George Ekblaw and the Bananas

  

When possible, I like to do a little research on the images I post, and this one has a fair amount of info that I was able to run down.  To start with, the card's original photo is credited to "A. HIRSCHWITZ, NEW ORLEANS. LA."  I wasn't able to find any biographical details on the man's life, but I was able to find quite a few postcards credited to him, all published by 'THE CURT TEICH @ CO. CHICAGO."  Whether he was a freelancer who specialized in postcards or an employee of Curt Teich, well, I wasn't able to find any info on that.

There was a message written on the back, "I am seeing the sights at first hand.  Lordy here-azaleas, camelias, oleander in bloom.  I may see you-I will stop off at Mother E's on my way back. KJ has left for Florida to day.  Sunday we made a side trip to Biloxi.  Regards to all. AE."  

The card is addressed to "Dr & Mrs George Ekblaw, 511 W. Main Str, Urbana, Ill."  The postmark, "NEW ORLEANS LA, FEB 6, 11 AM., 1939"  

So, this is where it gets interesting.  I found a memorial page for the life of George Elbert Ekblaw, of Urbana, IL, published by the University of Illinois.  I'm only going to hit the highlights, so for those interested in more detail, it's easy to find online.  George Ekblaw was born in 1895 and died in 1972.  He was a veteran of World War 1, and after returning from Europe, he taught school for a few years, and eventually got degrees in engineering and geology from the University of Illinois.  After getting his degrees, he joined the Illinois State Geological Survey's Engineering and Geology Section.  It looks like it was his job to work on dams, roads, and tunnels.  I assume it was his specific task to survey the underlying geology for state projects.  He also found time to map the glacial moraines of Illinois and write at least one book on the geology of Illinois. He married Emma Josephine Nyberg and fathered at least one son, Andrew Ekblaw II, also a graduate of the University of Illinois, and also an engineer, though he moved to New York State and worked for G.E.  Andrew was born in 1933 and died in 2016.  If Andrew was the person who sent this card, he was all of six years old, so despite the initials, I'm thinking it was another Ekblaw. 

And the caption, "New Orleans, is the world's greatest banana port, more than 700 ships arrive each year loaded with 25,000 to 50,000 bunches of bananas.  Each individual bunch of bananas is carried from the hold of the ship to the door of the refrigerator car on mechanical conveyors."  Also, "NEW ORLEANS-AMERICA'S MOST INTERESTING CITY."  I'm not sure about that one.  I've been to New Orleans, as well as some other very interesting American cities.