An historic Laurel postcard collection was presented at the Manor House by local historian Kendell Jones recently. This is the second postcard presentation in a four-part series.
The event was attended by many Laurel residents including M.L. Elliot and Jean P. Edwards. "I've lived in Laurel all my life and I wanted to see Laurel's history," Edwards said.
Jones began his presentation with a brief overview of the history of the postcard. "Postcards were a big deal in the postal service," Jones said. "They were the fastest method and were half the price of a letter. Stamps were one cent."
He then focused on the scenic postcards depicting historic Laurel. Some of the places that were shown were the Laurel Campgrounds, Broad Creek, Laurel before the great fire of 1899, Laurel churches, Laurel schools (Dunbar, North Laurel, the Laurel Intermediate Middle school and the Laurel High School), the Auction Block, and the Trap Pond in 1933.
"The Laurel campgrounds was a pretty fancy place to be," Jones stated during his presentation. "They had guest ministers and musicians. The Broad Creek gave Laurel early prosperity in timber (and) Trap Pond is the First State Park in Delaware and the most northern part of the United States where bald cypress grow."
The next postcard presentation will be held on Feb. 10 at the Manor House and will focus on the holidays and special events.
