LOVEland
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
LOVEland
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture & Enhancement
Description
Loveland, Colorado is south of Fort Collins, its larger neighbor and the county seat of Larimer County. Both cities have expanded steadily toward each other over the last several decades and are considered a single metropolitan area by the U.S. government. The establishment of county-owned open space between the two communities in the 1990's was intended to create a permanent buffer between them. The northern city limits are now contiguous with those of Windsor, which has expanded westward from Weld County across Interstate 25. Loveland has aggressively expanded its incorporated limits eastward to embrace the interchange of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34, and is currently developing the area.
Mariano Modena built the first settlement in the area, Fort Namaqua, in 1858. It was a trading post and stage station, and the site is now Namaqua Park. Before that it was a hub for French fur trappers dating back to the late 1700s.
The city was officially founded in 1877 along the newly constructed line of the Colorado Central Railroad, near its crossing of the Big Thompson River. It was named in honor of William A.H. Loveland, the president of the Colorado Central Railroad.
Loveland is the home of the Valentine Re-Mailing Program. For decades people from across the world have sent their valentines to Loveland, Colorado, to be hand-stamped with a cachet and verse, and a specially designed postal cancelation. A new verse and stamp are selected each year through a contest held by the Loveland Chamber of Commerce and residents can submit their poems and artwork to be judged. On average, this program re-mails more than 160,000 cards from the United States and more than 110 countries. Loveland's Valentine Re-mailing Program has inspired many other Valentine's Day programs including the Official Loveland Valentine, Miss Loveland Valentine and the Thompson Valley Rotary Heart’s Program. Information on all these programs is available through the With Love from Loveland website. The Loveland Chamber of Commerce and the Loveland Post Office sponsor the Loveland Valentine Re-mailing Program.
Loveland's Valentine Re-mailing Program began in January 1947 by Ted Thompson and Elmer Ivers, the Loveland postmaster after Ivers received about 30 valentines from individuals requesting to have the cards postmarked from Loveland for "a romantic extra touch." The two thought re-mailing valentines would be an opportunity to advertise Loveland, and the Loveland Chamber of Commerce agreed to promote the service. Thompson designed a cachet with the message, "A Valentine Greeting from Sweetheart Town, Loveland, Colorado," and the image was a heart pierced by an arrow over the Rocky Mountains. The cachet was used twice then Thompson started the tradition of changing it each year at the request of collectors. Since then, a different verse and design have been used annually.
Some digital effects were applied to this original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition. Ordered images will not contain the FAA watermark.
Image copyright 2019 by Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
March 19th, 2019
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