Lover's Lane, St. George's Island, Calgary

"Hello, I was looking up St. Georges park Calgary as I have a book of old postcards that belonged to my maternal Grandfather Alexander Herd. One postcard as follows was addressed to him at Glidehurst, Alberta postmarked August 30 1909 and was dated/written on August 29 1909. The writer appears to be Edna his sister-in-law.

She writes in the card that the picture is of Calgary's lovers lane and comments that they do not have one like that in Strathcona (Edmonton).

The card it titled A Driveway. St. Georges Island Calgary. Very interesting to visit the past in this way and read the correspondence between my Grandfather and his friends and family during the early 1900s.

Have a great day. From John Dahl Ottawa (formerly of Calgary 1992 to 2001)."

**Lover's Lane in St. George's Island, Calgary, 1909**

Out of the blue, I received the above email on Saturday March 19, 2016. I quickly emailed back saying "thank you" and that I would love to see more images of Calgary from the book of old postcards. Soon a flurry of emails started to pop up on my computer, laptop and iPhone.

Realizing that I hit the motherlode, I asked John if he would allow me to share with Everyday Tourist readers not only the postcard images, but also the stories on the back. I am thrilled that he agreed.

Early 20th Century Calgary Postcards

Hard to believe the General Hospital was built with nothing around it.  A bit like South Health Campus when it was first being built. — **Hard to believe the General Hospital was built with nothing around it. A bit like South Health Campus when it was first being built.**

**Perhaps we should rethink the idea of a Street Car along Stephen Avenue aka 8th Avenue**

**C.P.R. Garden, located on 9th Avenue east of Calgary Tower**

Top: Provincial Normal School, later became McDougall School and then the McDougall Centre. Bottom: Fire Hall #1  still exists at the corner of Centre Street and 6th Avenue. — **Top: Provincial Normal School, later became McDougall School and then the McDougall Centre. Bottom: Fire Hall #1 still exists at the corner of Centre Street and 6th Avenue.**

These treeless Mt. Royal mansions look strikingly similar to 21st century estate homes in Calgary's new communities.

Postcards vs Tweets

It was amusing to read the correspondence on the back of the postcards. It was like a modern day twitter conversation. I love that they are called "Private Post Card." How can a post card be private?

I was also surprised to learn that 100 years ago postcards weren't just used by tourist on vacation, but were a way of communicating with family and friends on a regular basis.

Today our communication is instantaneous and often several times a day.

Oh how our world has changed!