Thanksgiving Greetings from Early 1900s Wessington

There’s something special about holding a single postcard from more than a century ago and realizing it once carried someone’s Thanksgiving wishes across the miles. This early 1900s card, with its autumn setting and quiet little scene, offers a small window into how families gathered, celebrated, and shared their gratitude. In this post, we’ll look at the Saxony-printed illustration of two girls and a colorful turkey, the address to Wessington, South Dakota, and the handwritten message to Miss Bertha Hungofan. Together, those details give us a glimpse of how Thanksgiving looked and felt in that moment in time.

A Glimpse of Thanksgiving in the Early 1900s

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In the early 1900s, families marked Thanksgiving with simple, familiar traditions: gathering together, sharing a meal, and sending holiday greetings through the mail. This vintage Thanksgiving postcard comes straight out of that era, capturing the holiday as it was being lived, not remembered later.

Seen as a historic Thanksgiving artifact, it shows how much of the day centered around being together and marking the occasion with shared rituals. It’s a small window into early 1900s Thanksgiving traditions and the way gratitude, family, and the season were visually tied together. In one image, you get a quiet record of how people chose to depict the holiday and what they felt was worth preserving on paper, much like other early 1900s vintage postcards that carried holiday scenes and sentiments through the mail.

The Saxony-Printed Postcard: Two Girls and a Colorful Turkey

This postcard, printed in Saxony, shows a gentle moment between two girls and a bright, colorful turkey. It’s a classic early Thanksgiving postcard illustration and a good example of how a simple “two girls and a turkey” scene could carry the feeling of the holiday right through the mail.

As with other period pieces preserved in vintage print media, the art and color choices do most of the storytelling. The way the figures are posed, the setting, and the rich tones all work together to suggest what Thanksgiving was supposed to look like and feel like at the time.

Addressed to Wessington, South Dakota: A Personal Thanksgiving Greeting

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The card is addressed to Miss Bertha Hungofan in Wessington, South Dakota, with a handwritten message that ties it directly to a real person and a real holiday. That’s what makes this Wessington postcard feel so grounded: a full name, a specific town, and a note written by hand, all tied to a particular Thanksgiving.

When we look at this handwritten Thanksgiving message now, we’re not just seeing an image from the early 1900s Wessington era, we’re seeing a direct line to Miss Bertha Hungofan and the everyday gratitude behind someone taking the time to send it. Pieces like this surface today through places like the Stereoview Vault on eBay, where similar cards and ephemera continue to turn up.

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Artistry, Social Customs, and Bonds Across Generations

Each part of this postcard reflects the artistry and social customs of its time, from the way the scene is composed to the way the message is meant to be received. It shows how people used postcards to share Thanksgiving greetings and stay connected, even when they were far apart.

This particular piece comes from stereo viewvault.com and sits alongside other vintage and antique photographs and stereoview cards that preserve similar moments. Held in your hand, this simple Saxony-printed postcard becomes more than just paper and ink. From the girls and their bright turkey to the Wessington address and the personal note to Bertha Hungofan, it carries forward the same threads of gratitude and connection we still recognize today. If pieces like this catch your eye, keep an eye on the small details; that’s often where the best stories are hiding.