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Show 7 fpplrQfVf k? SECTION Daily &mitfi WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7. 2007 EDITOR Elyssa Andrus 344-255- 3 eandrushefaldexua.com hp Dave don't read this: My husband, Dave, and have a financial argument, which goes like this: Elyssa: "All our money goes to fixing broken snowmo- biles." Dave: "All our money goes to your shoe collection." Let me state, for the record, that snowmobiles get rolled, crashed into trees and blown up every year, requiring hundreds of dollars for repairs each winter. My shoes sit quietly in the closet, minding their own business and bringing nothing but goodwill and happiness to my feet home and life. Snowmobiles do none of those things. You can imagine my dismay, then, when received what some might consider a solid piece of evidence in Dave's favor. Maplnfo Corpora- tion ) (www.map-info.com- is sending press releases to heaven knows how many people about the counties that spend the most money on women's footwear annually. Guess which county made the No. 1 POSTMARK: FIDELITY spot? Utah County. Yep, according to the press release (which I still have a hard time believing), women in Utah In this tiny Illinois town, love is in the air and the mail this time of year Shane Graber ST. LOUIS mhe holiday rush here kicks in about now, and Shirley hnlHor ef tYa fna anA erlr job in the whole town, handles the load by herself. Ruyle is the postmaster in this Jersey County, 111., town of about 100, where Christmas isn't necessarily the busiest time of the year at the post office. It's not Mother's Day or Easter either. In this town, Valentine's Day rakes in the business. And love is in the air in Fidelity. For years, lovers, admirers and well- wishers worldwide have sent Valentine's cards to the post office here to get the "Fidelity" postmark, a veritable red cancellation stamp proudly advertising one's undying faithfulness. The requests pour in from Ireland, Franee, Thailand and just about every state. They come with self addressed stamped envelopes and a little note asking stamp. Ruyle for the sought-afte- r "It's neat to see where they come from," she said during a recent shift. "The rush can start any time. Some just want the postmark. Some want the stamp postmarked on Valentine's Day." y Ruyle has been the postmaster here since The post office has received as many as 2,500 requests in a year for the Fidel ity postmark. And she takes every one of them seriously. Inside this tiny post office, which looks more like a Morgan shed than a permanent site, she stamps each card and letter by hand. "They send them here for a good, clear stamp," she said. "So you don't want it to smear. It's their special day." Ruyle also marks wedding invitations with the Fidelity stamp. She once got a County outspent their counterparts in New York, Chicago, Florida and California on shoes. Utah County took the top 1991. spot, followed by Santa Clara, Calif., and San Mateo, Calif. "While it may be no surprise that Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in sunny California See FIDELITY, B2 would top the list with the array of sandal and flip flop styles available, who knew that women in the Beehive State of Utah had such a shoe fetish?" asks the press release. Who knew? My husband, that's who. According to a publicist for LDS Chuich-sponsor- ed seminar commemorates Black History Month Cody Clark DAILY HERALD . February is Black History Month, which makes a perfect setting for the annual.' African American Family History Research Series, to be held Saturday y at the Family Library of The Church of Jesus it If You Go The fifth annual African American Family History Research Series Is a one-da- y series of His-tor- classes and workshops Christ of Latter-daSaints in Salt Lake City. This year's event is being y by the Historical . and Genealogical Society and the Famjty History Library of The Church of by the newly created Utah chapter of the Historical and Ge- Jesus n . nealogical Society (AAHGS). The keynote speaker, pastor France A. Davis of the Salt Lake. City's Calvary Baptist Church, is a member of the new Christ of Latter-da- y Saints. Pastor France A. Davis of Salt Lake City's ' Calvary Baptist Church will be the keynote speaker. , I Where: Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple, Salt Lake City I When: Saturday, 9:30 a.m. I Info: (801) 240-116committee. orwww.famllysearch.org Davis 'has a real Interest In the value of family history as a tool for inspiring our young chapter's executive .' The decorated man wears jewelry with meaning Cory Ohlendorf THE WASHINGTON POST Tastemakers in men's jewelry have started looking back to go forward. Anything but dainty, these historic-cum-hi- p looks aren't for the dandies donning shiny cufflinks. In fashion lingo: Grit is the new gold. Subversive Jewelry by Justin Qunta (a recent CFDAVogue Fashion Fund nominee for emerging designers) takes vintage finds from flea markets and estate sales and then intricately tangles the groupings around differing chains just so. Created entirely by hand, the layered pieces appear as if you've added to them over the better g part of a decade. His popular necklace is fashioned from half a dozen oxidized chains strung with old coins, religious medals and tokens from Times Square peep show booths. "All men, in one way or another, wear some kind of jewelry, whether they call it that or not," says Qunta. Daniel Casarella feels the same way: "Jewelry is a tricky thing for men. It's got to have more of a meaning behind it not just some abstract decoration." Casarella and his brother Michael are the creative team behind Barking Irons, a line steeped in New York iconography. Their "shines" (period slang for jewelry) are cast in sterling silver from unearthed antique souvenir spoons. The stems are forged into rings while the spoons themselves are strung onto chains in pairs. A thorough hand-Se- e if v Cha-Ch-in- v HISTORY, B2 And my personal collection is more Nine West and equivalent I personalty am driving up Utah County's average spending. And did I mention that my shoes have new rolled, crashed into trees or caught on fire? Did I? Did I? 19th-centu- JEWELRY, B2 Steve' Madden than Christian louboutin and Jimmy Choo, so it's not like each shoe is a snowmobile-repa-ir Or that JUUA lWANWwhttton b the new gold Port in men's jewelry. From Barking Irons, a line steeped in y New York Iconography, or a Brooklyn Bridge ring ($295), top left, and Liberty necklace ($315). From Subversive Jewelry by Justin g necklace ($600), right, Giunta, vintage items find new life as a coral necklace ($460). and double-stran- d Grit 19th-centur- Cha-Chin- See l) Map-Inf- o, the company "took the aggregate dollars spent in each county on women's footwear between July 2005 and June 2006 and divided it by the number of households in the area. The data ranks average annual spending per household on women's footwear per counties with more than 100,000 households." There could be a million reasons that Utah County ranked so high, namely that we have a lot of big households that require a lot of shoes. Jit J I'm still awaiting the press release on nationwide sncwmobile-fepai- r spending, Elysu Andna |