Kathryna Hoyman<\/a> · Managing Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\nThrough the unembellished history stored away in The Collegian\u2019s archived articles, I got novel taste of the times and a feel for Grove\u2019s spirit over the past decades that secondary sources cannot fully convey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a piece published 75 years ago (minus one day) on Feb. 14, 1951. My impression from the many articles I scanned is that \u201cthe infamous Grover love life\u201d holds less variation than one might expect. If you read last week\u2019s submissions of students\u2019 advice for talking to guys and girls, you\u2019ll notice an uncanny resemblance between the Grovers of 1951 and those of our class, with a resort to sarcasm and provocation in the face of uncomfortable moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re still in want of a Valentine\u2019s \u201cslam\u201d for your dearest this Valentine\u2019s Day, consider (or maybe don\u2019t) these suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the 1951 Valentines have their way, a man and his ego will soon be parted. For come Wednesday, February 14, we men (grown soft and susceptible from too much sweet-talk, I fear) have been ear-marked for candied phrases much like these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone thinks you\u2019re wonderful. Someone loves you, too. Someone thinks you\u2019re quite a man\u2026 And that Someone is YOU!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s another, just so you won\u2019t forget:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were in the Movies, Your talents sure would shine\u2026 \u2019Cause you would play those Monster roles in films like FRANKENSTEIN!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, there is no law or tradition requiring us to take this sort of thing lying down. Valentine publishers, with a sense of fair play, have also provided verse which will test the exploding point of m\u2019lady\u2019s vanity. Such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\u2019dja like to be my spouse? I wuntcha \u2018round\u2026 To HAUNT my house!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there\u2019s the one \u201cFor A Brainy Girl!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This card says you\u2019re CHARMING, and when you revive it\u2026 I know you\u2019ll be STUPID enough To believe it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are still others, of course, but now that you know what you\u2019re in for, let\u2019s glance back a few years.John McLoughlin, a Scotsman with a book and printing business in New York City, introduced \u201cVinegar Valentines\u201d in 1858. By and during the gay 1800\u2019s, the sarcastic verses and crude insulting drawings were outselling sentimental Valentines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typical of these is one addressed to \u201cA Shopping Terror.\u201d The design pictures a woman shopper maniacal on Tenniel\u2019s classic drawing of the Dutchess in \u201cAlice in Wonderland.\u201d The verse brutalizes her for her pestering all the clerks, and concludes: \u201cBut decency\u2019s a thing for which you plainly have no bent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others in equally bad taste were titled: \u201cTo A Bad Dancer,\u201d \u201cTo A Conceited Man\u201d and even \u201cTo A Lady With Bad Teeth.\u201d Today, the trend is toward a cushioned slam, and the \u201cVinegar Valentines\u201d of yesteryear have been bid an irreverent farewell. Whimsy and clever illustrations have grown increasingly popular, culminating in the bittersweet slams featured in this year\u2019s crop of Valentines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, the new Valentine slams are of two types. One for the receiver, another for the sender. Consequently, people who enjoy a laugh at their own expense will probably end up sending something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you wuz a CUCKOO how nice it would be! \u2019Cuz then you might go for a BIRD BRAIN like me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if your romance is on the edge of the ledge, there are sentimental verses that still speak of love in the \u201cgood old-fashioned\u201d way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From the archives: Valentines Speak Softly \u2013 But Carry Big Stick!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[189],"tags":[45,71],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-tower","tag-issue-2026-02-13","tag-kathryna-hoyman"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"From the archives: Valentines Speak Softly \u2013 But Carry Big Stick!!","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1767,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/1767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}