Vintage Postcards - Great For A Peek into History & a Giveaway!

By Pamela S. Meyers

When I began to research for my first historical novel, Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva, set in 1933, I found that old postcards of the area and the mansions on the lake were a huge help to me. I had a few postcards in my possession and began searching the internet for more. Since the story involves the building of the Riviera building at the lakefront in Lake Geneva, I began ordering postcards that depicted the building as it appeared when it first opened. But the most important card to me was an aerial view of the beach and lakefront before construction on the Riviera began. The beach then was just a thin strip of sand and where the Riviera now sits, an old ramshackle building served as a dance hall. 

Fast forward to a few years later when I began my current historical series. Old postcards once again provided valuable information as I wrote the first

book, Safe Refuge. I knew in my head what I wanted the home in my story to look like. My vision was much like a large three-story home on the Snug Harbor estate. That home burned down when I was a child, but I still remember it. When I stumbled upon what has since been my favorite postcard in my collection I knew it was what I was looking for. That's the postcard on the right. I sent a copy of the postcard to my cover designer and you can see it on the cover of my book. Since then, every cover in my series uses postcards from my collection. One of the plusses of using postcards that way is that postcards are considered public domain and no usage fee is required. 

Below are a few of the postcards from my collection. Some were used on my book covers and others were only used as a reference or pure enjoyment because they always take me back to a bygone time. I hope you get as much enjoyment from them as I do.

These are only a hint of all the old postcards I have collected so far. Besides the nostalgia they provide me, they have served me well by sometimes providing me a plot point or storyline in my stories, giving me fodder for descriptions of the landscaping around the fictional estates I create and where the photos include people, the style of clothing and hair.

Do you collect things like postcards or other items from the past? Please tell me if you do. Leave a comment and I'll put your name in a drawing for your choice of any one of my historicals.

Pam lives in northern Illinois, a short drive from her hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When she's not writing her next novel, she can be found leading Bible studies (on Zoom these days), reading, and trying to keep her two rescue cats in line.

The Yellowstone Trail--One of the US's First Scenic Routes

Last month I wrote about a foot race that ran from California to New York, and this month I want to share about the first transcontinental automobile highway that stretched from Seattle to New England.

When the first gas-powered automobiles became available, those who could afford the cars basically used them to drive about their neighborhoods, or if they lived in the country to drive into town. But, it wasn’t long before people realized that if they had a halfway decent road to drive on, they could travel to the next town, or to a tourist destination for a vacation and not have to depend on trains. The problem was that most rural roads were in bad shape. And there were only a few federal roads that were well cared for, such as the National Road that ran from Washington D.C. to the Mississippi.

In April 1912, Joseph William Parmley of Ipswich, SD wanted a good 25-mile long road built between his town and Aberdeen SD. He suggested the idea and out of that the notion grew to include a route to Yellowstone National Park.  Dubbed the Yellowstone Trail, the route eventually extended beyond Yellowstone to Seattle on the west and east through Minnesota and Wisconsin, then south through a sliver of Illinois that included Chicago. It then turned east through Indiana, Ohio, and on to the east coast. The route in the West generally followed the same route as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad. The train company had already chosen the most efficient route and local roads already existed near the train tracks that could be used for the Yellowstone Trail.

If you go to the website, www.yellowstonetrail.org, you can read about the history of the trail and the railroad which later became The Milwaukee Road. Communities along the “trail,” which was marked out by yellow signs, loved having the travelers pass through their communities, and most joined the Yellowstone Trail Association. Belonging to the association ensured they would be included in publicity about the highway. Many communities along the trail held events called Trail Days where whole families became involved with promoting the trail and even helped out with improvements to the road.

In 1918, the state of Wisconsin began numbering their highways and the American Association of State Highway Officials followed along in 1926, by selecting the best roads in each state to be designated as federal highways. The designation formed a sort of highway layout that was a forerunner of today’s Interstate system. With the roads being numbered, the need for the colorful yellow signs evaporated. Shortly after that, the Great Depression hit and the merchants could no longer afford to pay their association dues, causing the association to diminish. However, the lure of the Yellowstone Trail still exists today and many along its route have embraced its history and celebrate it with yearly events.

A sign indicating you are on the Trail in North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

When I was a child I always thought traveling a trail or scenic route by car would be fun, but my dad wasn’t a scenic route kind of guy so we’d drive straight through, taking the Interstate highways from Point A to Point B with only quick stops for gas or food. One time, on the way to Southern California we saw signs saying the turn off for the Grand Canyon was just ahead. I did my best to convince him to take the turn, but he didn’t. 

