Neighbor Tom found something mysterious and wonderful hidden in the rafters of his Bernal Heights:
Look what I found while renovating my house!
It’s an olde-stylee valentine card. From some brief googling, I think it is:
- Circa 1920s, maybe 1930s
- From a woman with a German name (Jizella)
- To a man with a German name (Helme ?)
- Made in America
I found it in the ‘side attic’ in our 1907 house on Mullen Ave, under some insulation.
The question is, was it lost there? Or squirreled away for safe keeping? Or left for future generations to find?
Bernalwood 
Way better find than the dead fish my in-laws once left in the walls after a bad breakup with their landlord. They simply took off the lightswitch plates, inserted fish, replaced plates, and voila.
nice find… from Whitney of Worcester, Mass! http://www.vintagevalentinemuseum.com/2012/08/maker-whitney-madegeorge-c-whitney.html
I think it was planted. When I pulled down the crumbling plaster & lath in my house, I planted a few pictures and notes for future generations to find…
Gizella was just a little girl at this time, she was born in 1925. So it may have been a secret between children.
http://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10002/us-social-security-death-index-ssdi?itemId=19868554&action=showRecord
That might say “Helene.”
Here’s Gizella’s mother’s death record: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/php/sfmrsearch/sfmrviewer.php?a=310784&b=0&c=1
Also, Peter, I think that’s a different Gizella. She married Robert White and moved to La Salle Avenue — they show up there in the 1940 Census. Her dates are 1912-1965.
Wow that’s sad she predeceased her mother.