LOVELAND — Even love didn’t stand much of a chance Wednesday against the dangerous cold gripping this city and the state.
Organizers postponed the kickoff of Loveland’s Valentine Re-Mailing Program because they feared the aged volunteers that fuel the effort for the lovelorn would be put at risk because of the frigid temperatures.
The start of the 65th season of the re-mailing is now scheduled for 1 p.m. today at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce Conference Room, 5400 Stone Creek Circle.
A core group of 60 volunteers restamp love letters and cards with Loveland’s postmark and Valentine cachet to be sent across the country and the world. Typically, about 160,000 cards are re-mailed from the Sweetheart City.
Many of the volunteers are in their 60s while quite a few are in their 70s and 80s, said Nicole Yost, spokeswoman for the Loveland Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.
“For us, the wind chill was the deciding factor,” Yost said. “Just walking from the parking lot to the chamber building where all the work is done would be tricky. Some of them would have risked their health coming out in the cold for this.”
There is a long waiting list of potential volunteers. But only death seems to keep most of the original volunteers from showing up, Yost said.
“The only spots that open up are when volunteers pass on.” Monte Whaley, The Denver Post
