This image is from a postcard mailed 115 years ago today — May 23, 1908 — available for sale on ebay. It’s been touched up a bit here for easier viewing. The obvious mystery is what organization the people in the photo belong to.
The item is listed on eBay as “1908 RPPC Duluth Minnesota College Club Vintage Postcard MN Land Point Idaho ID.” The “college club” part of that is clearly speculative. Many of the men have sashes and badges that suggest perhaps they are part of a fraternal club like the Odd Fellows.
The women are wearing similar, if not identical, sashes. At least one lady has a dark shirt and light sash, which likely indicates a different level of authority or whatever.
There is an address on the back, 1431 London Road, which is presumably the home address of Viola, who mailed the postcard to Elisabeth Bergman of Land Point, Idaho. The house is still there, though it bears the house number 1429 now. It’s a duplex, and duplexes often go back and forth between having two addresses and one address.
The message on the back is in a foreign language, maybe Danish? It’s not easy to read the writing, but it includes the phrase “eftermiddags kaffe,” which translates to “afternoon coffee.”
