By Nancy Loucks-McSloy – London, Ont.
I’ve had several discussions and have seen many comments on social media about cursive writing and that it is not taught in schools anymore. It has made me think about how much I miss “snail mail”, and how I used to love receiving handwritten letters and cards, especially post cards in the mail.
This also made me sad to think that I seldom send a post card anymore when I travel. With cellphones and access to the Internet almost anywhere in the world, it is easier to send a text saying “having a great time”; or to send photos of your vacation while you are still away.
As I was looking through some old files a few days ago I found two old post cards. One was from July 1945 that I found in the wall of our kitchen when we were renovating. It had been sent to the previous owners of our house.
I thought about the era. WWII was in the process of ending. The post card was a picture of Cove Island. It appears to have been taken from the shore at Tobermory, Ont. Back then it was probably about a seven hour drive from London to Tobermory. That was probably a fairly major vacation then.
Private was not so private
The message was a handwritten note saying “We haven’t been able to fish much because the water is rough, the days are nice, but the nights are cool. Be seeing you soon.” The postage cost three cents.
The second post card was a picture of several houses in Leith, Ont., and was sent to someone in Park Head, Ont., in July 1922. The distance between Leith (a beautiful hamlet on Georgian Bay close to Owen Sound) and Park Head is about 32 kilometers. Again thinking of the era, mail was probably the best way to communicate back then.
The beautifully handwritten message was an invitation from a young woman to her cousin, inviting her and two of her sisters to come and visit in August. On the back of the post card above the message and address were the words “Private Post Card”.
Really, how can a post card be private? I suspect it was read by the people at the post office in Leith and again at the post office in Park Head and who knows who else. The postage cost two cents.
Is it the cost of postage, or the fact that we live in a world in which technology has taken over in nearly every aspect of our lives? Or, is it the fact that people just don’t write anymore and our youth are not being taught to write cursive?
Whatever the reason, it is sad to think that the personal touch of a handwritten message could become extinct. With the ease of taking photos – just click and send – post cards could also become a thing of the past.
