It is normal for many people to send postcards from vacation. However, postcards from Eckern’s Castrop-Roxelle district rarely go round the world. But now the same thing has happened. An “ecard” has now come a long way from Ikern to North America.
Mein Ickern eV is producing postcards from Ickern with this name since March 2021. The project is financed by the citizens’ budget. It was introduced by the city in late 2020. The city supports 13 different projects with a total of 35,000 euros. 3795 Euros will be distributed to the “Ecard” project.
cards with different motto
Eckern graphic designer Sarah Lamsfu designed the 15 planned motifs. There are 6 different maps available so far. Fans can expect a new motif each month, says Mark Freese from Mean Ekern, but there’s no fixed schedule. All the cards have different motto. These include, for example, topics such as “icon from above” or “back then in icron”. Mining and Emscher floodplains have also been awarded cards.
iCards were advertised on Facebook – and that’s how they were perceived in Canada. Axel Augustin was born in Eckern, but has lived for 13 years in the Canadian province of Quebec. “I looked at him and said: Great!” Reports Canadian by choice. She wrote a letter to Mark Freese on Facebook asking if he could send her an iCard. Without further ado, Mark Freese took a set of cards, put it in an envelope, and sent it off.
don’t break contact
As for the remotely surprising request, Mark Freese says: “It fits perfectly.” After all, the idea behind the “eCards” project is to give people the opportunity to send greetings with the help of artistically designed cards or “make people have a little joy” – a balance to communication via mail and digital media. also as.
It certainly was a success with Axel Augustin. “Those are the memories of Eckern that I really like,” he says. Because even though he has been traveling the world all his life, he has never lost touch with his hometown. “I try not to lose touch with Castop-Roxelle,” he says.
About once a year, he comes to his country to visit family and friends. Although many of them no longer live in Castrop-Roxelle, he always visits the city. “Every time I’m in Germany, I go to Castrop-Röxel,” he says.
There he will do a little tour. “It’s a routine now, but it’s a good one,” he says. The cards now have a way for him to keep souvenirs of his place of birth, even in his new home.
cards are free
However, if you don’t live in Canada, it’s much easier to get one of the coveted cards than Axel Augustin. The cards are distributed free of charge at about eight to nine locations in Eikarn. So far, there have been versions of about 500 pieces in each motif. Mark Freese reports that tickets sold out within 14 days.
Meanwhile, Axel Augustin has got his tickets too. He reported back with a photo. He proudly presents the Eicorn postcard against a Canadian backdrop. A little eikern can now be found in the parish of St. Anisette in Quebec.
