With Valentine’s Day coming at breakneck speed I thought I should share some of my memories of the day.
In elementary school our teacher would decorate a big box. It sat at the front of the room and everyone brought their valentines for classmates and put them into the pretty box. Our teacher would have all of his or her students cut out hearts, cupids and other valentine related things to decorate the room and windows. Yes, we had windows in our classrooms and we decorated those windows for every holiday. In February we not only celebrated Valentine’s Day but we also used to celebrate both President Washington’s (February 22nd) and President Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th). We would cut out black profiles of Washington’s and Lincoln’s heads, paste the profiles on a sheet of red construction paper and stick them up in the windows, facing out, so whoever passed the school building could see them. Our teacher would tell us stories about the Presidents and we learned about patriotism and serving our country. Of course, it was not difficult to be patriotic inasmuch as the United States was fighting World War II and most of us had brothers, uncles, cousins and even dads who were away fighting and dying for our freedom.
I will talk more about World War II at a later time but today, it’s all about Valentine’s Day.
When Valentine’s Day finally arrived we were all excited for the party and to see how many valentines we would receive. We must have had “Room Mothers” because when the last recess was over cookies and punch had magically appeared. And then the long awaited opening of the “big box” that held the valentines. After the teacher opened the box, someone would be designated the “Postman” and he or she would take some valentines out of the box and distribute them to the person whose name was on the envelope. After four or five minutes, someone else would become the “Postman.” Being the “Postman” was a very brief but coveted position. When the bell rang we would gather our collection of valentines and go home. But Valentines’ Day didn’t end with the closing of school. The evening hours were equally as exciting. There were always people to whom you wished to give a valentine that did not go to school: Aunts, Uncles, cousins who were not in your classroom and neighbors.
We made our own valentines for these special people. As dusk approached, we would gather up the “special” valentines and go deliver them.
We always had valentines for Uncle Ben and Aunt Jenny who lived across the street. We would go their house, very quietly sneak up to their door, lay the valentines on the porch and run and hide. I’m not sure what the significance of this particular ritual was but it was our custom and we loved it. Someone in the house would answer the knock on the door, pick up the valentines, take a perfunctory look around (to see if they could see who had left the valentines) and when they could see no one, they’d go back into the house. After the door closed, we’d come out from our hiding place and go to the next house. Generally, we had between six and ten houses we wanted to visit. When all the valentines were distributed we’d head home. If no one had seen us or “caught” us we considered the evening to be a total success. My brother, George, and I usually went out together.
As I recall, my children used to make their own, individual valentine box. I don’t remember whether it was just so they’d have something in which to carry their collection of valentines they received at school or whether they had another purpose. (Someone can straighten me out on this detail, please.)
I don’t imagine Valentine’s Day at my school was very much different than Valentine’s Day at school now but Valentine’s Day at school is not the main reason I’m doing a Valentine’s Day chapter.
Now, we get to the real story:
When my sister, Ora, was a senior in high school she was dating a guy whose name was Lee Cummins. Lee was not a local boy. He was from New York and he was in Blanding with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). “What,” you ask, “was the CCC?” During the depression there were very few jobs and millions of people were out of work. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1933, he and his “people” wanted to find a way to help people so they could have enough money to buy food, clothes and shelter. So, the CCC was established to provide young men with jobs working in the national parks and forests and I think, perhaps, reclamation projects as well. They built roads where there had been no roads on forest land and in the national parks, to make it easier when people visited those places. I’m sure they did other jobs, as well, but I was pretty young and don’t remember some of this stuff---or perhaps I didn’t know. But I do remember my parents talking about the programs of the day and if I recall what they said, the young men in the CCC were paid $30.00 per week and they were to send $25.00 home to their families. I believe food was provided for the “CCC’s”, as we called them. Oh, I should tell you that barracks were built to house the young men. I suppose beds of some kind were provided. I don’t know how many young men were sent to Blanding but I do know that we all benefited from the work they did. There were other programs set up for men and women of all ages. The one with which I am the most familiar was the WPA (Works Progress Administration) because my Dad benefited from it and I will tell you more about the WPA in the next chapter about him. There were other projects organized to spread employment and help people earn some wages but the CCC and WPA are the only ones that directly affected us so I can’t tell you about anything else.
