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StampInsider

Journal of the Federation of New York Philatelic Societies

www.nystampclubs.org July / August 2006

REVISITINGUNCLE SAM

JUDY ROUTSON REPORTSON WASHINGTON 2006

RAYMOND LOEWYAND THE USPS LOGO

A. SCOTT CROSSFIELDPhilately at Mach 2

Welcoming North Country Stamp Cluband Staten Island Philatelic Society

Join a Stamp Club Today!

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Subscriptions, Copyright, Advertising Rates, DeadlinesStamp Insider™ is published six times per year by the Federation of New York Philatelic Societies for the Federation of Central New York Philatelic Societies, Inc., a non-profit organization, at P.O. Box 401, Fulton, NY 13069-0401. Subscriptions: $6 per year; inquire of Subscriptions. Stamp Insider is sent free to members of participating clubs. Content ©2006 Federation of Central New York Philatelic Societies Inc.; Design ©2006 Albert W. Starkweather / Design on Demand. Stamp Insider and the magnifying glass logo are trademarks of the Federation. Any portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior consent, provided credit is given. Written expression or opinions of the writers are their own and not necessarily those of the Stamp Insider or Federation. Some product names and images may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explana-tion, without intent to infringe. Every effort is taken to ensure accuracy, but validity is not guaranteed. Articles by readers are encouraged. Manuscripts cannot be returned without a large SASE. Electronic submissions are preferred.

Dimensions (In inches) Per Insertion Contract Per Year SaveeBay listing (two lines) Contract Only $ 30.00 —Small Business Card (2 1/5 × 1) Contract Only $ 60.00 —Super Business Card (3 × 2 1/4) Contract Only $120.00 —1⁄2 Page (4 1⁄2 × 3 7⁄16) $ 45.00 $216.00 $54.003⁄4 Page Outside Back (4 1⁄2 × 5 1⁄2) $ 60.00 $288.00 $72.00Full Page (4 1⁄2 × 7 1⁄2) $ 65.00 $152.00 $78.00Full Page Inside Front or Back Cover $ 75.00 $360.00 $90.00Centerfold (two full pages) $150.00 $720.00 $180.00

Editorial & ad deadlines for the two months following are Dec. 7, Feb. 7, April 15, June 15, Aug. 15, Oct. 15

July / August 2006Vol. 23 No. 6

StampInsider

www.nystampclubs.orgEditor

Albert W. Starkweather5520 Gunn Hwy. #1406, Tampa, FL 33624-2847813-962-7964; [email protected]

Associate EditorHeather Sweeting

14329 Victory St., Sterling NY 13156-3172315-947-6761; [email protected]

Contributing EditorDaniel A. Piazza

753 James St., Apt. 1126, Syracuse, NY 13203-2413315-476-8052; [email protected]

Advertising ManagerGeorge McGowan

P.O. Box 482, East Schodack, NY 12063-0483518-479-4396; [email protected]

WebmasterThomas M. Fortunato

28 Amberwood Place, Rochester, NY 14626-4166585-225-6822; [email protected]

FinancialJohn J. Nunes

80 Fredericks Road. Scotia, NY 12302-5727518-399-8395; [email protected]

SubscriptionsJohn A. Cali, c/o Stamp Insider

P.O. Box 401. Fulton, NY 13069-0401315-592-4441 ; [email protected]

ContentsPresident’s Viewpoint .................................. 4Editor’s Perspective ..................................... 6George Fekete Site Seeing: Finding Philatelic Software .................... 8George McGowan’s Thrifty Philatelist: The Endless Lure of Precancels..............10Ada Prill’s Newcomers’ Corner: Personalized Stamps.................................12Ruth L. Sabo: Uncle Sam Revisited............14

About the CoverA 1909 Chilton card promoted the lowly

postal card for inexpensive advertising.

Judy Routson Reports: Wrapping Up Washington 2006 ............. 20Fort Ticonderoga First Day Ceremony.... 26Recalling Hiram Bingham......................... 28Loewy and the USPS Seal........................... 29Remembering A. Scott Crossfield ............ 30Rare Perf Block Error Discovered........... 31Robert Finnegan: Youth & Philately ........ 32Daniel Piazza: Story Behind the Stamp ....33Communications: Our New Look.............. 36Club Pages................................................ 37–61Federation and Stamp Insider Changes....41Shrines Honoring Saint Candidate ......... 48Texas Association Youth Contest ............ 49Starkweather Edits Writers Journal ....... 51Minetto Honoring First Settler.............. 52Insider Takes Second Gold Award ............58Shows & Bourses .......................................... 62Want & Exchange Ads................................. 64Heather Sweeting The Last Words: Looking in All the Wrong Places.......... 66Advertiser Index............65

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4 Stamp Insider July / August 2006 5

President’s ViewpointJohn J. Nunes

80 Fredericks Road, Scotia, NY 12302-5727518-399-8395 — e-mail [email protected]

Washington 2006 Delivers the Gold

After eight busy days at the Washington 2006 show, I finally have a few free moments for my thoughts. The first six days provided me with the opportunity to meet many

of my friends, customers and Federation members. I have spoken with many of you, de-veloping several friendships, so it was nice to finally put a face with a voice in some cases. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello.

