When I moved toLoveland,Colorado, about 15 years ago, I did not give much thought to the name of the city. It was the location near my brothers and the home on the lake that appealed to me.

I read about the Valentine remailing program in the newspaper during my first year here. What a great idea! I bought Valentines for my grandchildren, my brothers, my sister, my aunts, my uncles, my nieces, my nephews, and a good number of friends. I deposited them in one of the red mailboxes at the post office and enjoyed hearing from people who had received them. I have continued to do this every year since.

This year has a new twist, however. This time I purchased the “official” Valentines distributed by the Chamber of Commerce. A bit of ego is involved here. My name is printed on the back of the card informing the world that I wrote the winning cachet that appears on every envelope. I learned at the press conference that about 160,000 Valentines are remailed here each year. They have gone to all 50 states and to 110 countries. Wow! What a privilege to have a part in this enterprise! What a joy!

The Valentine remailing program began in 1946, so it has been going on for 65 years. In 1962, the city began the selection of a Miss Loveland Valentine. This young woman must be a senior in one of theLovelandhigh schools, have good grades, poise, and speaking abilities. She receives scholarship grants for college and represents the community for a year spreading the word about the delights of ourSweetheartCity.

During the month of February, the Thompson Valley Rotary Club places red, wooden hearts on lampposts along our two major highways. Citizens may compose words of affection, devotion, and admiration in 25 letters or fewer and have these messages seen by thousands of people as they drive through town. Proceeds from this project help children locally and abroad.

This year we have lights of red and white strung across our main downtown street. Hearts, roses, and cupids abound at business locations and around some private residences. We are fortunate to live in theLandofLove.

Tags: Hearts, Loveland, Valentines

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 9:21 am and is filed under Phyllis Kennemer, Writer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.