Southern Methodist Church 02

I looked up "Ossian" Iowa to make sure I spelled it right. It's in the far north- east corner of the state, almost in Minnesota. I needed to look it up because I couldn't tell if the last letter was an "n" or an "m". That led me to believe that the letters in "Yournans" were "n's" also, not "m's".

I wasn't sure about the first letter of the last name either. I argued with myself whether it was a "Y" or a "G" or a "Q". I compared it to the "Y" on the front of the card in the word "You". That convinced me that I had spelled the name correctly.

A little forensic handwriting training comes in handy when deciphering 100-year old pieces of cardboard.

The bare trees tell me this picture must have been taken in the dead of the winter.

Notice that there is a ditch that runs between the sidewalk and the street. But the ditch is spanned by three bridges of what appear to be sheets of plywood. And I believe the gray stuff in the foreground is the mud street. You can see ruts in the lower-right corner.

What is that contraption in the upper-right corner? Is that an ancient street light dangling into the frame? I have no idea.

Subject:	Southern Methodist Church
Caption:	1901 M. E. Church (?) South Macon (?) Mo. J. W. Patton, Publisher, Macon, Mo. (The card is damaged in the corner where the caption is, but I think I can assume the missing words.)
Date:	June 13, 1906 - 8 AM It was postmarked in Clarence, Missouri, which is about 12 mile east of Macon
From:	Clara
To:	Miss Ida Yournans Ossian, Iowa
Message:	Why don't you write? Clara
Notes:	I looked up "Ossian" Iowa to make sure I spelled it right. It's in the far north- east corner of the state, almost in Minnesota. I needed to look it up because I couldn't tell if the last letter was an "n" or an "m". That led me to believe that the letters in "Yournans" were "n's" also, not "m's". I wasn't sure about the first letter of the last name either. I argued with myself whether it was a "Y" or a "G" or a "Q". I compared it to the "Y" on the front of the card in the word "You". That convinced me that I had spelled the name correctly. A little forensic handwriting training comes in handy when deciphering 100-year old pieces of cardboard. The bare trees tell me this picture must have been taken in the dead of the winter. Notice that there is a ditch that runs between the sidewalk and the street. But the ditch is spanned by three bridges of what appear to be sheets of plywood. And I believe the gray stuff in the foreground is the mud street. You can see ruts in the lower-right corner. What is that contraption in the upper-right corner? Is that an ancient street light dangling into the frame? I have no idea.