I promised a Valentine’s Day post and I’m delivering on that promise, even if it’s a day late. In my defense, yesterday started at 5:30 AM when I began to roll, cut, sprinkle sugar and bake 236 heart-shaped sugar cookies which I dropped off for family and friends in addition to appointments and getting my business newsletter out. I headed to bed a little after 2:30 AM today so my own Valentine’s Day was a long one, but not nearly as long as the search for clarity in one mystery of what I call the Great Harry Stilson Adventure.
Several years ago, I found my great-grandfather’s journal. Harry Stilson was a complex man: streetcar driver, photographer, student of hypnosis and codes. Much of his journal was written in strange symbols that I had no idea how to decipher! He even taught the symbols to his son, Leon, who corresponded with his father in code. I reached out to the Smithsonian and a National Guard historian for help, No response. Then Richard Nolde offered to tackle the mystery. To my delight, he broke the code! Entries from latter years included a description of a risqué photo of a woman seated on the streetcar with her dress exposing her KNEES (shocking) but most of his earlier notations were related to Harry Stilson’s courtship of Mary Perry. Among the diary entries were these: “Miss Perry said she did not care to go home tonight when I asked her.” Sunday: “Spent the evening with Miss Perry. Oh so agreeably!” November 2nd Wednesday: “I asked her to wait till night and let me take her home.” Thursday 3: “Mary and I had quite a love scene in old house. I love her dearly but she only gives me what any girl may, her respect as a friend. I will win her love if possible.” Tuesday: “Wrote letters to Miss Perry.” November 18th 1892: “The gentle maiden thought she could give me no assurance of love did give me a kiss volantaraly and without asking. She gave her permission to correspond and said when it[‘]s possible for us to meet she would not be backward in letting me know.” “Mary came in with Johnnie after the meeting was well underway. I did not have to look around to see who it was. My heart beat hard enough.” November 23rd 1892: “Received a letter from Mary appointing tomorrow evening as a time for me to call on her at her home.”
“I asked George for a horse and took Miss Perry for a ride. Went through town and she got some parafine and glucose to make taffy with. The long way home short enough.” That particular entry struck me because Miss Perry (later Mrs. Stilson) supported her family at age 14 by selling candy. She sold taffy and popcorn to river boats on Michigan’s Grand River while the family lived in a tent. Harry was hurt by her reluctance to be courted but I doubt he understood the responsibility Mary bore. By age 19, she had been teaching school for more than five years. Marriage just wasn’t a priority. Poor Harry. One entry announced: “Received a letter from Mary which gave me oh so much pleasure. Making everything look so much brighter.” Harry took comfort in that progress and eventually won Mary over.
Reading my great-grandfather’s private thoughts during his courtship of my great-grandmother is touching and a little unsettling. It’s a rare peek into life in the late 1800s with descriptions of activities as well as romantic adventures and I wouldn’t have those glimpses if not for Richard’s decoding talents.
Life was more prosaic in the late 1800s with romance given little significance. Even during the early 1900s, weddings usually lacked lavish gowns, flowers, and parties. My maternal grandparents got married in my grandmother’s living room at 7:00 AM with a few family and friends walking to the house in the early morning light. They held the ceremony early in order to catch a train for a very short honeymoon. Just making a living was all-consuming and romantic gestures rare so Harry’s revelations about yearning for the petite Mary Perry were uncommon as were written proclamations of devotion in the form of a valentine.
Valentines were a novelty when Harry was courting Mary and early cards were lovely. Mary Stilson saved many of hers and I display them every year because they are so charming but I learned on NPR that there were also Victorian valentines called “vinegar Valentines” and they were mean. (https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/02/13/vinegar-valentines) They were sent anonymously (for good reason) to businesses or individuals, mostly women. The suffragette cause was a common theme: “A vote from me you will not get, I don’t want a preaching suffragette” but looks, temperament , and intelligence were all subjects for ridicule. Actually, those vinegar valentines could have been written in 2024. They’re that nasty. I prefer the valentines my great-grandmother saved, many from her students, and I think you will, too. Mary Perry Stilson’s students offered their teacher declarations of love that she stored in a tin and kept all her life. That trait continued through generations and I have valentines ranging from 1904, through the 1940s, to 1962, til now. Many are homemade, with ratty yellowed lace and misspelled messages of love and all are cherished. No vinegar valentines for us…