One of my favorite designated scenic routes is Snake Road near my hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It is actually the access road for many of the lakeshore estates I've featured on this blog. Beautiful during every season, it's especially spectacular during October when it becomes a riot of color along its two-mile stretch. 

If you Google scenic routes, followed by a state name, you can find similar routes wherever you are. 

Snake Road in Fall- Lake Geneva, WI
Photo taken by author

What is a favorite scenic route of yours?


Photo credits for the Yellowstone Trail: Wikipedia, all are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

Pamela Meyers has been writing since she first received a diary at the age of eight. She loves writing historical stories set in her hometown of history-rich Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Pam lives in northern Illinois with her two rescue cats and loves being close enough to her native state where she can often be found nosing around for new story ideas. 

Steamboats of Geneva Lake -- Not Just for Pleasure

I'm currently in the midst of book deadlines and preparing for a slide presentation at the library in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, my hometown and the setting for several of my books. This month I'm reposting a post I wrote back in May 2015, about the steamboats the plied the waters of Geneva Lake back in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. I speak of these yachts in my presentation and I think it's worth repeating the post here.

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With it’s proximity to Chicago, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has always been a magnet to Chicagoans as a close-in getaway. As far back as the 1860s, wealthy Chicago businessmen were traveling north over the state line to spring-fed Geneva Lake where they could hunt and fish and get away from the stress of business for a few days. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire caused many of these men to purchase virgin forestland along the lakeshore and build magnificent homes for their families. The families used these homes while the city of Chicago was being rebuilt, and when they were finally able to return to the city, they kept the homes as their summer “cottages." The families lived at the lake throughout the hot summer, and the dads commuted by train from downtown Chicago to the lake for the weekend. 

A depiction of people coming from the train depot in Williams Bay (off-screen to the left) and walking to their boats

Back then, very few roads to the lakeshore estates were built, and having a boat to access the property was a necessity. During the week, the boats were used to take family and servants into town for supplies and other errands. Then on Friday afternoons, the yachts would travel to Williams Bay, a small village near the west end of the lake, where the train depot was conveniently located across the road from the lake, to meet the men.  

As time moved into the mid 20^th Century, some of these yachts were acquired by a local boat company and repurposed with gas engines as excursion boats to serve the many tourists with tours of the lakeshore to see the beautiful homes they otherwise would never see. 

This double-decker vessel, The Harvard, is one of a few steamers that were specially built as excursion boats. It was built in 1899, and plied the waters until 1931, when old age dictated it needed to come out of service. 

The original Walworth doing service as the mail boat.

The boat on the right once served a large mansion on the lake and later became the Walworth, better known as the "mail boat." Since the early 1900s, every summer a boat delivers the mail to lakeshore residents. This began when there were no roads, but the tradition continues today. Nowadays, a vessel called the Walworth II serves as the mail boat. Young men and women called mail jumpers leap from the slow-moving boat to each dock on the route, stuff mail in a mailbox affixed to a pier post, then leap back on the boat before it moves away from the dock. As a child growing up in Lake Geneva, it was exciting to take this boat trip, and many years later, I still find it so.

Photo by Pamela S. Meyers

To this day, several yachts from the late 19^th century are still available for chartered events on the lake. This is the Polaris, that was once owned by Otto Young who built the large estate known now as Stone Manor. This vessel is lovingly cared for and preserved. It received a "makeover" in 2014 and is still in service today. Sometimes I like to look at it and imagine the days of old when ladies in their bustled dresses and men in coat and tie used it to travel to and from the train or maybe just to take a pleasure ride. Oh, the stories this boat could tell. (the paddle wheel vessel behind the Polaris is the Lady of the Lake, inspired by another paddle wheel by the same name that used to sail Geneva Lake.)

If you are in the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area, check out the excursion boat rides that are in operation from April to the end of October (and sometimes even later if weather permits) at Lake Geneva Cruise Line.

Credits:

Postcards from Author’s Collection

Photo of Smyth home: Lake Geneva, Newport of the West, Volume 1, Ann Wolfmeyer and Mary Burns Gage, 1976, Lake Geneva Historical Society

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva and Safe Refuge, both historicals set in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other midwestern spots for new story ideas.

