15-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, February 15, 1911: I heard from two of the persons to whom I sent comic valentines. I don’t think they suspected me in the least. We had final examinations in Physical Geography. I think I will make a good mark. I got a ride home from school this evening. It was with such a cute boy. (I didn’t know him though.) He asked me, “would I accept a ride”, and I certainly did. We talked chiefly about the weather and the snow. The name of his horse was Grace for that was what he called her.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I found several comic valentines—sometimes called vinegar valentines—at flea markets and on Ebay. None included a message–each just contained the recipient’s name and address.
On a different topic related to this post–I was very surprised that someone Grandma didn’t know would be on the road between McEwensville and the Muffly farm–and that she would accept a ride from this stranger. Even in the ‘good old days’ I wouldn’t have thought that this would have been considered a safe thing to do in rural Pennsylvania–but apparently there was so little crime that it wasn’t a concern.
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