Valentine’s Day is upon us and some people might refer to it as another “Hallmark Holiday.” This refers to the fact that a lot of us will send Valentine’s Day greeting cards to friends and loved ones.

Did you know that Hallmark was started back in the early 1900s by a young man named Joyce Clyde Hall? He didn’t have much, but he did have an idea and the determination to succeed. Hall began by selling picture postcards.

His brother Rollie joined him in the business and they named the company “Hall Brothers.” After a fire destroyed the company office and inventory, the brothers picked themselves up and forged ahead.

Their postcard sales started to decline, as people wanted more privacy in their mailings to others. So the brothers decided to sell cards with envelopes. In 1928 they started to use the name “Hallmark” on the back of each card. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Today there are many brands of cards on the market, but Hallmark remains the gold standard.