"How Is This For a Bunch?"

From the steamer trunk.

Introducing Artie Llewellyn, Leslie Ely and Harry Ely!


(Click on images to enlarge)
Images courtesy of E.H.

Whether they were the Three Musketeers or the Three Stooges, I don't know. I can't even positively identify any of them in the census records. All I know is that somehow Leslie became friendly enough with Herman Harms and (I believe) his brother, Henry Jr., to send each of them this same postcard. (I think it was Henry Jr. simply because I can't imagine a friend of Herman's daring to address Henry Sr. so informally.)





Hmm. Well. With no year in the postmark, no ID on these guys, no idea of their relationship to the Harmses … all I can say is that Leslie's cap is simply fabulous.
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[8/30/13 update] The Dewell family archivist has done some detective work around these guys and come up with the following:

I found Artie Taylor Lewellyn and Charles Harry Ely, both have WWI draft cards in Ida County, Iowa circa 1917.

Artie was born 1 Sep 1894 in Scottsburg, IN. Charles Harry Ely was born 3 Aug 1892 in Madison, IN. They both were farm laborers in Ida at the time of the draft.

Leslie J Ely (2 Sep 1897 to 17 May 1979) and Harry were listed in the 1900 Madison, IN Census (Eley), sons of George and Dixie (Woods) Ely.

Leslie and Charles Harry wound up in Ohio and died there. Leslie served in WWI, so I wonder if he met someone from Lake County in the army?? Harry also said he was a veteran in the 1930 Census, but I couldn't find any service info on Ancestry. Also they were both factory workers, maybe they were in the steel mills at some point??

Artie Lewellyn was in Anderson, Marion, IN in 1940.