Nearly 30 years ago, the Hartville Post Office was slated to close based on the town’s declining population - but the residents were determined to not let that happen.
According to the Casper Star-Tribune, in 1996, a group of eight people created the town’s first commemorative cancellation stamp. It was turned down, but the next year, the Postal Service approved it. The commemorative cancellation stamp is used to mark mail as it comes through the post office. Normally, the cancellation stamp, also known as a postmark, is pretty basic, with a date and time, and usually ends up kind of smudged. But Hartville’s was a special design just for Valentine’s Day.
Volunteers hand stamped mail with it until 2003, when they took a brief break. Then, a local artist started designing Hartville-specific stamps each year for the town until her death in 2016. But, the stamps continued and the design still changes every year. They’ve become collector’s items. Thousands of people from around the world mail their Valentines to the Post Office for their special stamp - some with specific placement instructions, others just for the sweet designs.