ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 



































 
Ms. Sara Rey Marcum attends a ball, 1909

By JIM

On the surface, the postcard imaged here is just another bit of early 20th century ephemera, complete with a hastily scribbled note, puzzling signature, and one-cent stamp. Not far beneath the surface, however, lies the rest of the story.

In early March 1909, Columbia native Sara Rey Marcum (Sallie or Daut to most who knew her), then teaching in Harrisonburg, Virginia, mailed a postcard to her 12-year-old niece, addressed to "Ruth Paull / Columbia / Ky." and postmarked March 6, 1909 at "Mount Vernon on the Potomac, VA."

The description of the building, printed on the message side of the card, states:
"The Pension Building with an area 200 by 400 feet, is the largest brick building in the world. At the Inauguration Balls, 18,000 people have gathered within its vast court. A feature of the exterior is the frieze in which are sculptured the marching troops of the Civil War."
(This structure, located in Washington, D.C., occupies a full city block and served for nearly 40 years as the bureaucratic center for all things related to military pensions. It's now a memorial to Civil War veterans.)

The note to young Ruth wasted neither words nor pencil lead:


"Am here & ok. / Is great / Where I attended the Ball last night - which is the grandest I've ever seen. / Daut."
Although postmarked March 6, 1909, the note probably was written the day before, as The "Ball last night" almost certainly referred to the March 4th fete held in the Pension Building, the Inauguration Ball of President William Howard Taft, the last of several such celebration held there.

Ms. Marcum, showing her Adair County grit, refused to allow anything to derail her plans to attend the grand ball, including the blizzard that dropped 10 inches of snow in the D.C. area on the night of March 3rd into the morning of the 4th.



This story was posted on 2022-01-30 10:31:50
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.



Postcard: The Pension Building, ca 1909



2022-01-30 - Washington, DC - Photo courtesy JIM.
The Pension Building, on a 1909 postcard from Columbia native Sara Rey Marcum (Sallie or Daut to most who knew her), then teaching in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to Ruth Paull.

This structure, located in Washington, D.C., occupies a full city block and served for nearly 40 years as the bureaucratic center for all things related to military pensions. It's now a memorial to Civil War veterans.

Paired photo: 1909 postcard from Sara Rey Marcum

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



1909 postcard from Sara Rey Marcum



2022-01-30 - Washington, DC - Photo courtesy JIM.
In early March 1909, Columbia native Sara Rey Marcum (Sallie or Daut to most who knew her), then teaching in Harrisonburg, Virginia, mailed a postcard to her 12-year-old niece, addressed to "Ruth Paull / Columbia / Ky." and postmarked March 6, 1909 at "Mount Vernon on the Potomac, VA," after attending the Inauguration Ball of President William Howard Taft.

Paired photo: Postcard: The Pension Building, ca 1909

Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



 

































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.