This geocache is part of the Visit Norfolk Area Nebraska GeoTour:
Forty geocaches have been hidden throughout Norfolk and the surrounding area that give you a taste of what the region has to offer!
To earn a geocoin (with matching travel tag), pick up a Visit Norfolk Area Nebraska GeoTour Passport from the Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau at 609 W. Norfolk Avenue in Norfolk, NE. Passports may also be downloaded. Collect 40 points as detailed in the passport to claim your geocoin (first-come, first-served and while supplies last). Click here to visit our website and download your passport!
Remember to record the code word from this cache in your GeoTour Passport!
GeoTour Stop #07: Norfolk Post Card Company
Joyce Clyde Hall and his older brothers, William and Rollie owned a number of businesses in the Norfolk area. Joyce began the Norfolk Post Card Company in 1907, initially headquartered in the Norfolk Book and Stationery Store that William owned. Rollie eventually bought out the store's non-family business partner and they formed Hall Brothers, Inc, doing business as the Hall Book Store. Joyce's postcard business soon outgrew the store's resources, and he moved it to Kansas City in 1910. Rollie joined him there in 1911. By 1916, the postcard craze had faded. The Halls bought an engraving company and began selling Christmas letters and greeting cards.
In 1917, Joyce and Rollie invented modern wrapping paper when they ran out of traditional colored tissue paper at the stationery store and substituted fancy French envelope lining paper. After selling the lining paper again the next year, the Hall Brothers started printing their own specifically designed wrapping paper. In 1921, William sold off the brothers' remaining Norfolk businesses and joined his brothers in Kansas City. By 1922, the company expanded throughout the country, the staff grew from 4 to 120 people, and their product line increased from holiday cards to include everyday greeting cards.
In 1928, the company introduced the brand name Hallmark, after the hallmark symbol used by goldsmiths in London in the 14th century, and began printing the name on the back of every card. In 1954, the company name was formally changed from Hall Brothers to Hallmark.
Item of interest: Remember that Statue of Liberty replica at GeoTour Stop #04?
Geocache Info: You are looking for a specialized container with a magnetic personality. This cache is available 24/7. Permission was granted for this cache placement. Please note, the coordinate reading was very bouncy due to the buildings in the area. The cache is located at the extreme left of the store front (the railed-off dining area) of the old Norfolk Post Card Company location - 411 W. Norfolk Avenue. NOTE: You DO NOT need to go into the railed-off dining area to retrieve the cache.
