Egg Put On A Happy Face

White egg with smiling face and yellow feet holding a pink paintbrush and pink paint cup with yellow block text on yellow background with pink ombre border.

Hallmark began in 1910 when Joyce Clyde Hall started selling postcards. He had little money—not even enough to take a horse-drawn cab to his lodgings at the YMCA—but he had an entrepreneurial spirit and the determination of a pioneer. Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold. Rollie Hall joined his brother in business, and the company was named Hall Brothers. On January 11, 1915, a fire destroyed their office and inventory. They took the only salvageable item, their safe, and set up shop again. With $17,000 in debt, they decided to press onward. As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality Valentine’s Day and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. The fateful fire resulted in the Hall brothers’ decision to buy printing presses and begin producing their own greeting cards in 1915. Hallmark eventually made the move to manufacture and sell collectable memorabilia including pin-back buttons, most of which revolve around holidays and other special events.

Put On a Happy Face, was the title of a popular song with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. It was introduced by Dick Van Dyke in the musical Bye Bye Birdie in 1960. The phrase and meaning, according to the song, was that donning a smile would spread sunshine. If you were not feeling happy, simply smiling would make others smile and reflect happiness, in turn, making you happy as well.