About
Stanley I. Kaase was my grandfather. He collected these postcards from members of his family and kept them safe for many years. I have fond memories of flipping through grandpa Stan's postcard books and listening to his stories about growing up in Preston, Minnesota. Stan was a kind son, brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, as well as an accomplished fisherman. He passed away in 2024.
I am Darby Ronning, curator and steward of the Stanley I. Kaase Postcard Collection. After receiving this collection, it was important to me that I make the postcards available online for members of my family or whoever might have an interest in them. I am a fellow in the class of 2026 Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, a graduate program that studies objects as avenues to learn about history. Reading these postcards, I felt closer than ever to the lives of my ancestors and the joys and challenges they faced. I hope visitors to this website will similarly find meaning in this collection of postcards.
Postcards were scanned on a plustek OpticSlim 1180 scanner as tiffs at 1200 dpi. Online files are jpegs, but original scans can be requested.
Thank you to staff at Winterthur Library, especially Image Management Coordinator Nicole Schnee, for help with use of scanning equipment.
Thank you to the Kaase family, my parents Brent and Heidi Ronning, Eleanor Shippen, and Parker Thompson for support and inspiration.