Flashback Friday - "Perfect Girl"? Valentine's Day 1921

Hey, everyone!

So the New York Times archives only list 8 articles with the word "valentine" in the headline from February 10 - February 16, 1921. Makes my work easy.


Here's one that made my jaw drop a bit.

AMERICA'S 1918 MOST PERFECT GIRL WEDS

Miss Betsy Buell, Selected by Smithsonian Institution, Marries Frank R. Valentine....

--The New York Times, February 15, 1921

Yes. America's most "perfect girl" married Mr. Valentine, on Valentine's Day. I wonder what ever became of them.


Pretty much the rest of the stories are about charity benefits and the like.

FRANKIE BAILEY, VALENTINE.

Stage Favorite of Long Ago Takes a Benefit in Costume Ball.

--The New York Times, February 15, 1921

Though the article makes her sound like a rather old lady (and she WAS over 60 at the time), Ms. Bailey lived to 1953, and appeared in a few films in the mid-1920s. You can see a picture of her legs at Find a Grave.

BIG TEA PARTY GIVES HOOVER FUND $32,500

Society Bids at Biltmore for Boxes and Seats for Gala Performance of 'Carmen.'

HOPPER THE AUCTIONEER

His Wit and Antics Stimulate Sales--Clock Ticks off $134,736 as New Yorks' Gift Since Saturday.

--The New York Times, February 15, 1921

I gotta say, Ms. Bailey's benefit sounds like more fun to me.


I would have thought that the Casa Grande Bulletin would have had something about Arizona statehood--February 14, 1921, Arizona was having its ninth (!) birthday. Nothing there, though.

But for the sports fans, they did have a story about the big game that happened the prior Sunday:

Local Fans Enjoy Game
Notwithstanding a cold wind that blew from the souhtwest (sic), quite a good-sized crowd gathered last Sunday to watch the scrub game between the local players of the North and South Side. There was quite an interesting game, which see-sawed until the end of the eighth inning, when the game was called with the score 8 to 8. There were some new players, some of whom gave promise of becoming a fixture on the regular team. A game has been arranged for tomorrow afternoon. The fans should all turn out and get a line on the new material. Game will be called about 3 o'clock...

--Casa Grande Dispatch, February 12, 1921

Jana Bommersbach's post gets a bit political but it's worth skimming just for the description of celebrations back on February 14, 1912, when Arizona became a state. I do wish that we had more planned for our centennial but I haven't heard anything.

Sharlot Hall, Arizona historian, wore this copper dress to deliver Arizona's electoral votes to Washington D.C., circa 1924, per The Prescott Victorian Society site.

AND, if you want some thoughts of the true meaning of Valentine's Day, Nadine had some intriguing thoughts on her blog.

If not, happy Arizona Statehood Day, a few days early. :)

(From the Sharlot Hall Museum, 2008--not actually a Valentine, but I thought it was sweet :) )

*All newspaper articles believed to be in the public domain per US law