Valentine’s Day isn’t just about cards and chocolates, right? Remember those little cards we used to pass around in grade school? Or as we got older, maybe it was a box of chocolates, some flowers, or a fancy dinner out.

Now, my grandparents? They took Valentine’s Day to a whole other level.

My grandfather, Owen Elmer McKamey, and my grandmother, Pauline Chalmers Donahoo McKamey were my mom’s parents and the kindest, most loving people you could imagine. Mama and G-da, as we affectionately called them, lived in Knoxville, Tennessee most of their lives, but their love story started in Jefferson City, Tennessee in the next county over.

G-da was studying to be a teacher at Carson-Newman College (which is a university now), while Mama worked at a dime store nearby. Guess what happened? Yep, classic story—a guy walks into the store, and suddenly, hearts start skipping beats. This was back in the 1920s, mind you. They were head over heels but broke. They had to wait until November 1930 to tie the knot. It should come as no surprise that the 1931 song “I Found A Million Dollar Baby (at a 5 and 10 cent store)” became “their song”.

Now, about that telegram! I can’t pin down the exact date, but I’m thinking it was somewhere in the 1930s. Apparently, according to a blog post I stumbled upon from The Postal Museum, (https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/greetings-from-the-post-office/), those telegrams were popular back then. And funny enough, by that time G-da was working at a post office. He didn’t finish college due to family responsibilities, but his job might’ve helped him figure out what to get her.

The wording of the telegram was pure G-da. He was a Christian man who held every post in the Presbyterian Church except minister. He loved his “Polly”, with a full heart and I know she felt exactly the same way about him.

After Valentine’s, when the chocolates are devoured, the flowers fade, and the dinner becomes a fond memory, it’s things like that telegram that stick around. They’re family heirlooms after all, aren’t they? The kind of stuff that inspires a granddaughter to write her very first blog post.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Genealogy Tip: I didn’t know any of this before talking with my mom. Chat with the older generation and get their stories.  Write them down or even better, record them.  And don’t forget to write down or record your story for future generations.

Do you need help finding these nuggets of information about your family? I’d love to dig into your ancestry with you!