I look forward to seeing everyone again in New York City in 10 years or sooner, I hope. The Stamp Insider was discussed frequently with its new look, thanks to Norman Cohen and new direction the editor, Albert W. Starkweather, has forged.

The show was very busy, especially at the retail-oriented booths, which I believe bodes very well for the business. As one of the close to old people in the philately — I turned 65 on June 7 — it was nice to see a cross section of show visitors, with many young people in attendance and showing a great interest in philately. Young and middle-aged eBayers visited in mass and are now a true force for the future of the hobby

Robert Markovits’ booth, where I worked, was quite busy and I got a chance to meet some exhibitors and a few of the movers and shakers of the hobby whose names I knew but never had the opportunity to meet. I got to see some eye knocker collections and items up close and personal. I had time to view 42 exhibits and to buy from other booth holders. Daniel A. Piazza of Syracuse Stamp Club and John S. Babbitt of Steuben Stamp Club took a plethora of photos, some of which are in this issue.

Overall there has not been such a well-organized, well-publicized, and well-attended international show since 1986.

The threats of the Afinsa/Escala exposé on the hobby and the show, which dampened the days before it began, were eradicated in the stampede of the first two days. Greg Man-ning and the corporate members of Escala were there to bode confidence in their business and the hobby.

Youth activities were unprecedented in support and youth attendance was a hallmark of the show.

The U.S. Postal Service booth and its philatelic emissions were strongly supported by the public and dealers. The issuance of the second signed duck stamp souvenir sheet was better controlled this year with tighter controls. Again the limited supply fueled price in-creases from the USPS price of $25 to $120 the first day. Only 5,000 of the 10,000 printed were available at the show, with customers allowed to buy up to 10 sheets.

Washington 2006 show was a hobby strengthening experience. I am proud to have at-tended, be associated with, and to experience and learn from this philatelic colossus.


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6 Stamp Insider

Editor’s PerspectiveAlbert W. Starkweather

5520 Gunn Hwy 1406, Tampa, FL 33624-2847e-mail [email protected]

Remember the Real Goal: Have Fun!

Charles W. Deaton, the well-known Texas stamp dealer, collector, and author, has some words to heed and heed well in his recently published Fifty years of Texas

Philately: Remembrances of a Stamp Dealer. The short monograph concludes with this reminder:

“… remember this is a hobby. It’s supposed to be fun. I have had a lot of fun with this hobby, and you should too. However you collect, whether it’s just filling up the spaces in an album in a haphazard manner, or looking for old covers from the towns in your area, or building an important collection of top quality rare classic U.S. stamps, if you are not hav-ing fun, you are doing something wrong. Step back for a moment to figure out how and when the fun went away, make an adjustment or two to bring it back, and then get going again.”I can echo his words. My entry into philately as a youth was filling spaces in a Scott’s

U.S. Specialized album, which lay fallow through my high school and university years and early working career. My father resurrected the album from a trunk in his attic and brought it to me shortly after my second daughter was born. I soon was hooked again, but soon tired of filling in the blanks — even the revenues I much coveted — and set the album aside for a year or so.

In the meantime I had discovered aerophilately. When I discovered that my favorite dealer had boxes and boxes of airmail covers, I parlayed the U.S. singles collection into stacks of airmail covers and discovered my passion had returned. At first I collected Con-tract Air Mails, Foreign Air Mails carried by Sikorsky flying boats, and Zeppelin flights. I soon tired of the CAMs and sold them to acquire more Zepps. The specialized FAMs ran into a dead-end street and soon followed the CAMs.

Then the realization struck me that the Zepps really didn’t interest me. What did I do? I sold them and took a six-month solo bicycle tour of Europe. On my return, I picked up my specialized Concorde cover and topical collection, as well as starting a highly special-ized collection of the 1911 Garden City pioneer flight and Earle L. Ovington who flew the first flight at the Garden City meet. These now have lain idle for nearly a decade.

What will I collect next, if anything? I am still interested in the two collections, but simply have no time to devote to them. However, if I ever determine that one or the other or both are no longer of interest, I will not hesitate to pursue a new area.

What about you? Is there an album or box full of stamps or covers hidden in the back of your closet that bring feelings of guilt when you fail to avert your eyes. Perhaps it is time to clear these out and move on to greener pastures. You may just discover a level of interest that has been missing for years.

6 Stamp Insider

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Site Seeing George T. Fekete

111 Dale Road, Rochester NY 14625-2009e-mail: [email protected]

Which Philatelic Software Is Right for You?

