With Valentine’s day fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to think of romantic gestures for that special someone in your life. With modern technology, it can be easy to simply shoot a text, swipe right, or double tap to show our affection. It’s hard to imagine waiting for a postcard or letter to arrive in your significant other’s mailbox as the only way of communicating. Not to mention the delays caused by being separated by seas and war!

During WWI and WWII, when most of our country’s young men were facing the horrors of war abroad, they left behind their sweethearts and families. Patriotism was at an all-time high and people were proud to show their support. One popular way was to wear your “Sweetheart Jewelry”.

These were special pieces of jewelry that showed you had a loved one on the front lines. They were often made for soldiers to send home to loved ones, and worn with pride. Due to rationing, many of these pieces of jewelry were made of wood, celluloid, bakelite or other materials. It was more rare to have pieces made with sterling silver or gold plating.

We recently came across a lovely piece of jewelry, a bracelet from a US Navy soldier named Dave which was for his dear mother. It was a sterling silver bracelet with the US Navy’s insignia and delicate Forget-Me-Not flowers. Dave had it specially engraved and sent to her in 1943. We were honored to see this beautiful piece of history in our hands. The piece was sold to a lucky bidder through our Ebay listings.

We are so very fortunate here at the Estate Store. Not only are we giving these treasures a new life, with every little knick knack we sell, we know it is making a difference in our community. We are especially thankful to have so many wonderful donors that make our store a possibility!

For a fun way to relive a piece of this history, Fort Vancouver puts on a yearly Valentine’s day benefit ” Sweetheart Dance” with guests dressed up in their best WWII era clothes for a night of swing dancing. Check out more info!