A century ago people could purchase a postcard with a New Year’s theme for maybe a penny, then send it to a relative or friend somewhere else in the nation for just a penny postage.

One of the postcards in the archives of the Freeborn County Historical Museum was sent to Miss Ferdinanda Jensen, RR 3, Hayward, just a century ago. (The RR initials stood for rural route.) This 1910 greeting had a message written in the Danish language for a person who had the nickname of “Nanda.”

The most popular themes for the once popular postcards for this specific holiday were clocks indicating the significant change in time and babies for the start of another year.