Postcards From The Edge

In the early 20th century Coffeen-Schnitger Trading Company of Sheridan, Wyoming released a series of postcards featuring photos from the Little Bighorn Battlefield. I was recently contacted by Carol Leithead,  via this website. I'm glad she did. She stated she had several postcards that belonged to her Grandfather and she wondered if I'd be interested in them. "Sure", I said.

I was excited to receive photos of the postcards, and I think you will, too. Take a look at the postcards below and step back in time.

Thank you, Carol, for your wonderful contribution to this website. Here is some interesting background information Carol shared with me regarding her grandfather --

"In the late 1800's, my maternal great-grandfather worked in the grocery store on the Crow reservation. His name was Curtis Cooley Hutton. His daughter, Grace Belle Hutton, was  the only white child on the reservation, at least for a period of time. In 1906 Grace Belle Hutton married my grandfather, Wallace Cushman Elder who lived in Hardin and worked for the railroad. My mother told me that gramma Grace could speak fluent Crow, and learned beading from the Indians, and that she was very good at it. My mother, Gladys Elder Walston kicks her own butt for not being interested in learning to speak Crow or bead, which her mother wanted to teach her.

Hardin wasn't a very big town. Grampa played the old five fingered banjo and played at many events and dances in every town he ever lived in. Gramma Grace played the piano, and often accompanied him in playing. He was very gregarious and outgoing. He died in 1968. Gramma Grace died in 1938 when I was only 9 months old, so don't remember her at all. When I was young, grampa used to spend all day entertaining me with his banjo playing and tales of his youth, travels, experiences. I wish I knew more about my grampa Hutton, but no one in the family seems to have info on his past. My mother and her cousin Robert Hutton are the only two family members still living who remember Grampa Curtis."

February 2005

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