I tell people I’m a stamp collector or a philatelist, which — strictly speaking — gives me more credit than I deserve. A much better description of my stamp persona would be

accumulator. As a result, this piece has at least as much utility for me as it does for you.Choices — Generic or Philatelic?There isn’t enough space in this column to evaluate the software available to organize your ma-terial or make custom album or exhibit pages. However, there is enough space to point you to sites where you can find the software and learn more about it. In most cases you can download a demonstration copy of the software for a limited time without buying it and decide for your-self whether it meets your needs. For most of us who aren’t computer programmers, stamp-re-lated software falls into two categories, which I’ll define, as generic and philatelic.Generic SoftwareGeneric software is not designed specifically to track stamps but can be adapted by an ordi-nary user to do so. Generic software can cost hundreds of dollars … or it can be free. Micro-soft Office is often bundled with new computers; it also can be purchased separately and in-stalled by the user. You can get MS Office directly from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com or from its resellers (i.e., retail computer and office supply stores), which are ubiquitous.

Software similar to the applications available in MS Office may be obtained for free from OpenOffice at www.openoffice.org. MS Word, Excel, and Access as well as their counter-parts OpenOffice Writer, Calc, and Base can all be used to inventory your stamps and make album or exhibit pages. Excel and Calc are probably the most popular of the lot for tracking your collection because they are robust and relatively easy to use. Word and Writer are best suited to make album or exhibit pages. Versions of MS Office exist for both Windows and Mac OS, while OpenOffice is a multiplatform application that supports Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux (Linux), Sun Solaris, Mac OS X (under X11), and FreeBSD.Philatelic SoftwarePhilatelic software is designed for the stamp collector to use with little or no tinkering. Basic philatelic software ranges from free to less than $100. If you collect more than one country you may need to spend considerably more than $100 to track your collection. Several programs are available. A list of them, with summaries and links to their Web sites, can be found at www.dmoz.org/Recreation/Collecting/Stamps/Software. Reviews of some of the more popular applications are posted on The Philatelic Computing Study Group Web site at www.pcsg.org/e/content.php?review. If you are considering philatelic software be sure to check the system requirements to see if it will run on your computer’s platform.

Gotta go — surf ’s up!


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10 Stamp Insider

Collecting George McGowan

P.O. Box 482, East Schodack, NY 12063-0483e-mail [email protected]

The Endless Lure of Precancels

Precanceling stamps saved time, labor, and money in handling mail. Precancels usually were for mailers of large volumes of printed matter, normally advertising, although there

were other uses. We think of precancels as stamps with a line or bar above and below the city and state where used. However, the first precancels were preprinted cancellations on a few stampless covers. With the introduction of postage stamps, precanceling was merely a few pen strokes, a hand stamp, or later, a postmark locally printed on a group of stamps.

Precancel collectors call examples before 1900 silent precancels. Classic precancel re-fers to examples from about 1900 through the Bureau Experimentals of 1916. The first Bureau precancel was issued in May 1923 in New York City. Bureau collectors seek only precancels printed by the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington. There are oth-ers: Town and type, city type coils, double line electros; still others were printed locally with plates supplied by the Post Office Department or local printers. There are many different ways to collect the endless varieties of precancels. These appear on playing card revenues, airmails, commemoratives, parcel post, special delivery, postage dues, and most all defini-tives. Precancels can also be found on such private coils as Schermack and Mailometer. Many collectors collect by state.

Another area is mail order companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward. They once received large numbers of stamps in payment for goods. They were per-mitted to precancel these for use on outgoing mail. Hand stamps were most often used, but some were mechanically printed. By a July 1, 1938 Post Office order, it became mandatory that precancels display the month and year. This is what collectors call printed date collect-ing. The mail order houses included their initials, and employed professional printers.

There is the active Precancel Stamp Society founded in 1912 — www.precancels.com. Sears

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10 Stamp Insider

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Newcomers’ CornerAda M. Prill

130 Trafalgar St., Rochester NY 14619-1224e-mail [email protected]

Imagine Me and You … So Happy Together …on a U.S. stamp? It is pretty hard to get your picture on a real U.S. stamp. You must have accomplished something really important. Or — in recent years — if you haven’t done anything of lasting benefit to the nation, at least you have to be famous. That isn’t the worst part. You also have to be dead: doornail dead; if you hadn’t been president of the U.S., you must have closed your album 10 long years ago — an honor to which most of us do not aspire.

Now, however, you can get postage with your own picture on it. Or your baby sister’s picture or even your cat’s picture. But not a picture of your favorite rock star or any other picture the rights to which are owned by someone else, nor of anyone or anything of-fensive or obscene. Pictures of the happy couple are a popular topic for wedding invita-tions. It costs a little bit more than the stamps with pictures of flags or vegetables or dead famous people that you buy from the post office.

