Middle Bay Light, Alabama

Postcard US-2663940 is travelling to Indonesia showing Middle Bay Lighthouse, also known as Mobile Bay Lighthouse, that is located at the center of Mobile Bay, Alabama. The hexagonal shaped prefabricated screw-pile lighthouse was first lit in 1885.

The keeper's wife gave birth to a baby at the lighthouse in the summer of 1916 during World War I. However, she was unable to nurse the newborn baby. The keeper brought a dairy cow to the lighthouse and created a coral on the gallery at the lower deck. All had to be evacuated when the lighthouse survived a hurricane but sustained damages that year. The light was automated in 1935 and deactivated in 1967. It was placed on National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974. To learn more, visit the Alabama Lighthouse Association's web site.

Postcard photo by Carol Highsmith. You can purchase a copy at zazzle.com.

Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic

Postcard US-2388538 traveled from Washington D.C. to Hawaii in 3 days. It was from another exhibition "Fire & Ice: Hindenburg and Titanic" at the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C., showing the airship Hindenburg.

Both Hindenburg and Titanic attempted to fill the demands for the mass travel and communication demands at the early 1900's. Both operated as the world's largest mobile post offices promising the fastest mail service in its day. Ironically, both ended in disasters. The exhibition shows rare artifacts including a mail sent from Titanic and burnt mail salvaged from Hindenburg.

The exhibition opened on March 22, 2012 and runs through January 6, 2014. For those who can't attend in person, please visit the online gallery on the web.