Cupid may still be stringing his bow, but the Loveland Chamber of Commerce is already gearing up for Valentine’s Day in “The Sweetheart City.”
“Our valentines have reached over 110 different countries and 50 different states,” said Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mindy McCloughan.
The chamber has been helping add a little extra love to mailed valentines since 1947.
It all began when then-chamber president, Ted Thompson, came up with the idea to re-mail valentines that came through the Loveland post office with a special stamp proclaiming the mail came from “The Sweetheart Town.” The program quickly grew in popularity.
“In its peak season back in those early days, we had about 300,000 pieces of mail sent each year,” McCloughan said.
Over the years, Loveland’s nickname was changed to “The Sweetheart City,” and while fewer people send letters to their loved ones than they did in the 40s, McCloughan estimates the chamber still mails about 120,000 valentines through the program each year.
Many of the valentines, she says, have an undertone of melancholy.
“We get letters every year that come through and just break your heart,” McCloughan said. “In fact, the last three years I've gotten one that's come across my desk that just says, ‘Please send on to heaven. I know my daddy will get it.’ And you could tell it's a little girl's writing or a little boy's writing.”
The program is carried out by volunteers who offer their time to stamp Valentine envelopes and packages by hand.
“There's a lot of precision that goes into getting these perfected and onto their designated location,” McCloughan said.
Since she inherited the program in 2012, McCloughan said she’s seen valentines go to presidents, troops overseas and loved ones all across the world. But there’s one in particular that sticks out in her memory.
“One specifically that touched my heart – because I was very close to my grandparents – was a woman whose grandmother had died. She sent us a card to the volunteers that said, ‘My grandmother has sent me a card from this program since I was born, but I lost her this year to cancer and this is the first year that I won't receive a card from her. While it breaks my heart, I want your stampers to know that every year I looked forward to this and I have saved every valentine she ever sent. So, I want to say happy Valentine's Day to you and thank you for giving me a part of this tradition and for the time that you spent on each and every one of them.’ It's really sweet to see how far reaching this program goes all over the world and how much it means to people,” she said.
If you’d like to participate in the program, be sure your envelope is large enough for the hand inked stamps so they don’t cover your destination address. You should also pick your envelope color carefully.
“If you have a light colored envelope, then you're going to get the red cache,” McCloghan said. “And if you have a dark colored envelope, it's going to have to be the black cache.”
Instructions:
Mail your prestamped, preaddressed valentine in a large 1st class envelope to:
Postmaster, Attn. Valentines
446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538
To get your mail delivered on time you’ll need to follow some specific deadlines.
- International Mail: Received in Loveland by Jan. 29
- U.S. Mail: Received in Loveland by Feb. 7
- Colorado & Wyoming Mail: Received in Loveland by Feb. 10
To drop off your valentine in person, check the locations available online. To purchase a valentine online through the chamber, visit their website.