Ada and doppelgänger, center, sent by an American Philatelist reader of his wife.

Twenty first-class personalized stamps from www.zazzle.com, www.endicia.com, or www.stamps.com will cost you $17.99 plus shipping, compared to $7.80 at the post of-fice. But you get to choose the picture. Zazzle will also sell you stamps showing Star Wars characters or Barbie or other images to which they have acquired the rights.

Stamps.com has announced the availability of PhotoStamps from within Adobe Pho-toshop CS2, Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Album Starter Edition software, as well as the launch of PhotoStamps for Business. This allows Photoshop users to easily design and use PhotoStamps to create awareness for their products or services, to build their brand, or for other commercial uses.

Technically these products are not stamps. They are postage, and the U.S. Postal Service regards them as a type of metered postage. But they work just like stamps. Your mother always thought you were special; now you can show her that she was right.


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14 Stamp Insider

Exploring the Origins of Uncle SamBy Ruth L. Sabo

A baby boy destined for universal recognition and to become one of the best-known fig-ures in history was born 240 years ago in the small Massachusetts town of Arlington.

If I tell you his name was Samuel Wilson and that his profession was meat packer, most likely you will scratch your head in puzzlement.

His story began in 1789 when he moved to Troy, a small town on the Hudson River just north of Albany that later became a prosper-ous industrial city. Rumor has it he and his brother, Ebenezer, walked there from Mason, NH, to settle and make their fortunes. Both married and had children. Samuel became a father, an uncle, a respected, fair-mind-ed businessman, and a well-regarded community leader. He was a meat packer as well as a distributor and provided sizable shipments of fresh meat to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. He would pack the meat in large barrels and float them down the Hudson River. Many were destined for a large outpost south of Troy in what is now East Greenbush.

Each barrel of meat was reputedly stamped with U.S., for the United States. The soldiers knew their fresh meat came from jovial and respected Sam Wilson and further knew him to be an uncle to many nieces and nephews. The story goes that they suggested that U.S. stood for good old Uncle Sam. This notion spread, and grew to mythological proportions and

evolved to the image we all know today, the tall, bearded skinny guy in top hat and tails named Uncle Sam and universally recog-nized as the personification of our country.

Sam Wilson died in 1854 and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. Unfortu-nately he never had his photograph taken. So where did this tall, top-hatted, goateed man come from? Although there were prior im-ages of Uncle Sam, most people attribute his familiar figure to the prominent 19th century cartoonist and political satirist, Thomas Nast

Continued on Page 16

Promoting Penny CardsChilton used Uncle Sam in 1909 to promote its advertising post cards. The firm later turned to after-market automotive repair manuals. See cover.

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Uncle Sam — Continued from Page 14

of Harper’s Weekly, who began to depict his image of the New York meat packer in the familiar guise recognized around the world. He clothed him in a patriotic costume of red, white and blue, topped off with a stovepipe hat.

The seminal I Want You Army recruiting poster painted by James Montgomery Flagg in 1916 is the image most of us think of when we hear the name Uncle Sam. Reportedly Flagg saved money by forgoing a model and depicting his own face. On Sept. 15, 1961, the 87th Congress of the United States passed the following resolution: “Resolved by the Senate and

the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America’s National symbol of Uncle Sam.”

When I moved to the Troy area in the mid 1970s I became intrigued with Uncle Sam’s story. Fifteen years later I was hooked on col-lecting antique and modern

Continued on Page 18

Uncle Sam on U.S. StampsUncle Sam was first honored on a 22-cent definitive issues in 1998, with his hat appear-ing on the 33- cent H series definitive later the same year. He also appeared on two Celebrate the Century sheets — the 32-cent 1910s issued in 1998 and the 33-cent 1940s issued in 1999. The 37-cent bicycle toy stamp was issued in 2003.

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Uncle Sam — Continued from Page 16postcards, and gravitated towards those depicting the image of the man who was the origin of our national symbol and shared the same address I did.

And what a treasure trove of postcards, posters, trade cards, and covers there are fea-turing this white-goateed symbol of our country. Obviously he is found on many patriotic cards and covers, as well as those celebrating Independence Day. However, his figure also appears on some wonderful cards in topical categories that the reader might never guess would depict this famous character, such as St. Patrick’s Day cards and many advertising cards. Some of the most expensive and desirable postcards in circulation today are the famous Uncle Sam Santas, selling for $1,000 for the flat ones in excellent condition up to $4,000 for extremely rare noise-making squeaker cards and hold-to-lights. Most Uncle Sam cards sell much more modestly, from $3 to about $60. The real photo postcards, and the political, propaganda, and advertising postcards are at the upper end of the price range.

