Thrifty Acres: In The Pink With Vintage Postcards

Hello! As I've mentioned before, vintage postcards can be quite affordable at thrift stores. This was proven true again last week, when I paid 50c for a bundle of 44. 

Because of the way the postcards were packaged, I couldn't tell what scenes were included, other than the top postcard. I always secretly hope that scenes from old restaurants and motels are included, for I love to see how these establishments were decorated back in the day. 

Thus, I was happy to find this in my set:

The Village Motel of Sturbridge, MA. 

A close-up:

Love all the pink going on here with the lawn chairs and doors. And although the motel looks coral in the photo, it looks more pink in the area where sunlight is on the building. 

The first photo doesn't show all the other pink-painted decor clearly, but there are also pale pink planters with darker pink flowers in them. The walkway in front of the motel rooms has some pink in it. There's even some pink-painted wooden crates lining the driveway.

Like I said, in the pink! My postcard had never been mailed, and an identical unmailed one is currently listed on eBay for $7.99. So considering I paid a little over a penny for mine, I'd say I got a good deal!

All of the postcards in my set were from New England and upstate New York. These are regions I haven't explored at length, so I learned a few things from looking up where some of the postcards had come from. 

For instance, I'd never heard of the Ausable Chasm, which is in upstate New York, but from its website, I learned that it's "... a uniquely-carved, vertical-walled canyon made of 500 million year old rock!" And it's been open for tourism since 1870. 

Judging from what I saw on the website, it looks like a place I'd like to visit - lots of cool scenery along some trails. But unfortunately, the website didn't mention much about the official gift shop, but here's what it looked like a few decades ago:

Doesn't look like much from the outside, I know, but on the back of the postcard, we are told: "Spacious and exciting Gift Shop." So I wanted to see if the gift shop was still spacious and exciting to this day. I have been to a wide variety of gift shops connected to local attractions. Some have been very nice, others have been tacky - but I can't say that any of them were exactly exciting!

Another place I learned about via my postcard set was Lake Sunapee, NH. Sounds summer-like, but apparently winter visitors were welcomed as well:

The chapel room looks very cozy, and I bet the rest of the lodge was as well. I say "was" because, alas, I learned via the Internet that the lodge has been torn down to make room for somebody's summer home. Of course. 

(note: although it says "Mount Sunapee" on the front of the card, on the back it's labeled "Lake Sunapee".)

Also in Hew Hampshire is this shop:

The Dorr Mill Store of Guild, NH. I certainly would have swooped in for a visit, especially to check out what appears to be remnants or bargain bins in the foreground to the left. Happily, I learned that the Dorr Mill Store operates to this day, and is run by the son of the founders. The mill itself has shut down, but the store still sells wool made to the store's specifications. The hand-dyed wool shown on the store website looked very appealing! 

The remaining two postcards I'm showing off are from Maine:

Classic vacation postcard scene. 

I don't know anything about Belfast, Maine, but I liked the fact that its post office, shown above, looks almost exactly like the old post office in my hometown - only smaller. When a new post office was constructed in my hometown, the old post office was converted to office space. I don't know if the same fate has befallen the one in Belfast, Maine. 

I love the row of older cars lining up around the post office. My husband said that the newest of the cars were from the 1950s. 

Although not really evident in my photo, it appeared to have been a pleasant fall day when the postcard photo was taken. The trees behind the post office are just beginning to turn, and a man in a plaid jacket is near one of the cars. 

That day has come and gone, of course - but I can relive it and the scenes from my other postcards. And I learned a few things about a part of our country as well.

Not bad for 50 cents!