edges of fires to keep them from spreading. During the fire near my work camp residence, smoke jumpers camped out in pup tents for two weeks on fire watch. Each day they could be seen walking the perimeter of the fire with their Pulaski and water packs, faces black with soot yet always smiling. People in areas prone to wildfires are grateful for smoke jumpers who protect homes and cabins at great risk to themselves.
This postcard's photo was taken in 1999 by Mike McMillan. More photos of smoke jumpers can be found here.

God Walks The Central Path

Luhuiwen, a Postcrossing member from China, sent this beautiful scenic postcard of the Heavenly Thoroughfare. The walkway runs from the Temple of Heaven to the Temple of Agriculture. The view is toward the Temple of Heaven to the south.

The description on the card notes that the central path, known as the Heavenly Thoroughfare, was "reserved exclusively for God and nobody, including the Emperor, was allowed to set foot onto it." The Emperor used the path to the left and the ministers and princes used the path to the right.

Don't look now but it looks like God is walking the central path in the distance.

Oh Canada, where pines and fireweeds grow...

Terry a member of Postcrossing from Canada sent this beautiful mountain from the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Banff National Park. I like the contrast of the majestic and rugged mountains with the delicate fireweeds. This beautiful magenta petalled wild plant is common not only to both Canada and Alaska but in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The plant gets its name for its ability to reestablish on burnt over lands. It often covers fields left fallow or abandon construction sites. I guess nature abhors an ugly vacuum.
Some say they are forecasters of coming of winter but I've found this to be a dubious claim in the absolute sense. I've heard all sorts of predictions. When three rows of blooms are left there are three weeks before the first snow. Or when the plant is in full bloom it means six weeks to winter. One problem with all these prophecies is the lack of defining what constitutes winter. Some people mean the first snow. Others the fall equinox. Some vacillate between both to fit the prediction. I think all plant legends are generally accurate on a local basis with occasional aberrations accepted when they are given by a local who has observed the seasons for a life time or is heir to many generations accumulated observations. From my observations in the interior of Alaska for just shy of two decades, I can say with general certainty: when I see the blossoms fall from the top my snow gear is ready to go.

Kraken; Mega-coaster

My daughter and I took on Kraken while at Sea World in Florida earlier this winter. The super (or mega) coaster is made of 1.2 million pounds of steel. It has seven inversions, including an corkscrew and an zero-G, and reaches 65 mile per hour. Because your feet dangle in the air, the sensation of vulnerability is accentuated. The G-forces, similar to those experienced on high-banked race tracks, and the 144-foot near vertical drop, were enough to cure my daughter of wanting to ride any more mega coasters -- at least for the time being. As a confirmed adrenaline junkie, I couldn't get enough. Even after Kraken, I can still say, 'I have yet to meet a coaster I didn't like.'

Enjoy The Park

This sign sent by Steve from Montana represents the nightmare of government over-regulation. There are rumors that the current Tea Party movement is debating convening here for its next annual convention. They want to add "No Taxation" to the list.

I especially like rule number five, "No Parking." I guess the municipality was attempting to kill two birds with one stone: reduce our collective carbon footprint and prevent unwanted pregnancies. The small lettering at the bottom is especially telling. It reads, "Trespassers will be Ventilated."

This postcard brought to mind a song, Signs, from the 1970's.

"Sign, sign everywhere as sign

Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?"

This anthem of the hippie era was written by Canadian Les Emmerson. The song was first recorded by the Five Man Electrical Band. You can read about the band and read the complete lyrics here.

Dirty Politics

I don't know about the training part but this bucolic scene suggests what every citizen must do before understanding any political party's spin doctors.

This is a Duckboy Card, number 423 in their often excellent contemporary 'quacked up' series. You can find their web site here. I posted another Duckboy card here, just scroll down until you see a couple of fellas in a pickup truck.

I bought this card at the local Sportsman's Warehouse store, then a couple of days later, Steve from Montana sends me another one, along with some other great cards I'll be posting as I get a chance. Serendipity happens.

You Can Run But You Can't Hide

My friend and colleague, Dave, sends this postcard testament of his travels in South America. He left Santiago, Chile, earlier in February and travelled 55 hours by bus and another 22 hours by ferry to reach Ushuaia, Argentina. The city of 53,000 people is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's most southern province, also known as the End of the World. He's picked up a lot of local color by riding the mass transportation system in the southern hemisphere but was a little dismayed that he awoke the next morning to find a Princess Tours Cruise Ship was in port and the grey-haired tourists were everywhere flashing their credit cards. So much for getting away from it all. ¿Qué manera al depósito de autobús?