Ruth L. Sabo has been a deltiologist for about 17 years, with approximately 15,000–20,000 cards in her collection. She began her career as a staff assistant to the New York State As-

sembly Speaker and later became a lobby-ist for women’s health care. This led her to concentrate mostly on social history cards, particularly political propaganda, presiden-tial campaigns and inaugurations, prohibi-

tion, and the suffragette movement. Her special passion is cards and covers picturing

Uncle Sam, both antique and new.

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— First Time Impressions —

Washington 2006 ShowWas Full of Pleasant Surprises

By Judy Routson

Having written several times about the Wash-

ington 2006 World Phila-telic Exhibition, I thought I knew what to expect at the six-block-long Washington Convention Center and in our nation’s capital. However, I was in for many surprises.

The first was the friend-liness of everyone in the capital, especially as we navi-gated the maze of the Metro. The folks at the APS booth were especially cooperative and friendly, and gave me a free W2006 pin even through I had forgotten my membership card.

Also trusting was W2006 Vice President Stephen Luster, whom I met in the business of-fice, along with CEO Gordon C. Morrison, President Michael D. Dixon, and Kenneth P. Mar-tin, in charge of Bourse and Advertising and also APS Deputy Executive Director. The office was where I was told to report when my name was missing from those who paid online for an official show program. Col. Luster told me I looked like an honest person (I assured him I was), and he promptly found a program for me at another location — smiling all the while.

Seasoned show-goers may have differing opinions of the opening day ceremonies on May 27 — and of the entire show for that matter, but I was like the proverbial kid in a candy store. Each of the first day ceremonies I attended were standing room only. I was among those privileged to have a close-up view. A first day of issue ceremony for Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives was included in the opening session.

We also caught the 400th Anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s Survey of America and the Washington 2006 souvenir sheet programs. The Champlain issue particularly interested me. It was issued jointly with Canada on May 28, the same day that U.S. Rep. John M. McHugh took part in a first day ceremony for the 39-cent commemorative at Fort Ticonderoga.

In my excitement, I had many senior moments, forgetting to photograph or record the names of those I met and/or photographed. A particularly heart-warming aspect of the opening ceremonies was when Postmaster General John E. Potter introduced a young man

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W2006 — Continued from Page 20

who is a victim of Crohn’s Disease, a chronic autoimmune disease from which my son also suffers. The young man’s wish, accomplished through the Make a Wish Foundation, was to meet the postmaster general and ultimately to have a stamp issued calling attention to his disease. I later met the young man at one of the booths, and wished him well.

On the show floor, U.S. Postal Service team members patiently offered a choice of can-cels to the thousands who stood in line, and cash registers rang up sale after sale of the new issues. Jean D. Schlademan of Stamp Services volunteered to send me educational material when I mentioned that I was looking for things for a friend who heads a junior stamp club.

A memorable moment was when I asked a young lady who had helped produce the Won-ders of America Coloring Postcards booklet for her autograph. Amused and amazed by my request, she was a good sport, and we had a lot of fun as she signed the booklet for me. (I had purchased the booklet because it included 10 of the Wonders stamps, thus eliminating hav-ing to stand in line to buy them). I also won a raffle for a limited edition souvenir engraving.

In the Kids Zone, I realized the huge box of U.S. and worldwide stamps I had sent were only a minuscule portion of what the youngsters were digging into.

We had some stimulating conversations with total strangers while waiting in line on several occasions. I even met Ann M. Triggle while riding in an elevator. I had previously written about Ann, a Buffalo Stamp Club and RPA member, in charge of W2006 awards.

At one of the first day ceremonies I ran into APS Vice President Alan Parsons. Fédération Internationale de Philatélie President Koh Seow Chuan autographed my program when we met in the hallway. I had opted out of wait-ing in line for his signature on opening day.

Another surprise was learning about the Pennsylvania Postal History Society. Al-

though I’m a native and longtime Pennsylvania resident, I was unaware of this group.I knew there would be many competitive and non-competitive exhibits, but I was

nevertheless overwhelmed by frame after frame of philatelic information — reportedly 60,000 pages worth. We chose a few thematics to peruse, and they were all exceptional.

A disappointment was John Lennon’s album, exhibited by the National Postal Mu-seum. All that was visible under the glass was the front page, where the famous Beatle had scrawled his childhood signature.

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W2006 — Continued from Page 22

Although it was exhausting, my husband and I both found the show exciting and edu-cational, and we enjoyed the trip. All the organizers and officers of W2006 deserve to be congratulated for a great show. I’m looking forward to the next U. S. International Phila-telic Exhibition — NY2016, already in the planning stages. It will be held in New York City from May 22–29, 2016, but personally I think W2006 will be a tough act to follow.

Show ScenesClockwise: Convention banner; Cheryl Edg-comb and Walter Kreitz, Scouts on Stamps Society International; Nikhil Rajan, 10, of Victor, shelves books in the literature read-ing room; customers use the floor to peruse Coverman’s stock; and John J. Nunes and Angelo Komatsoulis of Montréal.

