Skip to main content

Happy Valentimes

This is the front of a postcard my grandfather sent to my grandmother before they were married, sometime before 1920. He never mailed it, so either he handed it to her or had it delivered outside of mail service.

His message: Dear Ola, You will be some what surprised to get a card from me. I must beg you to excuse me Sunday. I had a hearing from home and I am crazy to go home.

I have often wondered about this message. Knowing what I know about the Methodist church services in those days and how they lasted all day with dinner on the ground between morning and evening sermons and singing, I suspect my grandmother-to-be had invited my grandfather-to-be to spend Sunday with her family, and he wasn't able to make it because he was homesick for his own family. I wonder where he was that called him away, given that he was not in the military or at least not overseas. Regardless, she was patient, and he eventually joined her. They spent every Sunday together until she died in 1974. Here is the link to a photo of them from a previous post. Scroll down, because no, Wilford Brimley is not my grandfather.

Comments

Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
Wilford Brimley... poor bugger does all those commercials about diabetes now.
1:30 PM
Anonymous said…
mommy. i'm in college and i have a snow day! this means sleeping in, no classes, no quizzes... and building snowmen with ellen and claire!

tell prince michael i snort in his general direction.
2:28 PM
dive said…
I was going to get all mushy about how much more romantic things were back then, but diabetes ads and snorting daughters (hey, what a great name for a band) have taken the edge off the romance just a bit.
2:58 PM
Sassy Sundry said…
That is a lovely card, Robyn. Makes me ashamed of my conversation hearts.

We have some love letters my grandfather sent my grandmother. He was quite the man for romance. It's really sweet to read them.
3:19 PM
Scout said…
Rich, I used to think he was so charming, but the commercials lowered my esteem.

#1, yea for snow days and snow men and big red Os! Prince Michael snorts back in your general direction.

Dive, I never thought my grandparents were even remotely romantic, but by the time I knew them they were old and tired. Diabetes ran wreck a lot of things.

Sassy, I don't have any other notes from him except for the letter he scrawled when I graduated from high school. It was difficult for him to write, and I have saved it as a treasure.
7:59 PM
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said…
Tis a treasure indeed, Robyn. Beautiful. Hi No. 1. Enjoy your time off!
5:17 AM
Alifan said…
When we had to clear my Mum and Dad's house after they passed away, we found so many gorgeous cards they had sent to each other..... I felt really sad because I did not know how they felt about each other even after they had been married for nearly 70 years...they did not seem the hearts and flowers type...

But my sister in law has kept them and put them in an album for the next generation to look at.... (not Dive then as he does not like valentine)he will have a job when he has to clear my things, as I have so many cards that I have kept!!!!but at least I hope he knows how much his Dad and I loved one another..
5:43 AM
Scout said…
Alifan, the thought of having to go through my mother's things is a bit more than I can stand. Dive's veneer fades a little when he writes about how much you and his father loved each other, so I believe he knows. Thanks for this note--it's lovely.

And Hi, Lynn.
7:51 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Classic Green Bean Bake

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I feel I must post a recipe with plenty of good old American tradition. The classic Green Bean Bake was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly, a home economist who worked for the Campbell's Soup Company. A study was done determining that 50% of all Americans have eaten the classic Green Bean Bake, and 38% of those believe it is best served during the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving. So, for the other 50% and for those in other countries where this dish may be unfamiliar--my treat: The Classic Green Bean Bake serves 6 to 8 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon soy sauce Dash of fresh pepper 1 20-oz. bag frozen cut green beans, thawed* 1 2.8 oz can French-fried onions -Preheat the oven to 350 F -In a casserole dish, combine the soup, milk, soy sauce and pepper. Stir in the green beans and half of the onions. -Bake until bubbling, about 25 minutes. Top with the remaining onions and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot. *Or cook 1
7 comments
Read more

Bring On the Bombs

In today's edition : I generally try to keep on top of cultural trends even if I don’t adopt them, but there is a growing movement that I have only just discovered. Not long ago, I was walking along in Berkeley, California while visiting my daughter, and I saw a signpost that had been covered with yarn, like someone had sewn a knitted scarf to it. It was colorful and randomly striped, and I pointed it out as if it were the most unusual thing in the world. That’s when my daughter explained the nature of what is known as yarn bombing. It’s when knitters attach something they’ve created to a public object, most often doing their deed stealthily and anonymously. They leave a “bomb,” so to speak, for no other purpose than to brighten up the place and to bring a little cheer to those passing by. Their work has been equated with graffiti, except that the woven yarn is not permanently installed and does no damage to the object it covers. And instead of signifying the territory of a street
2 comments
Read more

Voting Now and Then

Here is a link to an editorial I have written about how I feel about voting. In preparation for this piece, I called my mother and talked to her about what her mother thought about having the right to vote. She explained something that is haunting and makes me cherish my right to vote even more. When the 19th amendment was ratified in 1920, my grandmother was just under the legal voting age at the time, but she would be of voting age before my mother was born five years later. During the first campaign in which she could have voted, though, there was a poll tax. After blacks were given the right to vote with the 15th amendment, some of the southern states like Alabama enacted poll taxes knowing full well the local blacks, Native Americans, and poor whites couldn't afford them. There was an exception to the tax called the "grandfather clause" allowing any male whose father had voted previously to vote for free. Of course, the only men who qualified under the clause were w
5 comments
Read more