At our Letters Trellis tent at the Winchester Farmers Market, we offer postcards to write and send, reminiscent of those sent from summer camps and travels. Our “Greetings from Winchester” photo card features the waterfall on Mill Pond from Main Street, with a reflection of our Town Hall tower visible in the calm waters atop the falls.  

Usually the postcard sends a message from afar, telling the readers they are remembered and giving a window into the whereabouts of the writer.  Our card, and its image, turns this upside down, and allows local visitors an opportunity to send a glimpse of what’s part of their normal daily “life, … what happens to you while you’re making other plans” (a quote made popular by John Lennon).

Postcards are saved in stacks, or found in bookshelves as convenient markers of notable or unfinished book pages.  Dated and with a photo of the writer’s surrounding or artistic mindset, they, like letters, bring the reader back to a memory of time past.  

A particular story of postcards took a completely different twist.  A traveler to San Francisco, excited to share her travels with friends and family back home, purchased postcards to mark each stop along her way.  Carefully addressing and stamping each one, she carried them with her to complete at a stopping point along her tour of the city.  In the midst of stops at cafes, gift shops, and city sites, though, she lost her rubber-banded parcel.  Unable to replicate the previous stops, she decided she would instead return with a myriad of stories, to include her unfinished plans to send personal accounts to each listener.  

Upon returning home, unpacking and re-entering her home routine, the traveler received a call from a friend, then two, three – eventually learning that each of her cards had been written and posted by an unknown hand, someone sympathetic to the plight of the traveler.  The recipients and the traveler now had an entirely new view of where she had been and the kindness (and creativity) of someone in San Francisco.  

What window do you want to give to your world with a few words on a card, arriving within the often un-personal mix of catalogs, flyers and bills? 

Please stop by our tent to pick up a free card and spend a moment at our writing desk. We will stamp and mail any cards left with us.  

To see some photos from this event, go to: https://blog.letterstrellis.com/2021/09/2021-july-17th-postcards-and-notecards.html.