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Photo postcard of streetcar passengers, Denver, CO, 1911.

Given the grim mugs of the men sitting closest to the camera, one might think they were on a bus headed to prison.  But they are riding in a Denver streetcar which catered largely to tourists, thus the presence on board of a photographer. Perhaps the streetcar is stopped at a station, for one can see through the rear opening another streetcar with the conductor or operator visible.     

“Myrtle,” the sender of this postcard postmarked in July of 1911, and her companion, identified only as “M,” were obviously tourists.   Myrtle writes to her father, John A. Landis, in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, “Dear Papa, Still here and this is how we look.  Can you pick us out?  Had a dandy trip to the foothills of the mountains yesterday.  May leave for Colo. Springs today but not sure yet.   Love to you, Myrtle and M.”   As “Myrtle and M.” are written in a scrunched fashion in the corner of the writing surface, the need for brevity may have dictated the need for Myrtle to identify her companion with a single letter.   

Myrtle was born in Kansas on February 12, 1887, to John and his wife, Mary Jemima (Utterback) Landis.   Myrtle was the second oldest, with her brother Roy being born two years earlier.  By 1900, the Landis’ were living in Calhoun Township, Nebraska, where John farmed.   By 1910, John was working as a rural mail carrier in Fort Calhoun.

Given her birth date in 1887, Myrtle would have been 24 when she sent this card.  Looking at the passengers, I would guess she’s the woman in the rear left seat, for the two women in front of her look older than 24.  Perhaps her companion, “M.” was her mother, who was born in 1865, and would have been about 46 years old at the time of their trip.  She might be the person sitting right in front of Myrtle.  

The foothills trip referred to by Myrtle may have been that provided by the Denver Tramway company.  It would have begun at 17th and Tremont and offered a 3-hour trip covering 51 miles.    

Four years after this trip, Myrtle married Nebraskan Henry Fischer, who farmed.  They had at least two children.   Myrtle died in 1966 at age 79, and Henry died in 1958 at age 78.  They are both buried in the Fort Calhoun cemetery, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, as are her parents.   

REFERENCES:

  • “Historical look at Denver City and County from A GUIDEBOOK TO COLORADO published in 1911” at www.visitcoloradoonline.com   (link no longer active)

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