A simple postcard, mailed from the Delavan Post Office on April 27, 1940, has opened an unexpected historical mystery — one that now has the Delavan Dispatch calling on local history detectives to help decipher a message written more than 80 years ago.

The postcard, recently spotted on eBay, features a familiar local landmark: the Meeker Building at the northwest corner of Locust and 3rd Streets. Today, the building houses Delavan City Hall, but in 1940, it was home to Superior Scales, a company known for manufacturing commercial weighing equipment. The image itself is a classic linen era postcard, the kind many Delavan families once sent to relatives across the Midwest.

But it wasn’t the picture that caught our attention — it was the message on the back.

The front of the card was first shared by Bill Watson on the Delavan Info and News Facebook group, where it quickly drew interest from longtime residents and history buffs. Curious about the rest of the story, the Dispatch tracked down the original eBay listing. There, in the seller’s photos, the mystery deepened: the handwritten message was not in English, but in German.

Even more intriguing, the message specifically mentions the Delavan Armory — a reference that immediately raises questions about who wrote it, why they were in Delavan, and what connection they had to Chicago, where the postcard was addressed.

Recognizing the historical significance — and the potential for a fascinating community investigation — the Delavan Dispatch purchased the postcard to study it more closely.

Now we’re turning to you.

What We Know So Far

Postmark: April 27, 1940, Delavan, Illinois

Recipient: A Chicago address (details forthcoming as we verify the handwriting)

Language: German

Content: A brief message referencing the Delavan Armory

Image: The Meeker Building during its Superior Scales era

The year 1940 places this postcard in a tense moment in world history — just months before the United States entered World War II. German language correspondence, even innocent, can’t help but raise eyebrows in that context. But we’re not jumping to conclusions. Instead, we’re inviting the community to help us translate, contextualize, and understand the message.

Calling All Local History Detectives

Do you read German?

Do you have family stories about the Armory, Superior Scales, or German-speaking residents in Delavan during the 1930s and ’40s?

Do you recognize the handwriting style or know someone who might?

Over the next week, the Dispatch will publish high-resolution images of both sides of the postcard and share updates as we learn more. Our goal is to piece together the story behind this unexpected artifact — who wrote it, why they were in Delavan, and what role the Armory played in their visit.

This is the kind of mystery that reminds us why local history matters. Sometimes the past doesn’t reveal itself in grand monuments or official records, but in small, personal traces.

If you’d like to assist with translation or historical context, please contact the Dispatch or message us on Facebook.