Temperance union goes 'parcel post social' in 1917

By John M. Hotchner

Let’s have a party! In 1917, a fund-raiser was held that became the subject of the postal card shown nearby.

This 1¢ green Jefferson postal card was canceled March 15 at Prince Bay, N.Y.

The message side is headed “Parcel Post Social,” and the rhyming message reads, “Please send us something we can sell,/And wrap it so no one can tell/What’s in the package they have bought/ Until its contents they have sought.

“Send the package by Parcel Post./The price to be Ten Cents the most./Something to eat or keep or wear./That all may remember they were there.

“It’s money we’re after, now, my friend./To replenish our treasury we intend./ So loosen up, and don’t be ‘tight’./Give us the money and we’ll use it right.”

Below the message, the time and location of this parcel post party is listed, along with the organization it would benefit, the “Pleasant Plains W.C.T.U.” (WCTU stands for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union).