For Flashback Friday this week we take the trolley out Hillsboro St. to the campus of NC A&M (NC State University today). Although the buildings are still standing, the ‘general view’ of 100 years ago depicted here is vastly different from what we would find today.

Hello Sweatheart [sic]
how are you / we are still on our way yet / we expect to get there tonight / we have [to] go about one hundred and twenty five miles to go yet
From
Geo
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I wonder if George’s “sweatheart” got a chuckle out of his misspelling of that tender term of endearment? The dated cancellation mark on this postcard — June 1918 — suggests that George was aboard a troop train bound for a military training camp during WWI.

Raleigh was a stopover for the troop trains passing through town during the war. A canteen and bath house were operated by the Raleigh Chapter of the American Red Cross near the Seaboard rail yards just north of the city.

State Archives of North Carolina photo

WWI soldiers were fed by Red Cross volunteers at the canteen, above, and were able to take welcomed showers at the adjacent bath house.

State Archives of North Carolina photo

This week’s postcard shows a rather idealized view of Hillsboro St. of the 1910s. In fact, the image is so heavily retouched that the overhead power lines, streetcar tracks and much of the road itself have been airbrushed out of the picture! Below is a photo of the same view taken just a few years previously.

State Archives of North Carolina photo

Our Flashback Friday postcard this week was published by the long-time Raleigh stationer and ‘office outfitter,’ James E. Thiem. It was printed by Commercialchrome of Cleveland.

Commercialchrome  1910-1920  Cleveland, OH

Printer of tinted halftone view-cards, most depicting scenes from the American Mid-West.

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week end treat!