GLEN CARBON - In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. By the middle of the 18th century, it was common to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters. Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentines are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
For years, Valentines have been exchanged at school. One Glen Carbon grade school student, in the early 1950’s, recalls her worst Valentine’s Day ever. The night before the big day, Glen Carbon was hit with an ice storm. Everything was covered with a thick coating of ice. Back in the 50’s, Glen Carbon had one street department worker. There were no brine or salt trucks or snowplows. Glen Carbon streets were treated with hand thrown cinders. Needless to say, Village Hall Hill (the steep hill that leads up School Street from Main, past the old Village Hall) was so slick that anyone wanting to get to the top had to crawl on hands and knees with the help of a metal cleat.
This student made her crawl up with great difficulty. Upon reaching the top, she lost her grip on her school satchel and had to watch in disbelief as the satchel, (along with the Valentines) slid all the way back down the hill. Sliding back down was much easier, of course, but then there was that awful crawl back up.
Needless to say, she was late for school but did finally get her Valentines there. Valentine’s Day is still celebrated in the Glen Carbon School with a party and Valentine exchange. Homemade Valentine boxes along with stickers and candy add to the excitement.
The beautiful Valentines pictured are from 1912 and are on display at the Glen Carbon Heritage Museum. As was common in the day, these are Valentine post cards sent through the mail.
For years, Valentines have been exchanged at school. One Glen Carbon grade school student, in the early 1950’s, recalls her worst Valentine’s Day ever. The night before the big day, Glen Carbon was hit with an ice storm. Everything was covered with a thick coating of ice. Back in the 50’s, Glen Carbon had one street department worker. There were no brine or salt trucks or snowplows. Glen Carbon streets were treated with hand thrown cinders. Needless to say, Village Hall Hill (the steep hill that leads up School Street from Main, past the old Village Hall) was so slick that anyone wanting to get to the top had to crawl on hands and knees with the help of a metal cleat.
This student made her crawl up with great difficulty. Upon reaching the top, she lost her grip on her school satchel and had to watch in disbelief as the satchel, (along with the Valentines) slid all the way back down the hill. Sliding back down was much easier, of course, but then there was that awful crawl back up.
Needless to say, she was late for school but did finally get her Valentines there. Valentine’s Day is still celebrated in the Glen Carbon School with a party and Valentine exchange. Homemade Valentine boxes along with stickers and candy add to the excitement.
The beautiful Valentines pictured are from 1912 and are on display at the Glen Carbon Heritage Museum. As was common in the day, these are Valentine post cards sent through the mail.
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