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26 Stamp Insider

Fort Ticonderoga Ceremony for Champlain StampsBy William R. Hanson, MD

May 28 was a picture-perfect day for an outdoor first day ceremony. The sun shone through a cloudless sky; the temperature was perfect; and the gentle breeze off

beautiful Lake Champlain wafting through the huge tent was delightful. As we walked onto the grounds we were greeted by a U.S. Postal Service representative who presented us with the official first day covers and programs.

In 50 plus years of stamp collecting and designing I must have attended a couple hundred first day ceremonies, and probably emceed half of them. This was one of the nicest I’ve at-tended, probably because the speak-ers spoke of the significance of the issue and the man and event commemorated, rather than just about stamps.

When the activities started Dorian McWain and I were seated in the front row, be-tween Postmaster Linda Osborne, Cantor Anne Charboneau, and the two women sign-interpreters, so we were in a perfect position to hear and see perfectly. After the ceremo-nies came the traditional signing of programs and covers, this was as well organized as the rest of the program.

Two stamps have had their debut at Fort Ticonderoga, NY, and it has been my pleasure to attend both. The first, on Sept. 18, 1955, was my 10th birthday, my folks stopped there on the way to our vacation in New Hampshire so I could personally get my first day pro-grams for the three-cent Fort Ticonderoga bicentennial stamp. I still have them.

I was disappointed that Canada Post didn’t deign to send even a low-level official to this important event for the people of upper New York and Vermont. Ms. Osborne saw to it that the Canadian flag was displayed and O Canada was beautifully rendered, but no Canadian representative was present, in sharp contrast to 1955 when the Canadian Ambassador, the Girl Guides of Quebec, and the Queen Mother’s Toronto Black Watch participated. Perhaps an indication of the current tensions between our two nations over the border security question?

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Recalling Hiram BinghamOrest Lewinter of Albany,

the son of a Holocaust survivor and a philatelist, has two reasons to admire Hiram Bingham IV who was one of those honored on the Distinguished American Dip-lomats stamps issued at Washington 2006. A few months ago, former Secretary of State Colin Powell gave a posthumous award for constructive dissent to him. Bingham entered the diplomatic service and was posted to Marseilles as Vice Consul in 1939. The Roosevelt administration, in deference to Marshal Petain’s puppet Vichy regime, ordered its rep-resentatives in Marseilles not to grant visas to Jews. The U.S. was neutral at the time.

Bingham opposed the policy and granted more than 2,500 visas to Jews and other refugees, including artists Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the family of writer Thomas Mann. He sheltered Jews in his home, obtained forged identity papers to help them travel, worked with the French un-derground to smuggle them into Spain or across the Mediterranean, and con-tributed to their expenses out of his own pocket.

He was transferred to Argentina in 1941, where he later annoyed his superiors by reporting on movements of Nazis.

Eventually he was forced out of the diplomatic service and died nearly penniless in 1988. Little was known of his activities until his son found some letters in his belong-ings after his death.


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Logo, Logo — Who’s Got the Logo?By Albert W. Starkweather

Few U.S. Postal Service customers and philatelists these days realize that the familiar logo that appears on the USPS Web site and most of its products is not its official seal.

That honor belongs to the logo designed for the newly created U.S. Postal Service in 1971. Famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy was its creator.

Although former Postmaster General Marvin T. Runyon ordered the current logo in the 1990, the Loewy design remains the official seal. Runyon wanted a more dynamic image, which became known as the sonic eagle. Some less impressed critics have suggested that it re-sembles a praying nun when it is turned vertically and the snout of a pig when it is inverted.

On July 1, 1971, the U.S. Post Office Department officially renamed itself the United States Postal Service. An eight-cent stamp (Scott 1396) bearing the Loewy logo was issued to mark the event. To promote the change, the USPS gave away a free cacheted envelope with the purchase of the stamp. A total of 39,321 post offices celebrated the change, spark-ing a fad in which collectors attempted to get as many July 1, 1971 cancels as possible.

Loewy (1893–1986) designed many of the corporate logos and objects that became defining images of the period between the 1930s and the early 1960s, such as the Lucky Strike cigarette package, the rounded Coke bottle, the Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 electric locomotive, the Greyhound bus, the Avanti automobile, and Air Force One.

Born in France, Loewy translated a distinctly European sense of style into dozens of American industrial objects and gave household appliances an almost unprecedented visual command within a space. He also realized that image is one of the most important facets in moving product and he paid great attention to both his personal appearance and that of his com-pany. More about him may be found at www.raymondloewy.com.


Remembering A. Scott CrossfieldBy William R. Hanson, MD

On April 19 the world of aviation lost one of its leading lights, Albert Scott Cross-field, Jr., the farmer’s son, as he often referred to himself, Scotty to everyone else. His

achievements during his 84 years would take many pages of this magazine. He received the Collier Trophy in 1961 for his contributions to aeronautics/astronautics.

