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16 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | FEBRUARY 2017 By Dick Roppé, Resident The name "Valentine" is derived from the Latin, valens (worthy, strong, powerful) and was popular between the second and eighth centuries. About 11 saints having the name Valentine are commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church. Some Eastern and Western Churches may provide still other lists of Saint Valentine. So much has been written about Valentine's Day that it's almost impossible to come up with a definitive and thorough explanation. In the interest of time and space I'm going to offer up just two histories into its origins. Version one centers around a third century martyred Roman named Valentine who — as legend tells — was in prison and fell for the jailer's daughter who paid him frequent visits. Before his death he sent her a letter that he signed, "From your Valentine." Perhaps this was the first Valentine's card. Some historians have linked the February 14th date to a Roman purification festival that was held during the ides of February. The second version deals with a young mid 18th century watch and clock maker in Bern, Switzerland by the name of Nils Valen. In Nils' shop window hung a large clock with a sign that said "VALEN TIME" - with a large arrow pointing to the clock. Soon, the town was so impressed with the quality of Nils' clocks and watches, they decided to honor him yearly eventually agreeing on February 14th. This became known as Valen Time Day. The life of Nils continued as he met and fell in love with a beautiful Swiss miss by the name of Sophie whose father owned the only hot chocolate bar in town. They were married in the town's small chapel. Ironically on February 14th. Sophie would eventually use start-up-funding and open her own chocolate company called Toblerone. Nils' business had become so successful that his employees began working in shifts. To keep better records it was about this time that Nils invented the first time clock. Employees would use a card as they punched in and out. This became known as the first Valen Time Card. One of Nils' best workers was Fabio Hallmark who noticed that the more creative employees were decorating their time cards, which caused him to remark to Nils, "We might have something going here!" Valentine's Day: Facts & Myths