LAWRENCE - For historians, the war experience is best noted in the writings soldiers sent home.

Now through Aug. 26, the story of life on the World War I and Word War II battlefields can be read at "Wish You Were Here," an exhibit on postcards at Lawrence Heritage State Park, 1 Jackson St.

"The military component is great," said Barbara Brown, collections manager at Lawrence History Center. "It gives us a glimpse of how we communicate and how people felt about the war and the enemy."

A large number of the postcards came from Finno's Pool Hall on Common Street, a popular hangout for Italians.

Soldiers sent the postcards to the hall, where they were displayed on a bulletin board for everyone to read.

"I thought they were so fun, so full of bravado," Brown said. "It was about friendship and how you talk to your buddies about the war."

Brown even made a replica of the pool hall scene - a table with playing cards, an 8-ball, cues, and cigars sitting on the edge of an ashtray. On the wall nearby are two pinup calendars and a yellow bar clock from Holihan Pilsner Beer.

The postcards are placed between two pieces of Plexiglas so people can view the images on one side and read the messages on the other.

There is an array of Lawrence memorabilia throughout the room, including photographs of Lawrence soldiers who fought in World War I as well as plates and vases bearing images of Lawrence landmarks.

"We don't have a lot of text because we did not want people to just be reading stuff on the walls - we wanted them to see the beautiful postcards," Brown said.

Completing the exhibit are a small U.S. mailbox, posters of the Lawrence Philatelist (stamp collecting) Society and two blown-up photographs of the Lawrence post office at the corner of Essex and Broadway.

"We want people to remember what it was like to have mail drop in the front door," Brown said. "We miss that with the immediacy of cell phones and text messaging."

Brown got the idea for the exhibit after receiving two large donations of Lawrence memorabilia.

The first one came from Ned Leone of Methuen in 2004. He was given more than 2,000 postcards from the daughter of Finno's owner and, in turn, donated 300 postcards to the Lawrence History Center.

The second gift came from the Alexander B. Bruce family. The patriarch was the Lawrence mayor, and his namesake grandson was an aviator during World War II.

The Bruce family did not know the aviator's whereabouts while he was serving in France, and in the text accompaning Bruce's items, his story is compared to that of Army Spec. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, who has been missing in Iraq since May 12.

"They even have the same name," Brown noted.

Military life is not the only theme in the exhibit. One part chronicles Lawrence politicians Mayor John Buckley, Mayor Larry LeFebre and Sen. Patricia McGovern. There are some compelling pictures of the flood of 1936.

"It's really fascinating," said Joe Bella of Methuen, who loaned memorabilia included in the exhibit. "The postcards take you back to another place and time."

If you go:

What: "Wish You Were Here: The Written Art Form of Lawrence Postcards"

When: Mondays through Sundays through Aug. 26, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Lawrence Heritage State Park, 1 Jackson St.

Cost: Free



Exhibit highlights:

War postcards

Correspondence between the Grecoes, a newlywed couple.

Frannie Clements of Lawrence, who went to France in 1918 with fellow alumnae of Smith College to help with the medical component.

Alexander Bern Bruce, known as Alec, newspaper clippings of detailed information about the war he sent to local newspapers, letters he wrote his brother and cards he sent from France.

Historical cards

Scenes from the Lawrence Canoe Club, the falls near Lawrence General Hospital, Lawrence Poor Farm and First Baptist Church.

Holiday Greeting cards and business cards are quaint and colorful.

These include cards with phrases including "We're always on the lookout for you in Lawrence, Mass.," with two people peeking their heads out of a box, and "Keeping Cool" with a couple kissing under a water fountain.

Natural disasters

Postcard of a home floating down the Merrimack River and a compelling photo of water overflowing at the Great Stone Dam, both taken during the 1936 flood.