Of course, the young men with the CCC’s were pretty normal guys and they wanted to date girls---big surprise. The only girls available to date were the local girls so that’s who these guys pursued. Remember, Blanding was (and I believe, still is) a “Mormon” town. Until the CCC group came there were probably only one or two non-Mormon families in town (I will be telling you about them in later installments). So, as you may imagine, having these guys who definitely were not Mormon dating their daughters just about gave some of the local parents heart attacks. Actually, several of the guys married local girls, stayed in Blanding and eventually joined the Church. But the CCC guys were well-behaved and treated the girls with respect. Both my older sisters dated guys with the CCC’s. The name of the fellow Grace dated was Steve. I don’t know his last name. Anyway, Valentine’s Day came and this Lee Cummins gave Ora a heart shaped box of chocolates. I thought that was the most wonderful thing in the whole world. I must have been really impressed with it because I was only three years old and I remember it as though it happened yesterday. I thought about it a lot and hoped that someday, someone would give me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I thought and thought about it, wishing and hoping, someday, I’d get one. (Steve never gave Grace a heart shaped box of chocolates. I’m sure that’s why I don’t remember his last name.)
Now, before I finish my story I have to fill you in with some important information. There was a café in Blanding. There was a long counter with stools as well as booths for people to sit to eat. You could get ice cream cones, sundaes, banana splits, shakes, malts and soft drinks, plus coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Behind the counter on a shelf on the wall, there was always several heart shaped boxes of chocolates and there was a punch board. For a price, you could buy a punch on the punch board. I don’t know how much it cost---maybe 10 cents per punch. If you made a lucky punch, you’d win a heart shaped box of chocolates. There may have been other prizes of lesser value, as well. I really don’t know because I don’t think I ever went into the café until I was in High School but I could see the boxes of chocolates on the shelf through the windows as I’d pass by. People who had jobs and could afford it would come into the café to eat and frequently they’d buy some punches. Apparently, Lee chose a lucky punch, won a box of chocolates and gave them to Ora for Valentine’s Day.
From the time I was three, every year, I wished for a heart shaped box of chocolates.
When I was a senior in High School I was dating a guy named George Boday. Actually, we were engaged. On Valentine’s Day, George Boday brought me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I was almost beside myself with joy. You may say to yourself, “How nice that she finally got her heart shaped box of chocolates.” Well, maybe not! I was pretty naïve and I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was when someone gave you a box of chocolates. I didn’t know whether I should open the box and offer George a chocolate or whether I should just accept it and save it to open later. So, I just accepted it, thanked him and saved it to open later. Boy, was I glad I did! When I opened that box of chocolates I saw that the candy was SO OLD that all the middle of every piece of candy had sunk down to the bottom and the chocolate was almost white with age. I was happy I hadn’t opened the box and offered one to George. I think he’d have been terribly embarrassed.
I never told him. I’ve often wondered whether he thought it was rude or strange that I never offered him a piece of candy. This is what I think happened. He was in the café and bought at least one punch, probably more. Since it was Valentine’s Day and he had won a box of chocolates he wanted to give it to his fiancé. It was a nice gesture. Now, the government requires that manufacturers put a “best if used by” date on food and other products, as well, but in those days, there were no “best if used by” date on anything. So, the people who ran the café just kept those boxes until they were gone and then got new ones. The box I received had been on the shelf a long, long, long time. Oh, yes. I should tell you. I thought, “Even though it looks terrible IT IS CHOCOLATE and maybe it will taste good, anyway.” IT DIDN’T!
You know what? Whether or not I get a heart shaped box of chocolates has never mattered much to me since that time. Now you’ve heard my Valentine story. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed telling it. When I think of it I always smile in remembrance.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Oh, just a word of advice. Heart shaped boxes of chocolates aren’t, necessarily, all they’re cracked up to be unless they come from a “high end” candy manufacturer.
Now here’s a question for you---What’s the difference between Tiger Woods and Princess Diana? Answer: Tiger has a better driver. Tal’s response to this was, “Oh, that’s cold!”
