Love In Citrus County
By : Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society
As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s time to take a humorous look at dating, love and marriage in Citrus County’s history. Some of our younger readers may be surprised to learn that the teenagers and young adults of the past faced the same angst and lovestruck drama as the current generation. Your grandparents may have led fascinating lives and had adventures that would amaze you.
The Valentine’s Day Industry
It seems that stores start advertising Valentine’s Day merchandise as soon as Christmas Day has passed. Today’s media reminds us that this romantic holiday involves flowers, chocolates, dinner, jewelry and gifts for our loved one. In the past, Valentine’s Day was a time for get-togethers and parties with a Valentine theme, but the expectation of gifts was not widespread until the 1960’s. Sending and receiving exquisite Valentine cards was the most popular way to capture the attention of your love interest. This article will feature some of the antique Valentine’s Day cards from the archival collection of the Citrus County Historical Society.
Love and High School
The Citrus County Chronicle devoted a page to the students of local schools in every edition. Authors in the lower grades wrote about their assignments and teachers while the columns penned by High School students offered a frank look into the lives of local teenagers. The gossip columns would not just “spill the tea”, but would dump the whole pot for entire county to see. Secret liaisons in the back of the bus and two-timing paramours would not stay confidential for long. There was a warning that one of the teachers, Mrs. Spivey, was on the lookout for couples putting their heads together behind locker doors during change of class. Girls who were expecting engagement rings were exposed in print weeks before their beau actually delivered the gift. The column later chastised a girl who asked to wear her friend’s engagement ring suggesting “Why don’t you get one, too?”
Some boys brought mistletoe into school, which proved highly effective. The columnist chided “After that, we noticed some of the girls repairing lipstick. That’s all right, we won’t breathe a word of it”
A sophomore girl wrote into the “advice column” wondering how she could get a Senior boy to ask her to a dance. The advice must have worked, because a few weeks later a Senior girl asked for advice on how to pry a Sophomore girl from the Senior boy that she had in her sights.
Another girl waxed poetic:
Patty says, “Red hair, blue eyes, 6 foot two, I’m nuts about him and what’s it to you?”
Sure I’m as silly as a coocoo bird in June, but when I behold him, I almost swoon
It takes all my time and talents too, to keep Blanche McCorkle from taking him off to woo
But you never can tell – I’ll get him yet, on Earth, in Heaven or way down in ____.
If parents wanted to know what was happening in their teenager’s life, all they had to do was get a subscription to the Chronicle and they would get an eyeful.
The Chronicle wasn’t the only place where teenagers would declare their love. It seems that many young people would secretly climb into the belltower of the Courthouse in Inverness and carve the names of the ones they loved into the backside of the clock faces. In those pre-social media years, a young man named Paul Wood expressed his love for someone in 1940 but updated his status some months later. The name of his former partner was successfully obliterated and is lost to history.
Sugar Cane Grinding and Taffy Pulls
Adults would try to arrange more suitable ways for their teenagers to interact with the opposite sex. Much like today’s hayrides and corn mazes, they organized trips to local farms for participation in the annual sugar cane grinding. Once the weather turned colder, groups of teenaged boys and girls would be loaded onto a wagon with a designated chaperone and travel to a waiting farmer. He had harvested a crop of sugar cane and was ready to process into a sweet syrup. The youngsters would help grind the cane and squeeze the sweet juice into vats. After heating and skimming, the partyers were offered as much of the processed syrup as they wanted. Some of the syrup was allowed to harden and the teenagers would pull and stretch the sweet mass into a taffy – and perchance their hands might touch during the process. After consuming a year’s allowance of sugar, they would board the wagon for a slow trip home arriving about midnight (once again under the eyes of their chaperone).
Old Maid Auctions
Couples tended to marry much younger in the past. It was not unusual for some people to be engaged or even married when they were in High School. The U.S. Census reports that the average age for brides was about 20 from 1900 – 1940. While not an acceptable term today, an unmarried woman who was older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry was called an “Old Maid”. The equivalent term for men was “Old Bachelor”. One method of raising funds for charity (and perhaps arranging a relationship later in life) was the “Old Maid Auction”. Unmarried women would offer to make a meal or bring a pastry to the event and unmarried men would bid against each other for the privilege of spending time with the lady. One such event was held in the Citrus County Masonic Hall in 1914. The Chronicle noted “Postmaster Cubberly held the winning prize and it only cost him $2 [equivalent of $65] to secure the lady’s company for that evening. The affair afforded no end of amusement for those present and it was success in every particular.”
An Old Maid in Tampa had the last word declaring that “…she has a parrot that swears like a Jack Tar [sailor] and a monkey that chews tobacco equal to a man, and she considered the two combined a pretty fair substitute for the average husband of this age”.
Citrus County Chronicle’s Matchmaking Service
Legend had it that on February 29th in a Leap Year, it was socially acceptable for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Today we have various online dating services – but back in 1928 we had the Citrus County Chronicle. To assist their female readers, the Chronicle published profiles of eligible men and offered tongue in cheek assessment of each bachelor. Who needs Tinder when you have the Chronicle?
Here are some samples:
Ed Vann – has a roving black eye and mixes a divine sundae
George Brannen – has a solid financial background and a car just built for two
Robert O. Hicks – could be picked off without much of struggle. One of his drawbacks is that he doesn’t have a car
Walter Warnock – One of those devastating blonde boys nobody can resist
Hillman and Billie Boswell – both offered for your inspection and approval, both dark romantic boys
John Davis – one of those rough boys from Texas, where men are men. If you want a husband you can beat up, select somebody else
Bryant Bowden – One of the sheriff’s little boys, owns a snappy roadster and drives it, and how!
In 1942, one local man took a more direct approach to finding a partner. His Chronicle Want-Ad read “WIFE WANTED – Widowed man with three children wants a wife. If anyone is interested write J.F. Gainey, Rt. 1 Box 101, Inverness”.
Marriages
Marriages were more intimate affairs than is customary today. They were usually held in the home of the bride’s family and a detailed description of the event was later reported in the local newspaper. Many brides wore black or other dark-colored dresses while men wore their “Sunday Best”. The more well-to-do couples would have pictures taken, but the bride and groom seldom smiled in their wedding photos. The wedding ceremony could be preceded by a luncheon. After the official event, the bride and groom may have spent quiet time together before the traditional wedding supper. The events were customized to meet the wishes of the couple. For example, J.C. Pheil’s daughter and new son-in-law took a wagon trip around Floral City’s phosphate mines during the interlude prior to the wedding supper. The couple would be escorted to their new home or railroad depot, showered with rice, and left to begin their lives together. The cycle of life would then repeat. It’s true that there is nothing new under the sun.
Thanks to Elaine Koehler, CCHS’s Acquisitions Officer, for providing the vintage Valentine’s Cards from the collection