Spreading Goodwill with Vintage Postcards

02.25.2019 - Kanuga Stories

This winter, Kanuga was honored to receive a letter from Lowell Joerg, a 91-year old gentleman from Stockton, CA, whose hobbies include scouring the internet and antique shops for vintage postcards. Joerg takes his hobby one-step further by returning the postcard to its original location.

A Surprise in the Mail

Joerg found a Kanuga postcard dating back to 1935. After researching Kanuga, he promptly sent it back to our campus with the attached letter.

“Good Morning:

I hope this letter brightens your day. I was at an antique store here and found this old circa 1935 picture of your beautiful Inn. It’s an old-time classic for sure, so I said to myself, ‘By golly, I think I’ll send it home where it can be appreciated.’

Our heritage is important to us all and should be preserved. Lots of changes, I suppose. Enlarged and posted up it will cause some nice conversation.

Well, I gave $6.00 for it, so if you want it for $7.00 or $8.00 or so why that’s sure O.K. Throw in a little postage if you want. My wife used to laugh at me and say, ‘If you hear from them, you’ll have to take me out to lunch.’

I will be ninety-one years old this coming June 26, and I’m still going strong as far as I know. I like to call my little hobby a ‘re-distribution of happiness.’ Our world sure needs it.

Thank you, Godspeed, and great New Year to you and your staff,

Lowell Joerg”

Spreading Goodwill to Others

Joerg has been returning postcards to their original home for 28 years. During the course of his hobby he has received responses from elementary students, corporate presidents, and historical societies.

Kanuga thanked Joerg for his kind gesture with letters from staff members, as well as a selection of Kanuga materials so Joerg could see what the campus looks like today. It was a lovely moment of the past meeting the present due to the kindness of a stranger.

*Please note, in the selected postcard, Kanuga Inn is depicted in red due to the creation process for postcards at that time which included hand painting. Kanuga Inn was in fact a green building.