Mrs. Gunn's Diary: February 14, 1942

She makes no mention of Valentine's Day, but others were observing it

Mrs. Gunn wasn’t writing about flowers and candy today. She was writing about the cleanup from the Boy Scout banquet and doing her Saturday shopping. “Prices are gradually rising so that we will soon have to cut down on certain nonessentials,” she wrote.

(With a 3 percent annual inflation rate based on price increases last month, we can certainly feel her pain!)

“We wonder if we will have tires and gasoline to go to the boat after this year,” she added. Perhaps they had a boat in the Potomac?

Ah, well, others were thinking about love, judging from ads in the Washington Evening Star. Paid subscribers can read on about how Valentine’s Day was being observed in 1942.

These military-themed valentines, offered on eBay, date from 1942. Each had an easel back so they could be propped up and admired.