He was one of the test pilots of the Bell X-1 rocket research plane. At the controls of the Bell X-2 he became the first man to achieve Mach 2. As an aeronautical engineer he helped design the North American X-15 aero-spaceship, and then was its first test pilot, unof-ficially taking it to Mach 3. Eventually the X-15s were to reach speeds of Mach 6.70 and seven of its pilots were awarded Astronaut wings for flights to the lower reaches of outer space. (The X planes are depicted on the current U.S. priority and express mail stamps.)

Crossfield was a bit of a prophet. While on a 1951 visit to the Navy’s pressure-suit labora-tory in Philadelphia he examined and tested their David Clark Model 7 pressure suit in the high altitude chamber, commenting on the suit’s role in the future: “We might be walking around on the Moon before you know it.” With modifications, many instituted by Crossfield, Clark’s suits would be worn by the X-15 plots in their record-breaking flights, become the standard full-pressure suit of the Air Force, protect the Mercury and Gemini astronauts and be the basis for the Apollo moon-walking suit. “Before you know it” was a mere 18 years.

Crossfield made his final X-15 flight on Dec. 6, 1960, then went on to oversee quality and reliability of North American’s products such as the Apollo Command and Service Modules and the Saturn II booster, leaving North American in 1966 for other responsible

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Rare Perf Error Block Discovered

John Kellas of McLeod Stamp & Coin Company, Inc. in Rochester has discovered the largest known 1917 Washington block containing a transitional perf block of four (Scott

498g). He discovered the one-cent flat plate block of 25 in late May while searching his stock of Washington–Franklin issues to fill a customer’s want list. The margins of the origi-nal envelope (inset) bear a $2.48 sale price, with one stamp free due to a trivial gum peel.

The horizontal gauge 10 perforations occur in the block of four at the far right between the second and third rows of stamps. The remaining perforations are gauge 11. The newly discovered block has its original gum and was never hinged. The previously known largest multiple is a block of six. Kellas’ block is from plate 13366, while previous errors were at-tributed to plates 10645 and 10656. Scott lists a mint single never hinged at $7,500. Kellas is exploring various channels for sale of the item.

The error occurred when the BEP replaced a damaged segment of a male perforator, which punched the holes. The mismatched perf 10 segment tracked its perf 11 counter-part for the beginning of the row, then misperfed the row between the block of four, and punched correctly for the balance of the row.

The piece, identified only as Scott 498, was moved into the second floor inventory area of the current shop when the late Andy Hale relocated in 1990.

— George T. Fekete and Albert W. Starkweather


Youth & Philately Robert Finnegan

10 O’Neill Drive, Oneonta NY 13820-1154e-mail: [email protected]

Download page at www.nystampclubs.org

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Mounting Duplicate Stamps

Working with juniors for a number of years, I have no-ticed that they very often go to one of two extremes

with their respective collections. They will place every stamp they own in Baggies or go out and spend loads of cash on an expensive album. I discourage both. I encour-age our beginning collectors to separate their single issues from any duplicates. This in itself takes a great deal of time with the beginner.

I encourage them to create an album for just their dupli-cates at first. We simply purchase hinges and rather than spend a fortune on a stamp album, we create our own with a simple loose-leaf binder and, you guessed it, loose-leaf paper. We then create cubes and rectangular shapes with rulers to provide room for respective stamps.

As simple as an activity as this seems, it does take longer with the real young collectors. At times, I have reproduced my own sheet on a copier for the third and fourth graders. I explain that this makes it easier for other stamp collectors to go through the duplicates and trading becomes much easier.

Have you ever seen youngsters swapping? I tell my youngsters that this is the only man-ner in which I will trade with them. This usually acts as a motivator because they all want to trade with their Stamp Club advisor. Try this simple approach and make trading easier for the kids. By the way, we discuss not hinging any of our unused issues.

Storage TipsAlways try to prevent dam-age from folding, creasing, high humidity that can lead to mold and attract insects, bright light that may cause fading, or chemical damage from acidic paper or unsafe non-philatelic plastics.

Some copier toners are fu-gitive and may permanently transfer to objects coming in contact with them. — aws


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The Story Behind the Stamp by Daniel A. PiazzaSouth Korea, 2005

In a March 2004 issue of the journal Sci-ence, Dr. Woo Suk Hwang, a professor of

biotechnology at Seoul National University claimed to have successfully cloned a hu-man embryo using genetic material taken from 282 ova and then extracted 11 lines of stem cells from it.

South Korea issued a 220-won commemorative stamp on Feb. 12, 2005, declaring Hwang’s success “another step forward in liberating humankind from incurable diseases.” The stamp has two vignettes: extraction of a nucleus from a mature human egg on the left; and a paraplegic rising from a wheelchair on the right — symbolic of the hope that the research offered “to the many” suffering from heart, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other incurable diseases.

