By John ‘Butch’ Dale
Guest Columnist

My class celebrated Valentine’s Day from the first grade though the fifth grade. All of us looked forward to the fun activities, which varied somewhat depending on who our teacher was each year.

John ‘Butch’ Dale

My art teacher during all of those years was Mrs. Reggie Surface. Each of us brought in a shoebox, which we covered with construction paper and then decorated with red hearts, cupids, ribbons, lace paper doilies and our own drawings. Each box had a slit on top where Valentine cards could be dropped inside.

Our teacher also brought in a large box, which we decorated and placed on her desk. She gave each of us a list of the students’ names so that we could give everyone in our class a Valentine card, so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Most of the students purchased inexpensive die-cut Valentine cards, although a few girls actually made their own. At home I arranged all of my cards out on the kitchen table to decide which classmate would receive the proper card.

I had never really liked any girls in first or second grade. The boys in my class had informed me that all girls have “cooties.” I was not sure what that was exactly, but it definitely did not sound good at all.

When I was in second grade, as I got on the school bus to go home one afternoon, a girl in my class was hiding behind one of the seats in back. Before I knew it, she jumped up and gave me a big smooch on the cheek! The boys yelled out to me, “YOU’VE GOT COOTIES … YOU’VE GOT COOTIES!” I had to listen to that for the next month … That did it … girls are just trouble.

However, the next year my thirdrd grade teacher, Mrs. Peterson, welcomed a new girl to our classroom. She had a pretty smile and long blond hair, with curls galore! Hmmm … the heck with cooties … who cares?

John Butch Dale in elementary school

She was my first “girlfriend,” and we became a twosome. Now back in those days, “going together” meant only three things. First of all, I gave her a bracelet with my name on it, and she gave me a necklace with her name on it. Secondly, we sat by each other during the high school basketball games. And the final proof of our young love was to hold hands … but only occasionally. After all, I didn’t want my buddies to think I had completely given in to the female persuasion and become “henpecked.”

When I was in the fourth grade in 1957-58, my teacher was Audrey Cox, who I dearly loved. She had graduated from our school in 1923. As a student at Indiana University, she was voted as one of the prettiest girls on campus. I made a special card for her and one for my significant other.

One of the fun things we did in 4th grade that week was purchase those little candy hearts that had little sayings on them, and pass those out to others during recess. We also decorated the classroom with red and white crepe paper and hearts. Then when the big day arrived, each of us walked around the room and placed our Valentine cards into our classmates’ decorated boxes and the teacher’s Valentine box. Two of the mothers had brought cupcakes with red and white icing and heart-shaped cookies for us to munch on, as we opened up our Valentine boxes and looked at the cards.

I kept watching my blond, curly-haired gal to see the expression on her face when she saw my card. Soon she peered over at me with a big smile. Most of the cards that I received were similar to mine, but one student had given everyone a card with a sucker attached to it. I turned it over to see whose name was on the back. It was signed “Korn Horn.” That was my classmate, Karen Horn. She must have been so excited to pass out those colorful candy sucker cards that she had misspelled her name!

After each of us looked at our cards, it was time for Mrs. Cox to read aloud the cards she had received from her students. When she read my card, she looked at me and winked. My heart fluttered! That afternoon, Mrs. Cox let me stay after school to wash the blackboard and clean the erasers … such fun! And to top it off, as I was leaving to head home, she gave me a hug and a kiss … WOW … what a great day!

But alas, time marches on. I had a new teacher in fifth grade, and about halfway through the school year, my gal had a new hairdo … those long blond curls were gone … Plus, since we could now actually compete against other schools, basketball practice came before any love interests. No girlfriends the rest of that year.

But guess what? In the sixth grade, 10 new students from Bowers school joined our class. One of those students was a cute brunette with sparkling eyes … Holy Cow … that did it! And yes, that new gal is still my girlfriend today … and we have been married 57 years!