The address listed my parents as “Mr. and Mrs.,” but the salutation on the postcard addressed them as “Nephew & Niece & Boys.” The “Nephew & Niece” was an obvious reference to my parents and the “Boys” referred to my brother and I.
My Dad had an Uncle Herschel (who was often referred to as “Hersch” or “Neill”). My Mom had an Uncle Herb. I knew immediately when reading it which uncle had signed the card, but a maternal relative thought that it was written by Herb.
It wasn’t.
Even if we put aside the fact that the signature looks (at least to me) more like Uncle Hersch than Uncle Herb, there’s a few clues that make it clear which uncle wrote the card.
The note says “Please may I return to Illinois.” In 1981 (when the postcard was stamped) Uncle Herschel was living in Illinois. Uncle Herb had not lived in Illinois since the 1950s.
The note also says “I want to return to loading cattle.” It was upon reading this that I remembered after Uncle Herschel retired, he moved back to county where he grew up–in the county seat which was a few miles from where we lived. Until his health declined, he had upon occasion helped my Dad with the livestock–particularly when they needed to be moved from one location to another.
Be careful jumping to conclusions and remember that virtually any sentence or statement can be a clue.
Finally, when he writes what looks like “solf stuff,” I think he meant write “soft stuff.” And he wasn’t talking about snow <grin>.
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