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This is how The St. Valentine's Day Massacre works:
 We'll send you the giant 11x15 100-page-plus 2021 Rand McNally Road Atlas and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre book of instructions.
You'll start at the Statue of Liberty and travel (vicariously, by map) across the continent to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Entries are accepted continuously until Valentine's Day, February 14. (The completion deadline for everyone is March 2.)
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Note: Entries for the 2020 St. Valentine's Day Massacre closed on Valentine's Day.
Scroll to the bottom regarding
receiving advance information next December for the 2021 competition.
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What has Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings written about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre? Click:
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2020 Massacre competitors:
Google Street View
You will have noticed that occasionally during the rally we provide a link to a Google Street View photo taken along the course.
These photos don’t affect the Massacre course or questions in any way and may safely be ignored if you aren’t interested in them.
But click on any of these if you are interested in seeing what's 'really' there [and -- this is remarkable -- after clicking on an image you can look around or travel along the road, as with any Google Street View photo].
As for us, we weren’t watching the road; we were enjoying the scenery, especially the clouds.
in Leg 1:
approaching Covelo
in California
in Leg 1:
nearing Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
in Oregon
in Leg 1:
approaching Hōlualo
in Hawaii
in Leg 1:
in Unalakleet
in Alaska
in Leg 1:
after Livengood
in Alaska
in Leg 2:
Alexis Creek
in British Columbia
in Leg 2:
Continental Divide
on Trans-Canada 16
in Leg 2:
Condor
in Alberta
in Leg 3:
after Plenty
in Saskatchewan
in Leg 3:
approaching Rosetown
in Saskatchewan
in Leg 3:
approaching the U.S.A.
in Saskatchewan
in Leg 3:
Hell’s Half Acre
in Wyoming
in Leg 4:
after Valentine
in Nebraska
in Leg 4:
after Stinnett
in Texas
in Leg 5:
after Countyline
in Oklahoma
in Leg 5:
approaching Beebe
in Arkansas
in Leg 6:
approaching Success
in Missouri
in Leg 6:
near Morton Mills
in Iowa
in Leg 6:
approaching Galena
in Illinois
in Leg 6:
approaching Polar
in Wisconsin
in Leg 7:
near Au Train
in Michigan
in Leg 7:
after Elmer
in Michigan
in Leg 7:
after Wiarton
in Ontario
in Leg 7:
Carrying Place
in Ontario
in Leg 8:
near Chapais
in Québec
in Leg 8:
approaching Stanhope
in Québec
in Leg 8:
near Carlisle
in New York
in Leg 8:
approaching Ballston Spa
in New York
in Leg 8:
Statue of Liberty
in New York
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By following the Massacre's auto rally kind of instructions, at your kitchen table or wherever you want, an hour or two at a time whenever you want,
we travel on a continuous course over mountains and plains, from page to page in the atlas, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Statue of Liberty.
For 2020 we *saw the C sights* across the continent, from the Cascades to Cody, Clay County, Cape Girardeau,
Cash, and Carrying Place [Ontario] to the big City.
In 2019 we saluted Ernies, such as 16-tonner
Tennessee Ernie Ford and over-the-top comedian Ernie Kovacs, both of whom were born exactly 100 years ago. We celebrated by visiting Ernie’s Restaurants in Virginia, South Carolina, Missouri, and California. And Burning Man in Nevada!
In 2018 we honored classic American writers, in their namesake places: Hawthorne, California; Thoreau, New Mexico; Whitman, Nebraska; Dickinson, North Dakota; Wilder, Minnesota; Irving, Illinois; Fitzgerald, Georgia; and Wharton, New Jersey.
Along the coast-to-coast course we provided help from a bunch of friendly folk, such as Waldo in California, Louisa May in Arizona, a ragamuffin girl and a tan-faced prairie boy on the plains, Queen Jane in Minnesota, and Frosty the Snowman in West Virginia.
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Along the way, we ask questions to see if you are on the correct course. Here's the very first question from the 2020 event, and the instructions it's between.
2. Go right on California 128.
Question: How many of these towns do you see?
Albion; Geyserville
3. Go north on California 29 at Calistoga.
[We turned off California 1 near Albion, which (B.R. 2/a) immediately we saw behind us (SEE def.: within 1/4 map inch),
then we saw Geyserville as well on our way to Calistoga for #3.]
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You have until the 2nd of March to send in your answers. Then custom-designed trophies go to at least the top 10%: those who've done the best in avoiding the Massacre's bushwhackers and snares.
And local champion certificates go to the best from each state, province, and country.
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To receive a St. Valentine's Day Massacre brochure in the mail next December, in advance of the 2021 competition, just send The Old Maltese an email request mentioning the Massacre, with your street mailing address, or mail a note to us at:
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
P.O. Box 53
La Cañada, California 91012
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