The City of Loving Honors Lifelong Love

Submitted to the Carlsbad Local

Anne Bolger Witherspoon, whose husband is famous for his valentines all around the world, was given the ceremonial Key to the City of Loving, New Mexico, by Mayor Rick Fuentes. The mayor temporarily named Main Street in Loving “I Love Anne Street. “

The street naming is an homage to one of Lonnie Witherspoon’s past valentines, where he had more than 100 people from different countries around the world hold up signs that read “I Love Anne” in several different languages—Paris, China’s Great Wall, South Africa, England, Australia, and Dubai to name a few.

The Mayor and Anne will also recognize and honor elder couples from Loving, like Frank and Nickey Chacon, who will have been married for 65 years this December.

“I don’t think I have ever heard of an entire city opening up its arms and celebrating love in such a grand and wonderful way,” said Lonnie. “My hope is everyone in New Mexico will come to mail their valentines with the famous Loving postmark from the Loving Post Office.”

Anne and Lonnie visited several businesses and mailed their valentines from the Loving Post Office with its famous Loving post mark. Lonnie displayed at the Post Office the last poem, Bless Me Ultima author Rudolfo Anaya wrote before he passed away. Lonnie also visited Loving High School to give a talk about his famous valentines. Lonnie was named “The King of Valentines” by NBC’s The Today Show.

Over the last 27 years, Lonnie has pulled off everything from a full-sized carousel in his front yard, 25ft paper flowers in his driveway, and a neon heart in Central Park in NYC to writing out his wife’s favorite poem in small pebbles on an acre of land that could only be seen by a helicopter.

He had hundreds of people from around the world—China, Russia, Africa, and Europe—hold up signs that said, “I Love Anne.” He had a private poetry reading in a coffee shop near his home that featured famous poets like Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, US National Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and Bless Me Ultima author Rudolfo Anaya, as well as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian novelist Sherman Alexie.

He projected valentines on a 12-story building, made a 100 lb. piñata that was lifted with a 50-ton boom crane with life-size candy inside, had his wife’s name written across the National Planetarium’s dome, and presented a handwritten note from an International Space Shuttle Commander and Astronaut Terry Virts.

He curated an art gallery show with Obama Hope artist Shepard Fairey, Ron English, and the late Daniel Johnston called LOVE and made an enormous heart crop circle in a 10-acre field that could be seen from space.

Last year, he had the Santa Fe Symphony play one song for just him and his wife at the largest theater in New Mexico. All of this for no or little cost—about the cost of dinner and flowers.

Lonnie said the main reason for making such extravagant gestures for his wife is to show her how much he appreciates her. He also believes that love for just one person is powerful enough to change the world in a positive and loving way.

Lonnie also uses the media to change the perception of his underserved neighborhood in the South Valley in Albuquerque. He speaks at local underserved schools and remote Native American Reservations, encouraging the students to use art, music, education, and creativity to make the world a more loving place and create positive change.

The Key to the City was presented at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12, at the Loving City Hall building.