Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Object Identification Number |
1990.060.205 |
Object Name |
Postcard, Photographic |
Donor |
Bedstemors, Inc. |
Description |
The front of the postcard is vertically oriented and has a black and white photograph adhered to the center of the top half. The photograph depicts a woman crouching on the ground with a baby on her lap and a small girl to her right. The baby is moving, and therefore blurry, and the girl is rubbing her left eye with her left hand. Behind them is a building to the viewer's left and a barn to the viewer's right with a buggy in front of the barn. The shadow of the person taking the photograph is cast in the lower right corner of the photograph. Beneath the photograph are several lines of handwritten text in Danish. The text continues on the back of the postcard along the left edge. Handwritten in the lower left corner of the back is: "To Sigurd Lykke". Handwritten across the center in brown crayon is: "Miss Clara Lykke". Handwritten over that name in black ink is: "Miss Clara Lykke / Kimballton / Audubon Co / Iowa." Above the address is printed in blue: "THIS SIDE OF CARD FOR ADDRESS ONLY" within a border of two thin blue lines. In the upper right corner is a blue printed illustration of a profile of a man's head within an oval. Inside the oval is printed: "U.S. POSTAL CARD / ONE CENT / McKINLEY", with two number "1"s on the left and right of the portrait. The postmark is stamped in black and reads: "DANNEBROG / APR / 9 / 8 AM / 1917 / NEBR". |
Print Size |
3.313in. x 5.563in. |
Creation Date |
1917 |
Associated People |
Lykke, Sigurd Lykke, Clara |
Search Terms |
postcard Audubon County Kimballton Dannebrog Lykke, Sigurd Lykke, Clara |
Date Received by Museum |
1990 |
Provenance |
The postcard was sent to Clara Lykke of Kimballton, Iowa, on April 9, 1917. Clara Lykke was born on June 14, 1912, in Kimballton, Iowa, and died on December 30, 2003, in Perry, Iowa. She married Leonard L. Johnson of Elk Horn, Iowa, in December 1931. Her parents were Sigurd Lykke (1887-1963) and Anna (Petersen) Lykke (1890-1969). The postcard was one of the furnishings provided to Bedstemors House during its restoration in the 1980s. HOUSE HISTORY Bedstemors Hus, or Grandmother's House, was built in 1908 by Jens Otto Christiansen, a Danish immigrant and Elk Horn businessman. He was often referred to as "Prince Otto" because he wore a coat with tails and a tall hat when going to church, and he walked very straight. According to local stories, he built the house as an engagement gift for a young woman who sadly turned down his marriage proposal. It is unknown if Christiansen ever lived in the home himself, but he rented the home to several families until he sold it to the Salem Old People's Home in 1933 for "one dollar and other valuable contributions." In 1946, the house was sold to Meta Mortensen, also of Danish descent. She lived in the home for 36 years, making only a few notable changes. The roses that she planted along all four sides of the house still bloom. In 1982, Meta sold the house to the Elk Horn-Kimballton Arts and Recreation Council for $8800. The Council and many area volunteers spent a year restoring the home to reflect the turn of the century. They named it "Bedstemor's House", using the Danish word for "Grandmother", in honor of Meta Mortensen who was herself a Danish-American grandmother. The House opened to the public in July of 1983, and a formal dedication was held October 1. Meta Mortensen was the guest of honor. It was after 1983 that the front porch was reconstructed and the exterior of the home was repainted from the white that Meta had had to the original two-tone green. The only modern room was just off the kitchen. Formerly Meta's bedroom, the room became the office for staff and has remained as such. The Council operated the house for seven years until it was donated to the Museum in 1990. Minutes from the Board of Directors meeting in February that year show that the donation was accepted for the Museum. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 16, 1997. The Museum continues to operate Bedstemor's House as an historic house museum, interpreting the home in its first decade. The home is located at 2105 College Street in Elk Horn on its original foundation. On June 25, 2008, the Museum held a dedication for the new tombstone for Jens Otto Christiansen who had not had a formal stone until then. It marked the centennial of the house. The ceremony was held at the Elk Horn Cemetery and a reception at Bedstemors House followed. |
Images |
163\1990060205.tif |
Accession number |
1990.060 |