Valentine was my dad's middle name. It is a strange name for a guy and he very rarely shared it with people and certainly was not fond of it. When my grandmother gave birth to my dad in 1939, she was very young and unmarried. Perhaps she hadn’t an inclination to ever give him a middle name or maybe she wasn’t asked, but in those days the doctor filled out the birth certificate. Her doctor? Dr. Valentine Pardo, a Cuban who came to America as an 18 year old in 1920 and ended up practicing in East Arkansas. My dad told me there were many children in Monroe County, Arkansas with the middle name Valentine. I did actually meet a cousin born in 1959 at a family reunion whose middle name is Valentine. So Dr. Pardo continued that practice for at least two decades.
I read a great blog about the doctor that makes him sound like a really wonderful, compassionate doctor. I don’t doubt that is true! But, he stuck at least two Arkansas boys with an awkward middle name. https://xteri.me/2014/08/02/01072014-dr-valentine-pardo-early-memories-of-a-memorable-person/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-6
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