Duffield/Sisson Postcards No. 45

This postcard is #45/100 from a collection of postcards dated between 1908 and 1914 that was found in the Sierra Madre, California home of Warren Brown after his death in 2015. Warren’s mother, Edythe Grace (Sisson) Brown (1897-1978), was the daughter of Edith Amy Duffield (1864-1926) and Charles Herman Sisson (1868-1927). Charles and Edith were married in Ottawa, Illinois in 1895. They remained there until the early 1920s when they moved west to Los Angeles, California. Their collection of memorabilia was passed down to Warren, my husband’s cousin, and is now in my possession.

This card is to Edith Duffield Sisson from her sister, Eva Duffield Green.

Entrance to Ravinia Park  Chicago, Ill.

This card was sent from Eva's home in Dayton, Illinois, so I suspect that she had picked up a bunch of postcards on her last trip to Chicago and just chose one to jot a note to her big sister. I like to think that cards were chosen because the purchaser actually visited the place pictured, but in this case there's no way to tell from the message or the postmark. I'm curious about the park, though, so looked it up.

Built on 36 acres bought by the A.C. Frost Co., the park began life in 1904 as an amusement park, complete with a skating rink, a carousel, a toboggan slide, an electric arm swing and a pavilion where audiences could enjoy performances of classical music. "It began as an amusement park but with a musical complement. The music was always there," Goldstein noted. from the Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1993

                                                   
Now the park is host to open air concerts all summer long and draws huge crowds. The electric rail will only stop at Ravinia Park when there is a concert scheduled. Now that I know a little more, I really hope Eva had a chance to visit and play in the park with her husband, because life at home in Dayton was full of work. The Green's had a dairy farm and Eva was responsible for feeding meals to the workers, keeping the house and raising the chickens. I would guess that they sold eggs, too, but I'm not certain. They hadn't been married long, so Eva was still setting up housekeeping when she sent this card to "Ede", her pet name for Edith.

Postmarked October 17, 1910 in Dayton, Illinois

Addressed to:

Mrs Charles Sisson.

Ottawa,

Illinois.

408 Marcy St.

Dear Ede - 

I can't call you up, so I

thought I would send this

card. We were at the folks

to dinner yesterday and when

I got home I found 11 little

chickens just hatched and

the old hen brought them for

something to eat. They are

awful nice but it is so late.

Wish Vick would bring you 

up and stay longer. I am done

cleaning house all but putting

the carpet down in the front -

continued sideways across the top:

room I have

it bought

but not home

yet. I have my

curtains all

hung and you

can bet I

feel better.

I won't

have to 

work quite

so much

now. 

Eva.

I've never raised chickens, but I know midwest winters can be bitter cold and they have to be kept warm for the first few months of life. Here she was in mid-October with a bunch of new babies and worried about their chances of survival. I think she really missed her sisters, too. She mentions "Vick" in the note - Victoria was another sister and the girls were all very close.