History Happenings: Valentine’s Day

Last year, The History Center hosted a party on Valentine’s Day and asked your elder scribe to be the host. We called the soiree — which included a lovely dinner — “Extra, Extra! Linn County Tales of Love and Romance.”

The evening was made up of funny and touching stories drawn from area newspapers as well as music by Alisabeth Von Pressley and her band. The History Center is hosting the party again this year, and your correspondent will again take to the podium to share stories. This year’s featured musician is Alicia Monee.

We’d love to have you join us — and to encourage you to do so, we’re sharing a story from last year’s event. The following is drawn from the script for the party. Imagine Rob in a silky shirt covered in hearts as he relates some Linn County love stories from the very start of the 20th century.

A big tea party

Given that our evening together has something of the air of a society party from days gone by, I thought we might start by peeking in on the Valentine’s festivities in Linn County in the year 1900.

From the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette: “One of the loveliest Valentine parties ever given in Cedar Rapids was Mrs. Edward O. Mansfield’s valentine tea yesterday. In all its details, St. Valentine and his missives were suggested. The decorations, the favors, and the menu all were characteristic and appropriate.

“The little daughter of the hostess stood at the foot of the stairway and directed the guests to the cloak room. Mrs. Mansfield welcomed her guests in the reception hall. … The hours were 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 thus giving ample time for the entertainment of the large number invited.

“About two hundred ladies were present. The decorations were not only suitable to the day, but were strikingly pretty and effective. … Cupids, doves, and bows and arrows were suspended in the doorways and the shades on the chandeliers corresponded with the color in each room. … An elaborate tea of two courses was served and as far as possible the different articles were pink and heart-shaped. Hall’s orchestra was placed in the balcony over the stairway and played continuously.”

It does sound lovely, doesn’t it? I mean, assuming you really like tea — and enjoy it being served very slowly. But it was far from the only party thrown that year. Here’s a description of another:

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Cards, music, dancing

“Mr. and Mrs. J.G. Edmonds of 603 Fourth Avenue East gave a Valentine party to a number of the Business college students and others. The box to receive the valentines was placed in the hall where the valentines were deposited during the day.

After music furnished by Messrs. Schultz and Holcom on violin and mandolin with a guitar accompaniment by Mrs. and Miss Edmonds, the box was opened by Mr. Edmonds and valentines distributed, and after a few minutes of social repartee the lovers of the light fantastic were given a chance to show their appreciation of the fine music.

“The time for departure came only too soon, but all went to their respective homes with many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Edmonds for the pleasure of the evening.”

I admit I have some questions about this one. Who are these “others” who were invited to celebrate the holiday with those well-known romantics, business college students? I mean, it is the one day of the year when what you really want is an English major for all your love poetry needs.

Also, what in the world does “lovers of the light fantastic” even mean? And did the reporter follow each individual to “their respective homes” to ensure no hanky-panky followed on the heels of all the violins, guitars, and mandolins?

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1926: A ‘cocoanut’

Anyway, let’s jump ahead to 1926 and an issue of the Cedar Rapids Republican published on Valentine’s Day of that year.

Now, I know our theme is love and romance in Linn County, but it is impossible to ignore a headline published that day:

“Hayes Principal Receives Large Florida Cocoanut. Miss Jenna Strahan, principal of Hayes school received a large cocoanut this week from Florida. Three little children from the third grade took the nut around to the different rooms and told interesting facts about it.”

I suppose it is possible the large Florida “cocoanut” was some sort of vaguely suggestive Valentine’s gift. I’m pretty sure that possibility was not among the interesting facts the third-graders shared.

Rob will break out the heart-adorned shirt again in just a few weeks. The History Center would love to share Valentine’s Day with you and your sweetheart. Tickets for this year’s event are available now. Visit historycenter.org/valentines for all the details.

Jessica Cline is a Leadership & Character Scholar at Wake Forest University. Her dad, Rob Cline, is not a scholar of any kind. They write this monthly column for The History Center. Comments: HistoricalClines@gmail.com

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