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The bridge must have been brand-new in 1923 or so, when this photograph was taken. The old ironwork bridge can be seen in the background and the streambed in the foreground is a muddy mess. The bridge is still in use today. This photograph was taken in 2008 from about where the car is parked in the postcard view. The newly restored Beck's Mill is visible under the trees on the right:
Unlike the other cards in this series, this one may contain clues that could reveal the photographer's identity. The car, like so many in postcard views, is empty -- probably because it belonged to the photographer (see the Bregstone view of the Knobs north of Salem, for example). Beause it's a real-photo, it preserves incredible detail -- not just in the car:
But even the car's license plate:
Unfortunately, real-life detective work isn't like the TV crime shows, so we don't get a perfectly clear, hi-res version of the plate, but it appears to start with "91" and end with "49" and be an Indiana plate, perhaps for '23, since the card is postmarked 1924. (Compare it to the license plates visible in the view of the east side of the square, for instance.) Now we can just check the computerized license database for . . . oops, I don't suppose there's a database for 1923, is there? This card is postmarked from Vallonia on April 13, 1924, and addressed to Mrs. Lawrence McKinney in West Salem, Illinois. The message, written without punctuation, begins, "from Hildie Brians" and reads, "Well Cora I will send you one of my cards. Pop shurly is not going to move this spring it will be to late I think I hope you are all well I am not well from Mother Vallonia Ind". (04/20/09)
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