Saddle Horse Party on the Sourdough Trail - A Festival of Postcards

Front - 8 - Saddle Horse Party on the Sourdough Trail - 4A-H828; Back - Rainer National Park Co., Tacoma, Wash. Made in U.S.A. "C.T. Art. Colortone" Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. C.P. Johnston Co. , Seattle, Washington.

Postmarked: Jun 20. 2 PM 1946 Seattle, Wash.

Over at A Canadian Family, Evelyn Yvonne Theriault is hosting a new Festival of Postcards - dedicated this time to QUADRUPEDS.

Almost immediately I thought of the horses shown on the card above and with this one I'm showing another postcard from, I believe, the same person - a 'Louise H'.

Both cards were sent to my mother, the one below in 1943 while she was still serving as a member of the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) in Canada. The one above was sent to her in 1946 in Vancouver, Canada, just after she moved here.

She and my father had married in Washington, DC, USA while both were serving in the Canadian Forces and they had decided to live in British Columbia, my Dad's home province. The address shown on the postcard is his parents'.

My Mum loved Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, depicted on the card below. It's not too far from where she grew up. (I know because I used to scoff at the very idea of mountains in Manitoba - sorry Ma.)

But who is the postcard writer - 'Louise H'?

According to her messages, Louise biked to Kenora, Ontario in 1942, and to Clear Lake, Manitoba in 1943 - that's right near Riding Mountain National Park.

Then in the summer of 1946, she took a trip through Washington State in the U.S.A., and went on up to Vancouver, British Columbia where she stayed with a Mrs. Leitch and, I hope, had a reunion with Mum.

Now we do have some LEITCH connections - through Elizabeth Anne Irwin (1858-1907) who married Joseph Brown whose mother was a LEITCH, but I just don't recognize 'Louise H' as a relative. I'm thinking Louise may have been a friend of Mum's from Winnipeg, perhaps even someone she worked with at Eaton's before the war. I don't believe Louise would have been in the Canadian Women's Army Corps as I don't think a CWAC would have had much time for biking trips!

If the names and dates ring a bell with someone, please do let me know.

In the meantime, I will likely see what I can find out about Mrs. Leitch of Vancouver, BC at telephone number Alma 0445-L in 1946 during my next visit to the Vancouver City Archives. Maybe she was a relative of Louise's.

Front - East Entrance Gate, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada. The postmark is difficult to read but I think it is Macdonald College. Back - Photogelatine Engraving Co., Limited, Ottawa with company logo.
Postmarked: Winnipeg Manitoba Jul 26 1943 330 PM and Wasagaming Manitoba (date unreadable).

The Festival of Postcards is an ongoing blog carnival. These themes are coming up soon: December 2009 – White; February 2010 – Light; April 2010 – Maps. Join in!