I love you all.
In elementary school our teacher would decorate a big box. It sat at the front of the room and everyone brought their valentines for classmates and put them into the pretty box. Our teacher would have all of his or her students cut out hearts, cupids and other valentine related things to decorate the room and windows. Yes, we had windows in our classrooms and we decorated those windows for every holiday. In February we not only celebrated Valentine’s Day but we also used to celebrate both President Washington’s (February 22nd) and President Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th). We would cut out black profiles of Washington’s and Lincoln’s heads, paste the profiles on a sheet of red construction paper and stick them up in the windows, facing out, so whoever passed the school building could see them. Our teacher would tell us stories about the Presidents and we learned about patriotism and serving our country. Of course, it was not difficult to be patriotic inasmuch as the United States was fighting World War II and most of us had brothers, uncles, cousins and even dads who were away fighting and dying for our freedom.
I will talk more about World War II at a later time but today, it’s all about Valentine’s Day.
When Valentine’s Day finally arrived we were all excited for the party and to see how many valentines we would receive. We must have had “Room Mothers” because when the last recess was over cookies and punch had magically appeared. And then the long awaited opening of the “big box” that held the valentines. After the teacher opened the box, someone would be designated the “Postman” and he or she would take some valentines out of the box and distribute them to the person whose name was on the envelope. After four or five minutes, someone else would become the “Postman.” Being the “Postman” was a very brief but coveted position. When the bell rang we would gather our collection of valentines and go home. But Valentines’ Day didn’t end with the closing of school. The evening hours were equally as exciting. There were always people to whom you wished to give a valentine that did not go to school: Aunts, Uncles, cousins who were not in your classroom and neighbors.
We made our own valentines for these special people. As dusk approached, we would gather up the “special” valentines and go deliver them.
We always had valentines for Uncle Ben and Aunt Jenny who lived across the street. We would go their house, very quietly sneak up to their door, lay the valentines on the porch and run and hide. I’m not sure what the significance of this particular ritual was but it was our custom and we loved it. Someone in the house would answer the knock on the door, pick up the valentines, take a perfunctory look around (to see if they could see who had left the valentines) and when they could see no one, they’d go back into the house. After the door closed, we’d come out from our hiding place and go to the next house. Generally, we had between six and ten houses we wanted to visit. When all the valentines were distributed we’d head home. If no one had seen us or “caught” us we considered the evening to be a total success. My brother, George, and I usually went out together.
As I recall, my children used to make their own, individual valentine box. I don’t remember whether it was just so they’d have something in which to carry their collection of valentines they received at school or whether they had another purpose. (Someone can straighten me out on this detail, please.)
I don’t imagine Valentine’s Day at my school was very much different than Valentine’s Day at school now but Valentine’s Day at school is not the main reason I’m doing a Valentine’s Day chapter.
Now, we get to the real story:
When my sister, Ora, was a senior in high school she was dating a guy whose name was Lee Cummins. Lee was not a local boy. He was from New York and he was in Blanding with the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). “What,” you ask, “was the CCC?” During the depression there were very few jobs and millions of people were out of work. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1933, he and his “people” wanted to find a way to help people so they could have enough money to buy food, clothes and shelter. So, the CCC was established to provide young men with jobs working in the national parks and forests and I think, perhaps, reclamation projects as well. They built roads where there had been no roads on forest land and in the national parks, to make it easier when people visited those places. I’m sure they did other jobs, as well, but I was pretty young and don’t remember some of this stuff---or perhaps I didn’t know. But I do remember my parents talking about the programs of the day and if I recall what they said, the young men in the CCC were paid $30.00 per week and they were to send $25.00 home to their families. I believe food was provided for the “CCC’s”, as we called them. Oh, I should tell you that barracks were built to house the young men. I suppose beds of some kind were provided. I don’t know how many young men were sent to Blanding but I do know that we all benefited from the work they did. There were other programs set up for men and women of all ages. The one with which I am the most familiar was the WPA (Works Progress Administration) because my Dad benefited from it and I will tell you more about the WPA in the next chapter about him. There were other projects organized to spread employment and help people earn some wages but the CCC and WPA are the only ones that directly affected us so I can’t tell you about anything else.
