Valentines

I imagined lacey cards were exchanged with loved ones, as well as flowers and other treats. I knew about Esther Howland, known as the “Mother of the American ...

The 19th Amendment became law in 1920 and suffrage association became the League of Women Voters. This column is part of a regular feature from Salem Reporter to highlight local history in collaboration with area historians and historical organizations. This teacher encouraged children to focus on the beautiful images of the sentimental valentines, and only allowed them to share these in their valentine box at school. Michele Karl, in her book “Greetings With Love: The Book of Valentines”describes Howland as one of the first employers to pay women a decent wage. Despite concerns by some, the trend of sending Vinegar Valentines continued through the early 20th Century in America. In the Victorian era, there were actually two types of commercially produced valentines.