Al Southwick: Worcester fire almost wiped out valentine card industry in 1910
By Al Southwick
Many Worcester folks know about Esther Howland and how she jump started the Valentine’s Day card industry from her home on Summer Street in Worcester.
But how many have heard of the raging fire on Jan. 15, 1910, that almost wiped out the valentine card industry in America for that year? It was an epochal event in the saga of Worcester fires.
That was years after Ms. Howland retired and sold her thriving business to George C. Whitney, a former employee. Under his guidance, the company became the largest producer of valentine and other cards in the land. In January 1910, its storehouse at 67 Union Street was packed with cartons loaded with Valentine cards headed for shipment across the country. But the fire that ripped through its premises on Jan.15 wiped out untold reams of valentines and, according to one estimate, led to a substantial shortage of valentines nationwide.