Never Too Young For Postcards

I guess you are never too young to enjoy the wide world of postcards. Today's mail brought two wonderful postcards from members of the Postcrossing Project. The one above (Moi) is from 14-year-old Piia of Finland. If you think she is too young to collect international postcards take a look at the beautiful postcard, below, of Taroko National Park. It comes from Postcrosser Jerry of Taiwan, age two. The message on the reverse side said his mom helps him collect cards. You can see an adorable picture of Jerry here.

New Postmark in Georgia

Chris sends this homemade photo postcard of the Dawsonville Hwy (Georgia #53) Bridge over Lake Lanier. The photo, I assume Chris took, shows the bridge a little fuzzy around the edges. The image would make a good book cover for a mystery novel set in the deep south or the CD reissue of Bobby Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe -- it looks like the Tallahatchie Bridge to me.

I make a joke but its a great shot and what's more the postcard is a first day use postmark of Chris's own Mailer's Postmark Permit from Gainesville, Georgia. Chris went to great pains to get the right to postmark his own postcards and mail. (See his first class blog and story here.)We all know how the postal service mutilates our postcards by smudging the postmarks and inking and marring the face of our postcards. The back of this one survived the journey through the postal machines but the face was smudged in the very center.

Indian Blanket

One of the wonderful things about postcards is that you open up the mailbox on a cold winter day and in an instant you are transported to another world. This is precisely what happened to me the other day when I received this colorful postcard from Amelia, via Postcrossing, the postcard crossing project. The Indian Blanket is the state wild flower of Oklahoma. I remember seeing them growing wild all over that state years ago on a summer cross country trip. This postcard also reminded me that in a few months the fields of Alaska will be blanketed with the bright purple blossoms of the fireweed. It forms a colorfully rich contrast to the snow capped mountains all over the state (as in this picture). And when the fireweed is up it is usually hot and dry and the daylight is 20-plus hours long.

Pike's Peak's Cog Rail

Two examples of cog rail systems: The top postcard (thanks again Jan and Rick) was postmarked 1912. It pictures the Pike's Peak cog road steam engine with a tilted chassis. The lower postcard, from my grandmother years ago, is more recent (vintage 1940-50's) of the same track with an electric diesel engine similar to the one still used today (click here). In the bygone age of steam-powered locomotives the boilers needed to remain nearly level else the boiler would overheat and explode. This is why the engine is tilted in the top postcard. (See more on cog and rack rail systems and tilted boiler steam engines here.)

Cog rail trains are able to ascend and descend grades of 25 and more. This fact makes them especially suited for mountain terrains. Conventional rails for trains are commonly moved along grades of less than 1%. Though higher gradients exist on some rail lines, the pulling power is greatly reduced between 0.5% and 1%. This is why railroad tracks often make long cuts in hillsides or make long circuitous approaches complete with tunnels through mountain passes. (See my previous post on the Canadian Pacific Railway (here).

Spiral Tunnels of the Canadian Pacific Railroad

The postcard above was sent some time ago by Glenn from Canada. He has Gem's World Postcards (here). Glenn recently sent me several rail themed postcards. I send him airplane cards when I find them. Glenn has done more than anyone to improve my stock of Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) postcards. This particular modern color postcard shows the lower spiral tunnel (one of two) at Kicking Horse Pass, on the border of British Columbia and Alberta. The tunnels were built to lower the grade of the rail that passes over the great divide of the Rocky Mountains.

My friends Rick and Jan recently returned from Florida and the American Southeast with these two black and white postcards with two views of the same lower spiral tunnel. The spiral tunnels are the highest point on the Canadian Pacific Railroad's (CPR) transcontinental rail route. Prior to the tunnels construction, the grade was 4.5 %, nearly ten times the normal grade specified by rail engineers. Consequently, the grade was the scene of many fatal accidents for railroad engineers, workers and passengers.

In 1907, John E. Schwitzer proposed lessing the grade with the construction of two spiral tunnels that crossed in a figure-eight shape. The tunnels were completed in 1909 and cut the grade down to 2.2%. The construction took two years, 1,000 workers at a cost of $1.5 million. Workers removed 54,000 cubic meters of rock from the tunnels.

Notice the similarity of the concrete tunnel entrance, vegetation and rock slide on the hillside in both the old and new cards. Also, note that both trains' engines have crossed under their tails or cabooses.