Vintage Valentines 2020

I am so excited to be increasingly involved in the programs and activities and events at Historic Hanna’s Town!  For the past too many years my work and home schedule has been so full that I barely had time to accomplish the HAVE TO’s let alone the WANT TO’s.  But that is changing and I’m very happy about that. I think I have been driving Pam crazy with constant emails about being part of things and wanting to know what is next! She does such a great job, along with the rest of the staff.

This past weekend I was part of the volunteer group for the ‘Won’t you be my Valentine’ event.  It was a family fun day, with something for everyone all day.  Even though I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not very crafty, I was helping out in the craft room.  Kids and adults alike were invited to make homemade Valentines, which they could take home or put in the shiny, heart-shaped box.  Those in the box would be distributed to local senior centers and/or Meals on Wheels.  There were two long tables set up, filled with confetti (my personal favorite), lace hearts, stickers and stickees, buttons, card stock, construction paper, plain paper, pre-cut cards, ink stamps, and craft patterns. Not to mention (but I’ll mention them anyway!) crayons and markers and glue and scissors and tape.  It was a delight to watch the beautiful creations that developed as the morning went on.  Oh, and there were little cut-outs of vintage-looking valentine images to glue on as well. 

A local vendor had a display table set up by the windows, and I’ve never seen such a wonderful variety of vintage necklaces, bracelets, rings, gloves, cards, trinkets, and decorations.  I had to hide my wallet from myself or I could have gone way overboard.  She did a great job arranging the display. 

One wall was lined with vintage Valentines from the 1950’s, ones that I remember from my grade-school days (not, of course, saying how how I am).  A glass display case held older cards, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  One valentine was a hand-drawn and meticulously cut paper about the size of a saucer.  The detail was amazing.  A display along the back wall held more elaborate examples, with several being very detailed and three dimensional. I took a picture of my favorite one, but it does not really do it justice.

Two lovely ‘young ladies’ watched over the day’s activities, and fit right into the celebrations in their Valentine finery.

After browsing and creating, guests could partake of the delicious cupcakes and cookies that Alice made, along with white-chocolate drizzled pretzel hearts and Valentine M&M’s (again, my favorite!).

The craft room wasn’t the only adventure of the day.  There was a tour of the Exhibit room as well as a scavenger hunt to find specific items related to the day’s theme.  The gift shop, which is another wonderful addition to the new site, had an entire table of Valentine and love-related items for sale.  Again, it was all I could do not to buy dark chocolate candy nuggets for myself or the tiny non-perils for my sister.  In the afternoon there was a Mr. Roger’s storytime reading for the kids, which I suspect the adults enjoyed just as much. 

Hanna’s Town has been adding new events to their programs since the opening of the education center, and I hope word gets out to the community of all the wonderful opportunities presented.  Check out their website at www.westmorelandhistory.org or their facebook page.  Some of the next events on the calendar are the Antiques Appraisal Day and the Irish Genealogy Workshop. New activities are always being added so check often. 

I’m looking forward to being a regular part of the volunteer staff in the coming months, especially once summer comes.  Frontier Court Days in July is my ultimate favorite.  Make plans to attend, and if history is in your blood, maybe consider volunteering.  You won’t regret either decision!