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KendallCountyNow.com
History of Valentine’s Day on display at Oswego museum
By ALLISON SELK news@kendallcountynow.com
N
inety-eight years ago, over 30 elementaryaged students sat and posed for a Valentine’s Day photograph in what has now become a museum. The 1919 photograph showed boys and girls seated proper in their seats as paper heart garland stretched from wall to wall, which seems to be the only adornment in the simple schoolhouse. Currently, visitors to the Little White School Museum can see this photograph, along with other clues to Oswego history, during the seasonal exhibit “Be My Valentine: Greetings from Oswego’s Past,” which will run through March. The Oswegoland Park District owns the school house building, but its contents, including the display pieces, are managed by the Oswegoland Heritage Association. Museum manager Tina Heidrich said all of the pieces in the current display were part of collections donated by community members, which creates a deeper connection into Oswego’s history. “We have a variety of items which represent different times. We have pieces from the 1800s through Snoopy being a little more modern. It’s enjoyable to see the different styles of Valentines – these ornate stand-up ones are more like works of art to me,” Heidrich said. The stand-up Valentine in the front of the display shows a little boy in a sailor-type short outfit with his two dogs by a wishing well. Heidrich looked into the archives to determine this particular valentine was made in Germany about 1910 and was inscribed “To Martha from Ethel.” “The Martha to whom it was sent would have been Martha Kollmann. The Kollmann family was a rural farming family who lived west of Route 47 at Emmanuel and Ament roads,” Heidrich said. Museum assistant director Bob Stekl said these pieces came from larger collections donated by families, and each piece is documented and put into a database. When he and Heidrich decide which temporary displays to put together, they can access the archives and pull the exact pieces from each collection. “This gives people an historical perspective on the way things used to be. Nobody goes out and buys the fancy cards anymore, this display reflects the history of Valentine’s Day throughout the years,” Stekl said. Sitting upright on the second shelf of the display was a February 1949 copy of “Jack and Jill” magazine, with the name Judy penciled in on the cover. This piece was donated by Oswego resident and Oswegoland Heritage Association President Judy Wheeler.
Allison Selk for Shaw Media
This 1910 Valentine from Germany sits as a piece of art and history in the “Be My Valentine: Greetings from Oswego’s Past” display at the Little White School Museum. “My grandmother subscribed to this for me as a Christmas gift; I was 9 years old. It had stories and things to do and it was a real big deal if you got something in the mail as a kid,” Wheeler said. “There was something in there I wanted to save and we were encouraged to save.” Wheeler said when she was in school, only the rich people bought their Valentines and she reminisced about that special holiday during the 1940s. “We mainly used a piece of red or white paper and white circle doilies, and of course that horrible white paste that dried instantly in clumps. I remember amber-colored liquid glue too, but maybe because of World War II, materials
See VALENTINE’S DAY, page 6
If you go What: “Be My Valentine: Greetings from Oswego’s Past” seasonal exhibit Where: Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street, Oswego When: Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. More info: 630-554-2999 What: Victorian Valentines Make and Take. Children 3+ can make a Valentine in an 1890s style. Pre-registration is recommended, but walkins are welcome. When: 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12 Where: Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street, Oswego