By Mary O’KEEFE

The history of Valentine’s Day is not really clear, but one particularly interesting version is that Valentine was a third century Roman priest. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret for young lovers. When it was discovered what Valentine was doing, Claudius ordered his death, according to history.com

It is a story of what people will do for love and now, even though it may seem that Valentine’s Day has become overly commercialized, love is still at its foundation.

CVW interviewed three couples, one that is dating, one approaching their first year of marriage and another that has spent over 50 years together and still smile every time they see each other. 

Steve and Karen Pierce, longtime residents of La Crescenta, will be celebrating 53 years of marriage this June.  

They are both from California; she was born in Glendale, then moved to La Crescenta and attended Monte Vista Elementary School. He was from Inglewood. They met in their first year of college.  

“It was a lot about luck. At Redlands [college] in those days we sat in alphabetical order,” Karen said. 

“Her last name was Pfeiffer and I was Pierce,” Steve said. “I thought she was so cute. She had this little bun on her head.”

That ponytail, Steve later found out, was a type of wig; however, none of that mattered. 

“She was adorable,” he said. 

Karen was Steve’s first real girlfriend and Steve was her first boyfriend. Their first date was to see the play “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Shakespeare wouldn’t have been one of our choices, but Steve didn’t have a car and I didn’t have a car and the play was on campus,” Karen said. 

Their dates continued and, right after college, they married. Steve then left a few weeks later to complete U.S. Navy officer training on the East coast.  

They moved to Athens, Georgia for a while; then Steve was assigned to a ship in Alameda. They rented an apartment in Montrose and Steve traveled, driving back and forth for a while.

Steve then went to Vietnam and Karen stayed in Montrose.

“I had just started my first year of teaching in Sunland,” Karen said.

As Steve was finishing up his tour, Karen and her mom found a house on Rosemont Avenue that worked perfectly for them and they bought it. They still live in that home. 

Steve and Karen said they have grown together over the last 53 years. They think their longevity comes from the fact that they grew up with the same morals, they brought that foundation to their family and continued to grow together. 

“And it may sound corny but we say ‘I love you’ every morning and every night as we kiss goodnight,” Steve said. “I look forward to coming home.”

Charly Shelton and Sabrina Walentynowicz will be celebrating their first year of marriage next month. 

Charly met Sabrina in their senior year at Crescenta Valley High School. 

“We were in psychology together and he sat in front of me,” Sabrina said. “We started talking.”

She had a boyfriend at the time and the relationship began as just friends talking but soon it changed for Charly.

“Yea pretty much within a week of us knowing each other I knew [our relationship] was going to be something real,” he said. 

Sabrina broke up with her boyfriend right after graduation. Once again Charly and Sabrina found they were in the same class together this time at Pasadena City College. 

“We started dating about a year and two months after I first met her,” Charly recalled.

They dated for ten years before getting married. 

“I think we worked through a lot,” Sabrina said of those first few years. 

Through it all both Charly and Sabrina said they have always had open communications. As their year anniversary gets closer they are thinking of their future and long term goals. They are settling into being a married couple and are looking forward to moving into their careers and raising a family. 

Brianna Beck and Dylan Sylvester are where Sabrina and Charly were only a few years ago. They met in eighth grade at Rosemont Middle School. Brianna had a crush on Dylan’s friend but Dylan had a crush on Brianna. 

“I feel like I liked Brianna since we first met,” Dylan said.

They dated as they went into CVHS but then Brianna’s family moved to Oregon her sophomore years and their relationship was put to the test. 

“It was difficult. It took a serious toll on our relationship but we had been together for two years by then,” Dylan said. 

“We were always inseparable before and so when I left we talked all the time,” Brianna said. 

They texted when they went into class and when they got out. And then she moved back to go to college at PCC with Dylan. 

The two have gone through a lot together but it has made them stronger. They compliment each other, she is very organized and by the book, he is more spontaneous. 

Dylan recently took Brianna to Columbia to meet his family there and despite the language barrier things worked out well and everyone loved her.

As Dylan talks Brianna smiles and touches his knee. 

“I always have a good time when I am with her,” Dylan said. “It’s so easy to spend time together. When I am around her I am happier.”