Vintage Mother's Day Cards & My Mom In Germany

Mother's Day is this Sunday, but just a heads-up before we get started today.  For those who follow this blog mostly for my theme park and/or Disney-related posts, I apologize for posting a little heavily lately on the vintage holiday items, greeting cards, and the "U.S. Army in Berlin" photos.  However, please check back next month, when I will have a post celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of Knott's Berry Farm's "Roaring 20s" area!  Thanks!

This first item is an antique postcard that I purchased thirty-six years ago, in Victoria, British Columbia.  I have previously posted antique Valentine's Day and Easter postcards, both from the same little shop.  And just like the details on those other postcards, the flowers and the lettering on this one are all embossed.  I guess technically, this wasn't a Mother's Day card, but it certainly could have been used as one.

The back has a July 24, 1909 postmark!  "Grant" sent this to his mother in Waterloo, Ontario, and wrote, "Dear Mother, We are having a fine time out here and intend to go fishing soon.  Kisses XXXXXX Grant."  (Last month, I posted an Easter postcard sent to Mr. John A. Harper, by his nephew.  This postcard was sent to Mrs. John A. Harper, by her son.  And again, after a little research, I discovered that John Harper was my 9th cousin, three times removed.  The great-great-great-etc. grandparent that we have in common, dates back to England in the 1500s!)

The next seven cards were all given to my mom.

This "groovy" one was from me.  It isn't dated, but it would be from the 1970s.

This card would be from several years earlier, and was also from me.  It was manufactured by "Paramount," and was from their "Paramount Pet" line of cards.

It was signed with my name at the bottom, but I could tell that it was done by an adult (my dad!) who was trying to make the writing look like it was done by a very small child.

The next two cards were from "Buzza Cardozo of Anaheim California," with this first one being from the company's "Needlepoint Card" line.  It was from my mom's sister.

And this is another card that was signed for me, by my dad.  The purple areas on this one are all flocked/fuzzy.

My dad wrote my age inside the card,  Wait....maybe I was a very advanced child, and was writing by the age of two!  ;-)

Here's an American Greetings card, done in the same style as that "Needlepoint" card.  This one was from my grandparents.

Seeing the color of ink inside, reminded me that my grandmother often kept a pen by her telephone, which wrote in purple ink!

This multi-page card was from my brother, and was manufactured by "Laurel Cards."

And my dad gave this "Rust Craft" card to my mom, on her very first Mother's Day.

The woman is "three-dimensional," like a page out of a "pop-up" book.  The cutout had to be pressed flat when I scanned the card, so that's why the paper is a little "rippled" at the bottom.

These next three cards were given to my grandmothers.

The first one is another card by "Buzza Cardozo of Anaheim, California."  Unfortunately, there is kind of a sad story that goes along with it.  The card was addressed to my great-grandmother.  (Not the one who brought her home-cooked fried chicken into Disneyland, but my other great-grandmother, who passed away when I was four.)  I recently discovered this among the other cards that my mom had saved, but the card's envelope was still sealed tight.  It had never been opened.  I looked up the date that my great-grandmother passed away, and it was just a few days after Mother's Day.  I don't remember whether or not she had been ill in the days leading up to her passing, but it was obvious that this card had never been opened, and that she never got to see it.

An adult had signed it for my brother and me.

Here's a "Gibson" card that was sent by my Dad, to his mom (in Maryland), in 1965.

And this card was sent by my mom, to her mom, while she was working for the U.S. Army in Berlin, in 1960.

This last card is from Germany, and was purchased by my dad while he was in the Army, and stationed in Berlin.  It's blank inside, but the sentiment on the front of the card translates to, "For Mother's Day Sincere Congratulations."  It was never used, but I'm guessing my dad had originally planned to give it to his mom.

Since I have gotten in the habit lately of sharing some of my mom and dad's Berlin photos, here are a few more, all featuring my mom.  These would be from either 1959 or 1960.

This one shows my mom, standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate.  That's East Berlin, just on the other side of the gate, and that sign on the left translates to, "Warning! - You Will Be Leaving West Berlin In 40 Meters!"  This was just a year or two before the Berlin Wall went up.  Those East Berlin buildings visible on the other side of the gate were all fake, just like the "backlot" of a movie studio.  It was to give the false impression that everything in East Berlin was modern and well-maintained, just like on the West Berlin side.  Driving a little further past those buildings however, revealed a completely different reality.

This appears to be a large roadside water pump, but I don't know specifically where it was located.  Oh, and I now have that basket/purse that my mom is carrying!

I'm also not sure where this was taken, but I'm going to guess that it was fairly close to my mom's apartment, in Berlin.

I believe this one was taken at a waterfront restaurant, along the Havel River, in Berlin.  My mom is on the left, and the lady in the middle was her friend and coworker, Dagmar Kunz (who we saw in last month's post).  I don't know the name of the other lady, but they all worked together in the All American Service Club, at McNair Barracks.

Here's a better look at the view from the restaurant's patio.  I merged two of my mom's photos for this image.

I really love these next two photos.  They were taken at McNair Barracks, by my dad.  I actually have a snippet of color movie footage (less than a minute long), showing my dad in his uniform, picking my mom up and placing her on this military vehicle.  Neither one of them had a movie camera back then, so it must have belonged to one of the other soldiers, and he must have cut that short piece of film off of the reel after developing it, and given it to my dad.

Happy Mother's Day, to all of the mom's out there!