Window Cleaners Hate Valentines Day in Vermont

A capital with a lot of hearts - Who's the 'Valentine Phantom?' No one wants to know: One of the rewards for working through the night, arranging flower bouquets for Valentine's Day, is the thrill of possibly spotting the "Valentine Phantom" slinking through downtown, slapping red paper hearts all over. "It's really amazing," said Buffy Farrell, of Buffy's Bouquet on Main Street, admitting she's caught a glimpse of the phantom in action. "We've been right here and had it done. That's the highlight every year, we try to catch them." But most people admit they don't want to know who it is that scatters red hearts throughout the city for Valentine's Day. "My mom knows who it is, which makes me really sad," said Alana La Point, an employee of the Drawing Board, where red hearts are already hanging from the window. "It's almost more magical if you don't know… I think it's a simple, awesome way to get the whole town into Valentine's Day." No one knows exactly how many years the streets of Montpelier have been splashed with red hearts on Feb. 14. Some guessed five years, while others said it could be as many as nine. "Every year the Valentine Phantom does it a little differently," said Suzanne Hechmer, executive direc-tor of the Montpelier Downtown Community Association. "I don't know anybody – except for the window washer – who doesn't think it's fabulous."

There are specific years that stand out for some, like two years ago when the Valentine Phantom tagged the Statehouse with oversized hearts.
"What I love about it is how it has expanded over time," said Mayor Mary Hooper, noting last year there were hearts found on the campus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. "In a way it's becoming a statement about Montpelier… It's got to be a secret. I have my theories, but I'm not sharing." Claire Benedict of Bear Pond Books said she finds the hearts cheery.
"It brightens up a gray February day in Montpelier," she said. "I think it just cheers everybody up." Even those who are not a fan of the holiday are happy to see hearts posted on windows of businesses. "I think it's incredibly cool – and I'm not one to be very excited about gushy stuff," said George Spaulding, an employee of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. "I also like that different people in town have different ideas as to who it is… It's sort of a mystery that the community protects because no one really wants to know."
Nancy Anderson agrees. She lives in Berlin and works at Cool Jewels downtown. Whether she works the holiday or not, Anderson will make the trip into town to check out the hearts. "It's a wonderful thing," she said, admitting the mystery is what makes it fun. "It's kind of like Santa. Do you really want to tell a 3-year-old where Santa comes from?" Along the same vein as Santa, is the Phantom really a single person working alone? "My gut tells me that it's more than one person because it's become so huge," said Hechmer. "Isn't it nice to have a mystery?" Even if it has been going on for only a decade or so, it has become the way Vermont's capital city celebrates the holiday of hearts. "It wouldn't be Valentine's Day without the Valentine Phantom," said Rachel Senechal, an employee of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. "What it does for me is it puts a smile on my face."