The Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum open for Valentine shopping

The Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum and Gift Shop will be open for last-minute Valentine’s Day gift shopping from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13. Located on Route 1, south of Dewey Beach and north of the Indian River Inlet, the museum gift shop is one of Delaware’s best-kept secrets. It features nautically themed gifts, distinctive clothing and souvenirs, and a collection of books on local history and folklore.

For those who prefer to give a loved one something even more heartfelt, the museum will help them create their very own Sailor’s Valentine. Many years ago, sailors long separated from their loved ones by months at sea would create decorative valentines to remind them of the sweethearts they’d left behind.

Beginning with a common base, like a wooden frame or compass box, the sailors would collect seashells, coins and other treasured items from their travels to fashion into colorful mosaics to adorn their valentines.

The staff at the Indian River Life-Saving Station will hold a class at 10 a.m., Feb. 13, that will provide participants with all the necessary materials and instruction to craft their own piece of maritime tradition. The fee for this program is $15 and space and materials are limited; preregister by calling 302-227-6991.

On Valentine’s Day evening, skip the roses and the candlelit dinner and attend a guided lantern tour of the historic Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum. The tour will be led by an interpreter dressed in the uniform of the turn-of-the-century U.S. Life-Saving Service patrol. Learn about shipwrecks, surfmen’s duties and the changing Delaware coast over time.

Afterward, the tour will head out to the beach with lanterns to patrol the Delaware coast. Live the history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service while enjoying a stroll in the sand in Delaware Seashore State Park. The fee for this program is $7.50 per person. Preregister by calling 227-6991.