Collectors call it "Ephemera," meaning something fleeting, short-lived or temporary. But these romantic postcards meant a lot to my Grandma Ida Jackson, and she saved them in a cigar box. There are postcards from the "Old Country" written in Slovenian to Andrej Jakin from his mother and his in-laws. There are some to Ida in Swedish from her Swedish cousins in Oregon, and from friends in Pueblo, Leadville and Salida. My favorites are those from Andrej Jakin to Ida MacOwen. His English is rough and his handwriting is crude, but his heart is all hers for all the world to see.
They would marry in May of 1907 and he would Anglicize his name to Andy Jackson. The postcards continued because sometimes he could only find work in Red Cliff, Salida and Pueblo.
When I knew my grandparents they were "old." My grandpa was active at Holy Rosary Church and the Knights of Columbus, and my grandma was busy helping family members and neighbors. I treasure the postcards in the cigar box from grandma's "Affinity." They offer me a glimpse of a young couple in love, navigating the challenges of their lives together: a growing family, unpredictable employment and family separated by jobs. They were married for 54 years. Nothing temporary about it.
