This postcard, dated April 3, 1908, reads: Dear Cousins, How are you all up that way, we are all well. How you made any sugar yet, I heard someone say that it wasn’t a very good year for making sugar. Will write as soon as I have time. With love, U.B. It was sent to Mrs. A.A. Patten in Coventry, Vermont - a small town near the Canadian border. The “sugar” discussed is presumably maple sugar, commonly made in the spring. The postcard shows the spillway of the Wachusett Reservoir in Massachusetts, which was constructed from 1897 to 1905. The arch bridge carries the Central Massachusetts Railroad, which was relocated for several miles during reservoir construction - including a tunnel through a ridge and a long viaduct over another outflow from the reservoir. The Wachusett Dam is still under construction in the background, which indicates that the photo from which the postcard was created was taken somewhat before the postcard was actually made. It is a divided back postcard, with message and address on the same side, which was not allowed until 1907. The Central Massachusetts Railroad and the spectacular viaduct are no more. The dam still holds the reservoir, and the abandoned tunnel is scheduled to become part of the Mass Central Rail Trail. The arch bridge in the postcard still exists as well, and you can walk over it as part of the rail trail.
