Trip to Poland: Postcard Home

POZNAN. Zamek. Collegium Majus Uniwersylelu Poznanskiego

Arrived safe at Gdynia / The trip was beyond / words. I have taken / the tour of 11 days / that I was planning / I am very pleased with / it. This is our second / day. to-nite (sic) we are / leaving here. / Regard to Rose. Helen.

(Postcard in the Collection of Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2017 Cynthia Shenette)

This postcard was sent to my grandmother, Antonina (Anna) Szerejko who lived in Worcester, MA.  It looks like it was mailed 12 June 1937.

Their Flying Machines - Wordless Wednesday

Depliage des ailes
du Handley-Pagge. (aile gauche)
l'aile droite est on place.

(Digital Images. Postcards Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, served as an airplane mechanic in France during World War I.  These are a few of the postcards from his collection.  I can't help but be reminded of the movie, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.  The theme song for the movie is the ultimate earworm.  Listen if you dare, but don't blame me if you spend the rest of the day singing that song.

Hydravion.
F-B-A.
Defense et Chasse
Sous-marins.

Depart d'un
Hydravion Tellier.
un Seine

Av. Anglais.
Sopwith Camel.
Monoplace de chasse.

Av. Caudron.
apres un mauvais
atterrissage.

Un "Gotha" capture

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The Life of a Doughboy, 1918 - Veteran's Day
A Postcard From Paris, 1918 (Part 1 of 2) - Those Places Thursday
Photo Story: Helping the Red Cross During World War I

A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 2 of 2) - Amanuensis Monday

(Digital Image. Postcard Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Text Copyright (c) 2012 Cynthia Shenette)

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

Thanks to John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch for providing the idea for Amanuensis Monday.

A couple of weeks ago I posted part one of this series.  I intended to post the subsequent part a little bit sooner, but vacation, as well as other summer activities have gotten in the way of my posting in a slightly more timely manner.  Well, better late than never, as they say...

September 1st 1918

My dear Antosia,

Tonight I received letter from you which I'm very thankful for. I was very pleased when I got it because I didn't have any news from you for over a month. You wrote that letter on July 7th and same night I was on the way. You may be impatient that you are not getting letters from me too often but you have to get use to it. Write to me as often as you can because letter is the thing [illegible]

I'm sending my regards to everyone.

Yours Adolf

I'd like to thank my cousin Marek for his Polish to English translation of the postcard.  

There is so much information here.  I didn't know exactly when my grandfather was in France.  According to the postcard, he left on July 7, 1918.  He wasn't in France long.  The war ended when the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.  The censor stamps are interesting.  I'm not quite sure which unit he belonged to.  It's written at the top of the card, but I don't really understand the return address.  The Massachusetts National Guard Military Museum and Archives is close to where I live.  My plan is visit sometime soon to see if the archivist recognizes the address.  If any of my blog readers can decipher the return address I'd love to hear from you!

A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 1 of 2) - Those Places Thursday


Other Posts You Might Like:

Veteran's Day: The Life of a Doughboy, 1918
A Comedy of Errors: My Family In the Census (Part 1 of 3)
Flu 1918 (Part 1 of 3) - Amanuensis Monday
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: WWI Red Cross Volunteers 

A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 1 of 2) - Those Places Thursday

J.C. 541. PARIS - THE PALAIS DU TROCADERO - Built for the 1878 exhibition
Exhibition tower height is 70 meters

(Digital Image. Postcard Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette. Text Copyright (c) 2012 Cynthia Shenette) It's interesting how one little postcard can offer so much information.  My grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, was a World War I veteran. I knew he served in France, but I didn't know too many of the details.  A while back I scanned and sent a copy of this postcard to my cousin Marek via e-mail for him to translate the message from Polish to English. The postcard is dated September 1918 and was sent shortly after my grandfather arrived in France.  

The Palais du Trocadero was built for the 1878 World's Fair which was held from May 1, 1878 until November 10, 1878 in Paris to celebrate France's recovery after the Franco-Prussian War.  The Palais was designed by Parisian architect Gabriel Davioud.  It was built in a "Moorish"  style with "Byzantine elements."  The two towers were 70 meters high, and it had a large concert hall in the center with two wings on either side.  The structure was demolished in 1937 and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot for the Exposition Internationale of 1937.

A Postcard from Paris, 1918 (Part 2 of 2) - Amanuensis Monday 


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Flu 1918 (Part 1 of 3) - Amanuensis Monday
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Alsatian Girls

Wesolego Alleluja! - Happy Easter!

(Original Text, Copyright (c) 2011 Cynthia Shenette) A vintage Easter card from my collection. 


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The Stories My Grandmother Told Me
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