The Idaho Building: A Lakeshore Building that Never Became a Home

by: Pamela S. Meyers 

My tour of the lakeshore estates that graced the shores of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin back in the late 19^th Century and early 20^th Century is now coming to the eastern shore of the lake and nearing the town of Lake Geneva.

Arriving in Button’s Bay, we come to Big Foot Beach, the only public beach on the lake that does not require an admittance fee. This area of the shoreline was not considered prime real estate because of the boggy terrain. It remained empty long after many beautiful homes and estates had been erected on the shoreline until Celia Whipple Wallace came on the scene.

Celia Whipple Wallace

Being a prominent summer resident for a number of years at the fashionable Whiting House Hotel that sat directly across from the lake, Mrs. Wallace was a well-known figure to the townspeople as well as the shore crowd. Known for the great wealth her late husband had left her and her fondness for expensive jewelry, which she wore all the time, she became known as the “Diamond Queen.” She was also known for her soft spot when hearing of the misfortunes of others, which led to some unwise decisions when it came to managing her large fortune. This impulsivity would eventually become her downfall.

After years of summer hotel living, Celia decided to purchase shore property for a permanent summer home and acquired the land no one else wanted at a likely much lower price than other shoreline property. She commissioned a well-known architect to design a mansion for the land, but because of the less-than-suitable soil composition, he refused.

In 1893, when the popular Columbian Exposition in Chicago came to a close, some of the new Geneva Lake residents snatched up the temporary structures that had been used for the exhibits, having them taken apart piece-by-piece and rebuilt on their estates. The large log three-story building known as the Idaho Building caught Celia’s eye and after purchasing it, she had it dismantled and shipped to the vacant land she'd purchased. 

The Idaho Building at the Columbian Exposition 1893

The Idaho Building as it appeared after being
reassembled next to Geneva Lake

By the time the Idaho Building was rebuilt in 1896, it never was used as a retreat for orphaned boys, as Celia first intended. In fact, she never lived in it and continued to spend her summers in town at the Garrison House Hotel since the Whiting had recently been destroyed by fire.

Eventually, Celia turned her attention to the east coast and sent a Tiffany-designed chapel she also purchased from the Columbian Exhibition to New York City to be installed in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In April, 1900, she reportedly sold the Idaho Building to a man named George Thurman for a rare Wisconsin River pearl. Soon, the building went up for sale. While it was on the market, it was used to house laborers who were building a road around the lake

No one purchased the building, its one interested party who wanted to use it to store ice during the winter months, being turned away when vexed lakeshore owners objected to such a thing marring their views. The rumors being whispered around town that the building was haunted, probably detracted from its appeal to other purchasers, and in 1911, it was dismantled, with some of the wood used to build a new municipal pier in Lake Geneva. 

As for Celia Whipple Wallace, she ended up living in Connecticut, and having burned through her entire fortune, she died a pauper.

Today, the bog has become a man-made lagoon whose shape mimics that of Geneva lake. The entire property is known as Big Foot Beach State Park, a popular area that picnickers and campers enjoy. If you are ever in the area, follow Lake Shore Drive out of the town of

Lagoon in Big Foot Beach State Park. Note the road
to the right. The lake is next to the road

Lake Geneva, and you'll soon descend a hill to where the road runs very close to the lake. The state park and lagoon are on the left and Big Foot Beach is on the right. If you park and walk over to the lagoon, look off a short distance to the east and imagine the Idaho Building sitting there. Who knows, you might even spot a ghost or two.

Resources:

Lake Geneva Regional News, August 29, 2016; Welcome Home: From Diamond Queen to Pauper with a Pearl by Jessica Franzene.

Lake Geneva, Newport of the West; 1870-1920; Ann Wolfmeyer and Mary Burns Gage; pp 177-179; information and black & white photos.

Picture of lagoon & bridge, Big Foot Beach State Park; Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

 Pam has written most of her life, beginning with her first diary at age eight. Most of her novels are set in or near her hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. They include Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and her newest release, Safe Refuge, the first of three novels in her Newport of the West series. Her novel, Second Chance Love, released last year, and her novella, If These Walls Could Talk, was published in the Coming Home collection. Future novels include Whatever is True (March 2019) and Shelter Bay and Tranquility Point, both part of her current series.

Pam resides in northern Illinois with her two rescue cats. She’s an hour or so away from her home town where she can often be found researching and nosing for new story ideas.