Not so long ago,
I began amassing a
still-small collection of postcards. Most of these have to do with my
alma mater, Creighton University. A smaller subset is cards having to
do with my hometown, Omaha. Others come under the broad heading
Miscellany. My purchases to date are based solely on what interests
me--and that doesn't have much to do with real or perceived value,
investment potential, or resale consideration. These scans are posted
here strictly for your enjoyment...and mine!
Creighton University
This was my first acquisition, a
lovely image of St. John's Church on the Creighton campus. This is very
much how the church looked when I started at Creighton in 1975; the
steeple on the clock tower, and the clock works, were added around
1978, I think--the university's centennial celebration. Sometime
between the mailing of this postcard in 1907 and my arrival at
Creighton nearly 70 years later, a facade was added to the red building
on the right (the Administration building, in my time), effectively
moving the entrance from the east side of the building (25th Street) to
the south side (California Street, long since closed off to form the
campus's California Plaza).
Here you can see the
Administration building facade--the building to the right (east) of the
church. I don't know when this postcard was manufactured, but much of
it is recognizable to a late-1970s alumnus: the church, Administration
building, and gymnasium (behind the Administration building) are much
as they were in my time. The two large buildings on the far left were
still in use, too. And I think some of the houses were being used for
departmental offices--I know for a fact that the Philosophy department
was housed in a house in those days. The stadium, however, was a
long-distant memory by my freshman year: in my time, the space was
filled with the Epply Business Administration College, Rigge Science
Center and Rigge Plaza, two Criss Medical Buildings...and a fairly
large parking lot.
I'm not that wild about "collage"
cards, but of course had to have this one! Some of the structures are
recognizable to me, but most had vanished by the time I came on the
scene...and, with the way the university has madly expanded in the past
quarter-century, who knows how much of "my" Creighton still stands!
Omaha, Nebraska
I have absolutely no frame of
reference for the above illustration...but I love its dramatic look! It
looks to me that the red building in the lower right-hand corner says
"Brandeis Stores" above the doorway: Brandeis was a big local
department store when I was a boy in Omaha in the 1960s, and was still
ticking over when I returned to Omaha for college in the late 1970s. As
with so many local and regional department stores, however, Brandeis
did not survive the 20th century. (This building does not match my
memory of the downtown Brandeis store of my childhood.)
Although this card was mailed
more than two years before I was born, this is pretty much how I
remember the train depot from my childhood. I have recollections of our
taking my mother's father to the depot to board a train for Chicago,
where he had relatives, for an annual (?) visit. The place seemed a lot
busier than the few cars in this illustration would indicate!
Even as a child, I was struck
by the "churchiness" of the train depot's interior--the marble floors,
the high, cathedral ceilings, the tall windows, the pew-like benches.
As with the above card, however, it was never this deserted the times I
was there...
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
McKennan Park is just a few blocks
from our home in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota--which is what prompted me to purchase this card, displaying a
long-ago scene from the park. I've spoken to a couple of longtime
residents who remember the mountain village scene...but not too many!
