The Story Behind the Sweetheart City

An idea from the Stamp Club

In the mid-1940s, members of the Loveland Stamp Club noticed something everyone else had overlooked: their town's name was, itself, a valentine. If a card passed through Loveland on its way to its recipient, it could carry a postmark that said something no other town in America could say. The idea was simple, almost obvious in hindsight — and it needed someone to make it real.

"Loveland" was already a valentine. It just needed a postmark to prove it.

Ted and Mabel Thompson, Loveland's sweetheart couple

That someone was Ted Thompson, then president of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce. Thompson took the Stamp Club's idea and built the infrastructure around it — coordinating with the post office, organizing volunteers, and turning a local curiosity into an annual event people could count on. His wife, Mabel, worked alongside him, and together they became so associated with the tradition that Loveland now honors them as its own real-life "sweetheart couple." A bronze relief sculpture of the Thompsons stands in downtown Loveland today, a permanent marker of where the whole tradition began.

More than eighty years, one small city

What started as a hometown project has grown into the largest program of its kind in the country. Every year, volunteers now hand-cancel more than 120,000 valentines with a pictorial postmark, sending them on to recipients in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. The program has now run for more than 80 years — made possible almost entirely by community volunteers and a Chamber of Commerce that never let the tradition lapse.

• Mid-1940s

  The idea takes shape

  The Loveland Stamp Club proposes re-mailing valentines through Loveland to give them a meaningful postmark.

• Early years

  Ted & Mabel Thompson build the program

  Chamber president Ted Thompson and his wife Mabel organize the effort into a recurring, growing annual tradition.

• Ongoing

  The verse & design contest begins

  The Chamber starts an annual community contest to create each year's original valentine verse and cachet design.

• Today

  More than 80 years running

  Now recognized as the largest Valentine re-mailing program in the nation. A bronze relief sculpture of Ted and Mabel Thompson stands in downtown Loveland, honoring the program's founders.

More than one day a year

The Sweetheart City identity didn't stop at the post office. Loveland has built a year-round culture around love and romance: love-lock sculptures where couples can leave a permanent mark downtown, an annual Sweetheart Festival, and even local Valentine-branded wine and craft beer. For a town of its size, it's an unusually complete embrace of a single idea — and it's part of why the Valentine Re-Mailing Program still feels authentic rather than like a marketing gimmick.

Curious what else the city has to offer around the holiday? The visiting guide covers the festival, attractions, and best times to go — or if you're ready to send your own valentine through the program, the step-by-step mailing guide has everything you need.

Sources: Roadtrippers, Colorado Public Radio, KUNC.