64 year-old Valentines Tell a Poignant Story

These little Valentines were sent by me and my twin brother Dennis on February 14, 1951, when we were 3 yrs old. They were signed for us by our dad, Ernest L. Margheim. 

I especially like this Valentine since I can see that I tried to sign my own name on the back side. My dad signed my name at the top, but I was writing my name below. It looks like I got as far as B e c and part of the "k", with Dad finishing the k and y. This is the earliest sample I've found of my own handwriting. Cool!

But here's the best part of this "find".

The envelope containing the valentines tells this poignant story. While I have no idea how Dad came into possession of these valentines, I found them as I've been sorting through all the paperwork I brought home after his death last year. 

They were sent on Feb. 14, 1951, to our MOTHER, Ruby Margheim, whose address is 1674 Parkwest Lane, Wichita, Kansas. And they were sent to her, for us, by our FATHER, as we were all living with his parents at 114 E. 6th St, Hoisington, KS. 

My dad and mom, who were married July 9, 1943, were divorced in Nov. 1949. Dad loved our mom so very much and was heartbroken upon her leaving our family. Upon her departure, we were all very blessed to be able to reside with my dad's parents, John and Mollie (Koleber) Margheim at their home in Hoisington, just 10 miles north of our birthplace of Great Bend, Kansas. We were dearly loved and very well cared for by our grandparents, as our dad worked long hours at Thies Packing Company in Great Bend, KS. When our mother moved away, she took the family car, so Dad was able to drive his parents' car the 15 miles to work each day. Our Grandpa Margheim was employed as the Head Custodian at Hoisington High School at that time (pictured below). He was able to walk the one block to the school to go to work. And Grandma Margheim never learned to drive, so she was always at home with us. How blessed we were to get to live with them at that time. 

One month after we sent this post card to our mother in Wichita, Dad married our step-mother (of 47 years!) Phyllis Jones. This is a picture of us all on the day of their wedding, 18 Mar 1951. We're in the back yard of my grandparents' home with Grandpa and Grandma Margheim and our new step-mother Phyllis. We're pictured below with our grandparents and our new "mom".

I'm not surprised that my dad still had all these pictures, but I do wonder how he came into possession of the valentines. I'm just grateful that he had them and KEPT them. It tells a lot about Dad to know that he bought the valentines, helped us sign and send them to our mother and then kept them for us all these years. They reveal love all the way around.