GEOGRAPHY Lessons today!

The title of this post card, in typical V. O. Hammon sytle of small red block lettering, is: LOADED ORE TRAINS LEAVING MAHONING MINE, HIBBING, MINN (LARGEST OPEN PIT MINE IN THE WORLD).

Today the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota, United States, is one of the largest open pit iron mines in the world, with a 1.5 by 3.5 mile footprint and depths up to 600 feet. The mine, located in the Mesabi Range, supplied as much as one-fourth of all the iron ore mined in the United States during its peak production during World War I and World War II.
This area of the Mesabi Range was explored in 1893–1894, shortly after the Mountain Iron mine was established in 1892. It began as an underground mine, but open pit mining soon proved to be a better choice because of the shallow nature of the ore deposits. The many smaller open pit mines developed in the area soon merged into one large mine. The growth of the mine even resulted in the town of Hibbing being relocated to accommodate expansion. The move started in 1919 and took two years to complete at a cost of $16,000,000. 185 houses and 20 businesses were moved, and some of the larger buildings had to be cut in half for the move. Only a few uninhabited remnants of the original townsite are left near an observational lookout at the edge of the mine.

Hibbing was founded in 1893 by the town's namesake, Frank Hibbing.[8] Hibbing was born in Hannover, Germany on December 1, 1856 and was christened Frans Dietrich von Ahlen. His mother died when he was still in infancy and it was her name, Hibbing, which he assumed when he set out to seek his fortune in the New World. He first settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin where he worked on a farm and in a shingle mill. After deciding he was not familiar enough with the English language to make a legal career possible, he turned to timber cruising.
In 1887, Mr. Hibbing settled in Duluth where he established a real estate business and began explorations on the Vermilion Range. In 1892, he headed a party of thirty men at Mountain Iron and cut a road through the wilderness to Section 22, 58-20. An expert iron ore prospector, he soon discovered the surface indication which led him to believe in the existence of extensive ore deposits.

In July 1893, the townsite of Hibbing was laid out and named in honor of him. Feeling personally responsible as Hibbing's creator, he took the deepest pride in its development and, by his generous aid, made its progress possible. He used his personal means to provide a water plant, electric light plant, the first roads, hotel, sawmill, and bank building. For the last ten years of his life, Mr. Hibbing made his home in Duluth where many of his business interests were centered. He retained close contact with the community which bore his name, until he died of appendicitis on July 30, 1897 at age forty.

The post card is being sent from Duluth, Minnesota to a friend who lives in Lynndyl, Utah. The writer tells his friend that "I just lit here and I don't know how long I will stay."
Lynndyl Utah is a town of about 3 and a half square miles in area located in northeast Millard County. This puts in close to, but not very near to the geographical center of the state. Lynndyl got its beginning, like many towns, as a railroad town in1907. Farming in the area began around the year 1912. Its greatest population was achieved in 1930 with 495 people living in Lynndyl; the lowest population was in 1980 at 90 people. Today there are just over 100 people there.
At the turn of the 21st Century, according to the 2000 census, there were 134 people, 45 households, and 39 families residing in the town. There were 55 housing units there and the racial makeup was 89.55% White, 2.24% Native American, 5.97% from other races, and 2.24% from a mixed race household. Hispanic households were13.43% of the population.
The age spread was that there were 32.8% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years old.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,625. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,250 for females. 11.1% of families and 7.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 13.0% of people under the age of eighteen.

The post card was printed and published by V.O. Hammon Publishing Company out of Chicago. A major publisher of halftone lithographic view-cards of the Great Lakes region. They also published novelty cards. Most of their cards tend to have a distinct look as they were printed in crisp RGB colors with small red block lettering. The V.O. Hammon Publishing Company, publisher of pictorial postcards, is listed in the Minneapolis, Minnesota city directory from 1904 until 1923.