August 2012 – Aunt Esther's Vintage Postcards

August 31: Crater Lake National Park

**Vintage Postcards:** Crater Lake and Wizard Island

**Vintage Postcards:** Wizard Island at Crater Lake National Park

**Vintage Postcards:** Phantom Ship at Crater Lake National Park

**Today:** Phanton Ship at Crater Lake National Park (from East Rim Drive)

**Vintage Postcards:** Enchantment Bay at Crater Lake National Park

**Today:** Danger Bay at Crater Lake National Park (formerly called “Enchantment Bay”)

August 30: Redwoods, California

**Vintage Postcard:** Cathedral Tree, Trees of Mystery, Wonderland Redwood Park

Cathedral Tree with Girl Posing — **Vintage Postcard:** Cathedral Tree, Trees of Mystery, Wonderland Redwood Park (showing girl for size)

Intertwined Redwoods at Wonderland Redwood Park — **Vintage Postcard:** Grafted Redwoods at Trees of Mystery, Wonderland Redwood Park

**Today:** Grafted Redwoods at Trees of Mystery Redwood Park

**Today:** Sign at Grafted Redwoods, Trees of Mystery Redwood Park (ten-foot diameter tree cut down)

**Vintage Postcard:** Klamath River Bridge, Redwood Highway, California

Klamath River Bridge (Remnant) — **Today:** Old Klamath River Bridge (remnant of Douglas Memorial Bridge, destroyed by flood in 1964)

**Today:** Old Klamath Bridge Sign (“River on the Rampage”)

**Today:** Golden Bear on the New Klamath River Bridge (on Highway 101)

August 29 & 30: Oregon’s South Coast

**Vintage Postcard:** Coos Bay Bridge, North Bend, Oregon

**Vintage Postcard:** Humbug Mountain, Oregon Coast Highway (aerial view)

**Today:** Humbug Mountain and Beach, Oregon Coast Highway

Oregon "Toothpicks" — **Vintage Postcard:** Oregon “Toothpicks”

Oregon "Toothpick" — **Today:** Oregon “Toothpick”

August 29: Oregon’s Central Coast

**Vintage Postcard:** Oregon Coast at Cape Perpetua

**Today:** Oregon Coast at Cape Perpetua

Cape Perpetua Reefs and Marine Gardens — **Vintage Postcard:** Cape Perpetua, Reefs and Marine Gardens

Oregon Dunes (Vintage Postcard) — **Vintage Postcard:** Seaward Dunes, Oregon Coast Highway

**Today:** Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

August 28: Depot Bay, Oregon

**Vintage Postcard:** Spouting Horn, Depoe Bay, Oregon

Vintage Photo of Depoe Bay, Oregon — **Vintage Photograph:** Depoe Bay, Oregon (showing Aquarium building, now a gift shop)

[Vintage photograph found in Tidal Raves restaurant, Depoe Bay.]

August 23: Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Vintage postcard of the Hood River Valley — **Vintage Postcard:** Hood River Valley, Oregon

Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Highway — **Vintage Postcard:** Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Highway

**Today:** Multnomah Falls, Historic Route 30

Wahkeena Falls on the Columbia River Highway — **Vintage Postcard:** Wahkeena Falls, Columbia River Highway

**Today:** Wahkeena Falls, Historic Route 30 ("necktie" no longer visible)

Shepperd's Dell on the Columbia River Highway — **Vintage Postcard:** Columbia River Highway near Shepperd’s Dell

Shepperd's Dell — **Today:** Historic Route 30 near Shepperd’s Dell

**Vintage Postcard:** Vista House at Crown Point, Columbia River Highway

**Today:** Vista House at Crown Point, Historic Route 30

August 21: Mount Rainier National Park

**Vintage Postcard:** Tatoosh Range from Timberline Ridge

**Today:** Tatoosh Range from the Sunset Trail

August 9: Idaho and Grand Coulee, Washington

Lake Coeur d'Alene — **Vintage Postcard:** Lake Coeur d’Alene from Beauty Bay Hill, Idaho

Lake Coeur d'Alene Today — **Today:** Lake Coeur d’Alene from Beauty Bay Hill, Idaho (showing I-90 bridge)

Vintage Postcard of Dry Falls — **Vintage Postcard:** Dry Falls, Grand Coulee, Washington

Dry Falls Today — **Today:** Dry Falls, Grand Coulee, Washington

August 2: Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken, NY

On August 2, we stopped in the little village of Interlaken, New York, to locate the graves of my Great Aunt Esther and her immediate family. Interlaken is between Lake Cayuga and Lake Seneca in the Finger Lakes region.

Welcome Sign at Interlaken, New York — Welcome to the Village of Interlaken

The family graves are located in the Lake View Cemetery. I haven’t been there since my college days, so I wasn’t sure where to look. Luckily, after wandering around for a while, we found a map on the back side of the caretaker’s cottage.

Gate at the Lake View Cemetery — Lake View Cemetery in Interlaken, New York

There is one large Gardner stone, with five small marker stones. The family constellation consists of the following people:

My great grandfather, William Elliott Gardner (1861-1957)
My Great Aunt Esther (1896-1989), his oldest daughter, by his first wife (who died in childbirth when Aunt Esther was born)
My great grandfather’s second wife, Emily Covert (1869-1952)
Their daughter, Pauline Palmer (1900-1952)
Their son, Alan Gardner (1902-1963)

Gardner Family Gravestone in Lake View Cemetery

The only one of these people I never met was my Great Aunt Pauline, a Captain in the Women’s Army Corps, who died in a car crash on her 52nd birthday. I barely remember my step-grandmother, Emily. I was only brought to her bedside as she lay dying when I was about 8 years old. But I knew my Great Grandfather, who died at age 96, and my Great Uncle Alan, who lived on Central Park in New York City.

My Aunt Esther was single her whole life and took care of my father as a child and her father in his old age. She is remembered with deep affection by our entire extended family.

Gravestone for Esther P. Gardner — Great Aunt Esther’s Gravestone

This visit to her resting place was a worthwhile part of the pilgrimage I feel I am taking in her memory, so this was a great place to start our trip.

Month: August 2012