A 1908 Rough Riders Postcard to Wessington, SD

Every once in a while, a single postcard feels like it’s holding a whole little world inside it. This 1908 Rough Riders card, with a boy in overalls riding a donkey through a bright, busy scene, is one of those pieces that quietly pulls you into another time. In this post, we’ll look at the image on the front, the short message from Louis Hase to young Willie Potch in Wessington, South Dakota, and the small physical details that pin it to 1908. I’ll also point you to where this postcard lives online now, so you can zoom in on all the details yourself.

A Sun‑Drenched Glimpse of 1908 Childhood

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Picture a hot, bright afternoon in early 1900s America, and a kid in overalls riding a donkey through the scene. That’s what this postcard shows: one frame of childhood that feels simple but complete. The boy, the donkey, the light, the setting around them, all of it comes together as a little snapshot of rural life at the time.

Because it’s a Rough Riders postcard, you already get a sense of the era, but what makes it interesting is how casual it is. No big event, no heroic pose, just a kid on a donkey in the sun. The postcard has been described as capturing “the playful spirit of the era,” and that fits. It’s one small printed scene doing the work of an entire childhood memory. If this kind of visual time capsule appeals to you, it fits right in with other vintage postcards from the same general period.

From Louis Hase to Willie Potch in Wessington, South Dakota

This postcard, postmarked April 30, 1908, carries a short message from Louis Hase to young Willie Potch in Wessington, South Dakota. On the surface, it’s just a simple piece of mail, but the sender and recipient say a lot about how a Wessington postcard like this worked in everyday life. You have Louis on one end taking a moment to write, and on the other end a kid, Willie, getting a small bit of attention or fun in his mailbox.

That quick exchange between Louis Hase and Willie Potch is a good example of how people used postcards in 1908, not only to say where they were, but to keep family and friends close with a few lines at a time. You see the same pattern in other early 1900s cards, like the 1908 Wessington New Year postcard and the 1912 floral fan postcard from Wessington, SD.

Tiny Details: Straw Hat, 1‑Cent Stamp, and Daily Life

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The small details on this card do a lot of the dating work. The child’s straw hat is a quiet clue to what an ordinary day looked like and what kids wore. The 1‑cent Benjamin Franklin stamp tells you what it cost to send a quick note and how normal it was to drop a postcard in the mail in 1908. Together, these details don’t just decorate the card, they place it firmly in a specific world of 1908 postage, clothing, and everyday back‑and‑forth between people.

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Where to View This Rough Riders Postcard

This card is best appreciated up close. If you want to see the actual item, it’s part of an online postcard collection on Stereoview Vault, along with other vintage print media and related ephemera. I cite it as being “from the stereovault.com,” and you can go straight to the item page here:
https://stereoviewvault.com/items/postcard-lgpewan1sd66dip-mlgpewan.

For such a small object, this Rough Riders postcard carries a lot: a playful moment from childhood, a quick hello between relatives, and a handful of clues about everyday life in 1908. If pieces like this interest you, take a minute to visit the online collection and look through the original scan. You’ll probably spot details that make this little ride to Wessington, South Dakota feel even more specific and real.