Historical and darn cute Valentines

With Valentine's Day only weeks away, I thought it would be fun to peek into one of the more interesting collections I've found in Union Station's archive: The Ruth Myers Valentines.

I'm still trying to figure out more who Ruth is, or was.  She was Ruth Myers Shrider, who married D.O. Schrider and died in 1942, according to the note on the box. Her husband died in 1955, and I'm guessing the family donated all the old stuff just so they didn't have the pain of throwing it away.

In addition to old Valentines there are pictures and documents from T. E. Myers time in Korea during the Korean War, some railroad documents and pictures, and lots of other stuff. To be honest, I'm  just beginning to dig through the boxes.

This first one contains a lot of Valentines that Ruth apparently collected in the 1930s, although some seem addressed to her brothers or other siblings. Whatever.

What's really cool is just looking at the old designs -- the 30s styles of clothing, the way children are portrayed, the die-cut lace and movable elements of the cards. And, yes, the occasional politically incorrect one.

You can imagine going into the 5 and dime
and picking them out for a penny a piece, or whatever. Or perhaps one of those boxes of 30 that included one for the teacher.

Anyway, that's it -- spiffy old Valentines. I told Lee Witten, the archivist here, that we could probably get a fortune for these things on eBay, but obviously that won't be happening. They're history, they're culture, and they're here for as long as the walls stand.