With Valentine’s Day coming to a close this week, SUNY Oswego and its students have hosted multiple events around campus in honor of the holiday’s theme of love across all fields. However, past Oswegonian publications mention what Valentine’s Day festivities were like during the mid-1900s at the state university. 

The Feb. 17, 1941 edition of The Oswegonian mentioned the Valentine’s Dance at SUNY Oswego and all its components. Performed were popular songs of the respective era, such as “My Heart Belongs to Daddy,” by whom the article names Bill Brewer as the performer, who was affectionately given the prefix, “Just call me Valentine for short.” 

According to the Oswego Historical Society, Brewer was a skillful and talented pianist who performed frequently on campus as a student. Unfortunately, his life was cut short when he was killed while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He is honored for both his involvement with the university and dedicating his life to the U.S. military.

Two years later, as reported on Feb. 15th, 1943, the annual Valentine’s Dance was still going strong. The dances were held in the college gymnasium with music by the group “The Sultans of Swing” and The Oswegonian’s Managing Editor Al Tutunjian. The dances are remembered as a “huge success.”

By Feb. 17, 1960, the Valentine’s Dance concluded but was substituted by the first ever “Sweetheart Ball,” which took place at the then-Pontiac Hotel (now the Pontiac Terrace Apartments in Oswego). The ball was sponsored and run by the freshman and sophomore classes of 1960, with the music at the event played by Nick Sterio. Sterio was a local band leader who played at many local events in Oswego and around Central New York. Sterio passed away in 2020 at the age of 97 after retiring from the Oswego City Band at 92.

This year, a Valentine’s Day celebration is being held in Marano Campus Center. It is a 1950s themed party, which will be held in Swetman Gym. The party will feature live performances from the Laker Poets Society, music and games. Students are encoruaged to wear ‘50s style  clothing.

Photo by: Michelle Leman via: Pexels