💖Today I’ve got a special blog post to share with you that’s full of Vintage Valentine Charm! 💖Let’s take a peek into the past and display my PawPaw’s Vintage Valentine Cards from the 1950s into my Valentine decor.
My PawPaw 💖
My PawPaw was a man of very few words, but he had a heart of gold and a sentimental side. He was a soldier in WW2 and went to fight for his country before he even graduated from high school. He never talked about the war, and what we know of his experience is bits and pieces from stories and research. The school mailed his high school diploma to him while he was overseas fighting for our country. He arrived back home from the war on Valentine’s Day. After that, my Great Grandma Pearla called him “her Valentine”.💖
So this blog post about PawPaw’s Valentine cards is even more fitting!
After the war, PawPaw went to Auburn University. After he graduated, he became a science teacher and basketball coach in the early 1950s. He taught for awhile before he finally got a job using his degree in agriculture. But I know he was an amazing teacher and made a difference in so many of his students’ lives.
A Peek into the Past: Vintage Valentine Cards from my PawPaw’s Classroom 💖
These vintage Valentine cards from his students are a testament to that. I think it’s so cute that PawPaw saved these cards from his students and I’m so glad he did! 💖We would find this collection of cards stashed in a box over 50 years later and would get to see a glimpse of what my PawPaw’s life was like during his days of teaching in the 1950s. 📝
These vintage Valentine cards are like a time capsule of the 1950s era. The handwriting, the students’ names, the designs on each card, the feel of the cardstock – it’s like a peek into the past. I can picture his students going to the store and picking out the perfect Valentine card for their teacher. Carefully writing their names and being so excited to present this card to him on Valentine’s Day! Then I can also picture my cute PawPaw smiling at each student as he received each card. These cards meant something to my PawPaw as he saved each one. Now these cards are a family heirloom and a legacy of my PawPaw’s life. 💖
I called up my Momma and asked her if I could borrow these very special cards for Valentine’s Day to share with you! It is so special to use family heirlooms in decor; so I decided to display the vintage Valentine cards around the mantel. Now let’s get to decorating!
Vintage Valentine Mantel 💖
To start off on the mantel, the large antique gold mirror is used as the anchor piece. Then I added a garland of greenery onto the mantel. Since it’s Valentine’s Day I added a variety of pink flowers for texture and depth on the garland. 🌸 Next, it was time to add the star of the mantel – my PawPaw’s vintage Valentine cards! I carefully nestled the cards into the greenery and flowers to display them.
The greenery is holding the cards up. These cards are so precious and delicate that I definitely didn’t want to mess them up by using tape. I may get some mini gold frames to display the rest of the cards – but that is to be decided!
I really enjoyed reading each one of these Valentine cards. I would flip each card over to see the names of each student on the back of the cards and it made me wonder about them too. That’s me though – the sentimental girl that thinks of all those things.
The rest of the Valentine’s Day decor in my home is a blog post for another day! 💖PawPaw’s cards deserved their very own special spot on the blog! 💖You can also come decorate with me on the vlog where you can see this Vintage Valentine Mantel all come together with PawPaw’s cards on my YouTube Channel!
Looking for more Valentine’s Day Inspo?!
My PawPaw has been gone for many years now, but his memory lives on through stories, heirlooms and photos. And this story of his Valentine cards were an untold story until a few years ago. Over fifty years later we’d be cleaning out my grandparents house and we’d open a random box. That box was full of these Valentine cards, trinkets and photos. Little mementos my PawPaw saved, destined for us to find one day. 🥹 Below is a photo collage of my sweet PawPaw.
💖Thanks so much for stopping by and letting me share my PawPaw’s story of these vintage Valentine cards with you.💖 I’ll see ya next time!
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