Two small towns named Valentine and one named Loveland are among U.S. locations gearing up for that busy time of year when Americans send their Valentine’s Day cards (no packages, please) to these towns for a courtesy re-direction bearing a very special postmark.
Valentine, Texas
Valentine, Texas is among a handful of American towns bearing just the right name, where the highlight of the year is February 14. Valentine’s population was only 187 according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Townsfolk are busy at the tiny adobe-style U.S. Post Office where up to 39,000 Valentines pour in each year in order beginning in December to be hand canceled with the Valentine, TX postmark to delight loved ones. Local mail workers indicate that many cards are destined for our troops stationed here and abroad.
The bad news is that Valentine, Texas is on the United States Post Office’s list of 3,700 post offices scheduled or proposed to close as part of a budgeting process. “Save the Valentine, TX Post Office” is now a Facebook page where you can follow the news. Hearings are being held; the nearest post office is 36 miles away in Marfa.
Meantime, get your cards in to Valentine, Texas. Just sign your card, put it in an envelope, address it to the intended recipient and stamp it. Then, put it inside a slightly larger envelope and send it to: Postmaster, Valentine Re-mailing, Valentine, TX 79854. From February 1, 2012, your card will be re-sent bearing the heart-shaped Valentine postmark designed by local students.
Traveling to the heart of West Texas? Valentine would love to see you and point out you the highly unusual fake Prada store that was permanently installed by artists in 2005 along a dusty U.S. Highway 90 just one mile outside of town. Or, let your heart soar high above West Texas in a glider or take FAA glider flight instruction lessons.
Valentine, Nebraska
In the heart of our nation’s frontier, this natural beauty was featured by National Geographic in 2009 on its list of “Best Adventure Towns”. Valentine, Nebraska was described as having, “wide open spaces, quiet lakes, grasslands, secluded waterfalls and one of the best canoeing waterways in the country.”
However, with such a name, it is an even more special place come February. Indeed, the local tourism promotion tagline is, “Visit Valentine, NE, the heart city”. This town also proudly participates in a re-direction of Valentine’s Day cards to bear the local postmark. Address your outer envelope containing the card to: Postmaster, Cupid’s Mailbox, PO Box 201, Valentine, NE 69201.
Valentine’s population was recorded as 2,820 by the 2000 census and Valentine serves as the county seat in Cherry County, Nebraska. Cherry County is larger than the entire state of Connecticut, yet it is home to only 6,000 people, which equates to an average of only one person per square mile!
There is no shortage of bulls, however. If you’re tempted by a visit, the big event is February 11, 2012 when the 11th Annual Heart City Bull Bash is held. There’s country music by the Bar J Wranglers, a Nebraska vintner’s wine tasting with beef hors d’oeuvres and cheese, a scavenger hunt, a gun and knives show and over 100 bulls.
Loveland, Colorado
Loveland re-directs an astonishing volume of 160,000 cards originating from all 50 states and over 110 countries each February. The Chamber of Commerce has a Valentine’s Program which requires 60 volunteers just to handle the popular re-direction, now in place since 1946 in what they call “Sweetheart City”. Locals compete to write the cachet, a four-line verse selected to accompany the postmark. There is also an official Loveland locally designed Valentine’s Day card for sale, a Miss Loveland Valentine scholarship competition and a Rotary Club engraved hearts fundraiser. The Chamber asks that cards arrive early in the month addressed to: Postmaster – Attention Valentines, 446 E. 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538-9998.
Consider a visit to Loveland, Colorado to mark Valentine’s Day. It is located in the heart of Rocky Mountain ski country and boasts uncrowded slopes just 53 miles from Denver with an average of 400″ of snow per season. There is a 24-hour webcam and live weather report, along with lots more details for ski lovers at www.skiloveland.com.
Photo with kind permission of Rosario Halpern, co-owner, The Big Bend Sentinel