HARTVILLE – If you’ve had a longing for the way things used to be, here’s a chance to act upon it and connect with the special people in your life.

In conjunction with the special annual Valentine cancellation station program, sponsored by U.S. Postal Service, you can mail your Valentines and have a special cancellation applied to them that celebrates the small Wyoming town of Hartville, designed by a local Hartville artist. 

But your cards can be made even more special thanks to the local Pony Express group who conduct a Valentine card ride each year. 

The program works like this:  you prepare your Valentine cards in the normal manner—address them and put the required postage on the envelope; then take them to the post office in Hartville, Guernsey, Wheatland, Fort Laramie, Lingle or Torrington and deposit them in the designated boxes located inside the post office. The cards will be collected by the Southeast Wyoming Pony Express Association and stamped by members to indicate that the cards were carried by the Pony Express. On February 1, members of the Southeast Wyoming Pony Express Association will carry those cards horseback from Guernsey to Hartville, where they will then receive the special Hartville Valentine cancellation and be sent on to the recipient in the normal mailing process.

This Pony Express group participates in the annual re-ride each June in the national re-enactment of the way mail was carried by the original Pony Express between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California. The local group also conducts a Christmas Card ride each December and added the Valentine Card ride in 2006.