The Origins of “the Hearties” Name and Hashtag

by Marisa Loffredo Corser

The Hearties Name and Hashtag
You’ve heard how the Fans of Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart Facebook Group was born, but there’s more to the story of how the Hearties came to be! Here’s an inside look at the coining of the Hearties name from originator Janet Roark.

Like so many of the Facebook group’s founding members, Janet was immediately captivated by When Calls the Heart and enjoyed live tweeting with the cast and other viewers. “By the second week, I was hooked and the viewers on Twitter kept growing,” says Janet. “#Hearties just sounded right, so I started using it to say goodnight to everyone. I don’t really know who picked up on it first, but suddenly everyone was using it.”

On March 2, 2014, Janet tweeted: “The hour of #WhenCallstheHeart just flies by! Until next week #Hearties @DLissing @ErinKrakow @LoriLoughlin @hallmarkchannel.”

On March 7, Janet posted about the #Hearties hashtag in the Facebook group, welcoming the members to use the moniker as their official name. The newly minted Hearties quickly embraced the term, deciding to tweet using both #Hearties and #WhenCallsTheHeart during the March 9 episode. That evening, the hashtag was picked up by Executive Producer Brian Bird, cast members Erin Krakow, Lori Loughlin, and Daniel Lissing. Pam Slay, Hallmark Channel Senior Vice President, Network Program Publicity & Social Content, offered for the network to display the Hearties hashtag onscreen during the show on March 16. Hallmark Channel subsequently used the hashtag on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter generously through the rest of the season.

The name gave When Calls The Heart’s loyal following an identity, transforming a social media firestorm into a family television movement. “I was thrilled and honored when the cast, producers, and Hallmark started using #Hearties,” says Janet. “But seeing it on the screen during the show was….BOOM! I’m grateful to be a small part of the inception of this amazing group.