A ‘redistribution of happiness’ — from California to Riverhead, a century-old postcard arrives at town hall

A mysterious missive arrived at Riverhead Town Hall last week.

Addressed to “Mayor or Town Clerk,” the envelope contained a century-old postcard depicting Riverhead’s Main Street at the entrance to Grangebel Park.

Postmarked Feb. 28, 1908, it is addressed, in charming simplicity, to “Mr Allen Fordham, Southampton, L.I.” Opposite the address, the card is inscribed with the simple handwritten message, “With much love, Ethel.” It bears a one-cent U.S. postage stamp, canceled at 8 a.m in Riverhead. (A second postmark shows that it arrived in Southampton, remarkably, at 12 noon on the same day.)

In the envelope with Ethel’s card to Allen was a typewritten letter from a man in Stockton, California.

“Good morning,” writes Lowell Joerg. “I hope this brightens your day.”

The letter continues:

I was at an antique store here and found this circa 1908 picture card of your beautiful Main Street. Maybe you can still pinpoint the exact location.

It’s an old time classic for sure so I said to myself, ‘By golly, I think I’ll send it home where it can be appreciated…”

Joerg goes on to say the card cost him $6 and makes a pitch for reimbursement — at a slight premium. He suggests $7 or $8. “Throw in a little postage if you want, too,” Joerg writes.

“My wife is laughing at me and says if I hear from you I will have to take here [sic] out to lunch. I am eighty-eight years old and still going strong,” the letter continues.

“I like to call my little hobby a ‘redistribution of happiness.’ Our world sure needs it.”

Joerg’s letter and the postcard enclosed with it certainly brightened the day in the town supervisor’s office last Thursday.

“Wow, this is really something,” Supervisor Sean Walter said when presented with the contents of the envelope by his deputy Jill Lewis.

“Look at that,” he marveled, pointing to the picture of West Main Street nearly 100 years ago — a narrow, unpaved road lined with large trees, winding past stately residences. The landscape has changed so much and looks so different that pinpointing the exact location, as Joerg suggests, is difficult, maybe even impossible.

“PUBL BY MCCABES CENTRAL STORE” reads a credit under the caption: “MAIN ST. AND ENTRANCE TO GRANGEBEL PARK, RIVERHEAD, L.I.”

According to news articles published across the country, the folksy letter the Riverhead supervisor got last week was almost boilerplate — right down to the $6 cost of the postcard and the bet with the letter-writer’s wife.

Joerg, it turns out, has been enjoying his “little hobby” for about 25 years. He finds old postcards depicting buildings or places of note and sends them to the towns pictured on the cards, with a letter much like the one Walter opened in his office last Thursday.

He told one newspaper he sends out three or four historical post cards a month. About 75 percent of the recipients respond, Joerg told columnist Michael Fitzgerald of the The Record newspaper in Stockton. Fitzgerald visited with him at his home in November 2015. He has since moved to an assisted living facility in Stockton and could not be reached for comment.

Walter was surprised when told of Joerg’s longtime hobby. “I just assumed he was a former Riverhead resident or something,” he said.

Walter wrote back to Joerg to thank him for the postcard, which he says he will give to the town historian.

The supervisor passed along some information about the history of Grangebel Park, excerpted from a November 2010 article in RiverheadLOCAL.

“The park continues to serve as a meeting place along the Peconic River with walking trails, park benches, a fish ladder and a small stage where a Friday night concert series is held during the summer,” Walter wrote.

“I’m sure there are photos being taken today that will be shared in another 100 years for future generations to enjoy.”

The supervisor tucked a $10 bill inside his letter, which he mailed to the California man this week.

Joerg will be taking his wife out to lunch.

The woman named Ethel who sent the postcard “with much love” and its recipient, Mr. Allen Fordham, remain a mystery. The Fordham family dates back to the earliest days of the settlement of lands that would become the Town of Southampton. A young man named Allen W. Fordham lived in Southampton at the time Ethel sent her postcard. He died in 1914 at age 25.

If you have any information or clues about Ethel and Allen, email the editor or send a postcard to Editor/RiverheadLOCAL, P.O. Box 919, Riverhead NY 11901.