Monday is Valentine's Day, and I got to remembering those days in grade school, when the night before you would hurriedly scribble out those "cards for all your classmates." And you would wonder "how many will I get?" And, then you looked to see how many girls sent them to you, and especially any of the cute girls, or that one special girl.
The teacher generally gave us a small bag full of those candy hearts that had the little sayings on them, some would make you blush.
My "valentine" in those days, many, many years ago, was a neighbor girl, Alma Faye Eilerman, haven't seen her in seventy years, we grew up together, until about '43, and then have not seen her since.
My old memory is really working this Saturday morning, around 2, Mrs Prather was my First Grade teacher, that was the first year we exchanged Valentines, at Emerson Junior High School, in Dayton, Ohio. Emerson is gone, Mrs. Prather is gone, but we still have Valentine's Day, and of course, Dayton, Ohio is still there.
They were very little cards as I recall, they came in a box, everyone bought the same ones at Woolworth's or Grants or McCrory's, all Ten Cent stores, so you always got back the same cards that you handed out. At the last minute, you always forgot someone in your class. Mom would always make me take a few with no names on the envelopes, just in case.
It used to be a little Penny Valentine Card ..... now look at it... but, after all these years, we don't do much for Christmas, the wife and I, little to nothing for birthdays, but I will have to get her something for Valentines Day ......... the greeting card companies and the candy companies really started something .... Happy Valetines Day to all.................