Of course, the young men with the CCC’s were pretty normal guys and they wanted to date girls---big surprise. The only girls available to date were the local girls so that’s who these guys pursued. Remember, Blanding was (and I believe, still is) a “Mormon” town. Until the CCC group came there were probably only one or two non-Mormon families in town (I will be telling you about them in later installments). So, as you may imagine, having these guys who definitely were not Mormon dating their daughters just about gave some of the local parents heart attacks. Actually, several of the guys married local girls, stayed in Blanding and eventually joined the Church. But the CCC guys were well-behaved and treated the girls with respect. Both my older sisters dated guys with the CCC’s. The name of the fellow Grace dated was Steve. I don’t know his last name. Anyway, Valentine’s Day came and this Lee Cummins gave Ora a heart shaped box of chocolates. I thought that was the most wonderful thing in the whole world. I must have been really impressed with it because I was only three years old and I remember it as though it happened yesterday. I thought about it a lot and hoped that someday, someone would give me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I thought and thought about it, wishing and hoping, someday, I’d get one. (Steve never gave Grace a heart shaped box of chocolates. I’m sure that’s why I don’t remember his last name.)
Now, before I finish my story I have to fill you in with some important information. There was a café in Blanding. There was a long counter with stools as well as booths for people to sit to eat. You could get ice cream cones, sundaes, banana splits, shakes, malts and soft drinks, plus coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Behind the counter on a shelf on the wall, there was always several heart shaped boxes of chocolates and there was a punch board. For a price, you could buy a punch on the punch board. I don’t know how much it cost---maybe 10 cents per punch. If you made a lucky punch, you’d win a heart shaped box of chocolates. There may have been other prizes of lesser value, as well. I really don’t know because I don’t think I ever went into the café until I was in High School but I could see the boxes of chocolates on the shelf through the windows as I’d pass by. People who had jobs and could afford it would come into the café to eat and frequently they’d buy some punches. Apparently, Lee chose a lucky punch, won a box of chocolates and gave them to Ora for Valentine’s Day.
From the time I was three, every year, I wished for a heart shaped box of chocolates.
When I was a senior in High School I was dating a guy named George Boday. Actually, we were engaged. On Valentine’s Day, George Boday brought me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I was almost beside myself with joy. You may say to yourself, “How nice that she finally got her heart shaped box of chocolates.” Well, maybe not! I was pretty naïve and I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was when someone gave you a box of chocolates. I didn’t know whether I should open the box and offer George a chocolate or whether I should just accept it and save it to open later. So, I just accepted it, thanked him and saved it to open later. Boy, was I glad I did! When I opened that box of chocolates I saw that the candy was SO OLD that all the middle of every piece of candy had sunk down to the bottom and the chocolate was almost white with age. I was happy I hadn’t opened the box and offered one to George. I think he’d have been terribly embarrassed.
I never told him. I’ve often wondered whether he thought it was rude or strange that I never offered him a piece of candy. This is what I think happened. He was in the café and bought at least one punch, probably more. Since it was Valentine’s Day and he had won a box of chocolates he wanted to give it to his fiancé. It was a nice gesture. Now, the government requires that manufacturers put a “best if used by” date on food and other products, as well, but in those days, there were no “best if used by” date on anything. So, the people who ran the café just kept those boxes until they were gone and then got new ones. The box I received had been on the shelf a long, long, long time. Oh, yes. I should tell you. I thought, “Even though it looks terrible IT IS CHOCOLATE and maybe it will taste good, anyway.” IT DIDN’T!
You know what? Whether or not I get a heart shaped box of chocolates has never mattered much to me since that time. Now you’ve heard my Valentine story. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed telling it. When I think of it I always smile in remembrance.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Oh, just a word of advice. Heart shaped boxes of chocolates aren’t, necessarily, all they’re cracked up to be unless they come from a “high end” candy manufacturer.
Now here’s a question for you---What’s the difference between Tiger Woods and Princess Diana? Answer: Tiger has a better driver. Tal’s response to this was, “Oh, that’s cold!”
I love you all.
