Drugstore Valentines

Now that the hoopla over Valentine's Day is over, I thought I'd write about one of my memories of the holiday. When I was in high school I worked at my Grandad's drugstore. I remember walking in the store after school to work my evening shift and finding a big display table had been set up. In my 15 year old eyes, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. There was a table with a bright red tablecloth, and atop the table were piles of beautiful heart-shaped boxes of candy. I thought that we would never sell all that candy, but we always did. 

I searched the internet for a picture of a drugstore Valentine display in the '60's, and this was the best I could find. There is a display on the far right hand side of the picture. It does not do the Valentine display in my memory justice!

These two pictures are typical of the ads for Valentine candy back in the day.

And these are what the boxes looked like that were stacked on the table.

They were beautifully appropriate for the confections held inside.

I especially love this one.

I usually held on to the box long after Valentine's Day, if I was so lucky to receive one.

I thought this was a sweet Valentine, however it predates my youth by a century or so!