A research team member alleged that Hwang had pressured women into do-nating their eggs and had even bought some of them, both violations of the Hel-sinki Declaration on humanexperimentation. The univer-sity launched an ethics inves-tigation and declared on Jan. 10, 2006 that the allegations were true. Moreover, Hwang had faked the results of his re-search and it seemed unlikely that the 11 lines of cloned stem cells ever existed.

The next day, Korea Post withdrew the stamps from sale; Hwang was suspended from the University and then finally dismissed. He has since been indicted for mis-appropriation of millions of dollars in research funds.

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Stamp collectors work hard to create their dream collec-tions. Dealers may spend a lifetime building their stock. We understand this, and we treat them with honesty and respect.We’ve spent well over $33 million on stamps in the last three years. Give us a call and put Mystic’s impressive buying power to work for you.


CommunicationsShare your opinions!

Send to: Albert W. Starkweather5520 Gunn Hwy 1406, Tampa, FL 33624–2847

e-mail [email protected]

Reactions to the First Stamp Insider in ColorA Real Beauty: The first full-color issue of the Stamp In-sider … is a real beauty! Our hobby is very visual, and color does matter. Quality of content continues at a high level. It’s really a shame that this excellent bi-monthly publica-tion is little seen outside New York.

Ada M. Prill, Rochester

Members Enthusiastic: The new look of the Stamp Insider is super. FLSC members were very enthusiastic about it.

James Darnell, Finger Lakes Stamp Club

What a Difference: Congratulations on your full color issue. What a difference!

Peter D. Martin, Nutmeg Stamp Sales, Danbury, CT

Wonderful Job: You sure are a show-off! And this is a compliment. The color in the Stamp Insider is beautiful. You’ve done a wonderful job. I also really liked your first issue of The Philatelic Communicator. What more can I say except that I thank you for what you are doing for philately.

Karen Weigt, Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs, Middleton, WI

Great job with color, design, and printing. And the club news is always interesting. You probably do not know me, but in the past 10 years I have judged at several stamp shows held under the auspices of the Federation.

Roger Quinby, Fort Orange Stamp Club

Simply Stunning: The May–June issue of the Stamp Insider is simply stunning in color. The journal is a credit both to its editor and to the Federation. This new format shall make it impossible for any sane stamp club in the state to remain outside the Federation.

Daniel Piazza, Vice President, Syracuse Stamp Club

Ithaca Approves: The … issue … met with loud expressions of approval even from the usu-ally indifferent members of our club. … I found the article about Sergio Sismondo especially interesting. I had heard of him but was not aware that he practically lives on my doorstep!

Yoram Szekely, Ithaca Philatelic Society

Editor’s note: A great deal of credit for the Stamp Insider’s transition to color must be shared with Norman Cohen of Adventure Graphics of Dallas, TX, whose generosity made it financially viable.


APS Chapter 1276Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Fridays most months atGlens Falls National Bank Community Room, 13 South St.

Dr. W. R. Hanson, 78 W. Notre Dame, Glens Falls, NY [email protected], 518-798-9592

Directions — Call Joe Kopczak before 9 p.m. at 518-761-0020

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Stamps, Scenery, Racing: A Perfect Mix

We welcome collectors who may live a long way from Glens Falls, but might like to mix a little philately into their vacation at beautiful Lake George or the Saratoga track

this summer. Our enthusiasm makes up for our limited numbers, so please join us.Meetings are scheduled July 7 and 14 and Aug. 4 and 18. The programs are TBA, but

selling and trading goes on at each meeting and non-members are invited to participate. As always, all are encouraged to bring something interesting to talk about. It doesn’t have to be valuable; we’ve had a grand time discussing treasures found in a dealers junk box.

On July 29 we will participate in the U.S. Postal Service’s Silver Blaze Station at the Sara-toga track. Hanson has designed a pictorial cancel depicting the distinctive roofline of the track and portraits of Silver Blaze and Sherlock Holmes, which will be applied without charge. On sale will be Doc’s special cacheted covers for the Silver Blaze Race. They are available by mail for $4.50 postpaid from William R. Hanson, MD, 78 W. Notre Dame, Glens Falls, NY 12801. Covers will be shipped as soon as possible after July 30.

No. 5 in Hanson’s current series of U.S. first day covers with a Sherlock Holmes tie-in has been released for the Sugar Ray Robinson stamp. In the case of The Gloria Scott, Holmes tells Watson he en-gaged in the sport of boxing as college student. Holmes is shown in his school boxing uniform, and since we don’t know if it was Oxford or Cambridge, we’ve shown the letter from the left side. A total of 100 signed and numbered covers were produced. They are $10 postpaid from Hanson.

John J. Nunes’ talk on the philately of the non-German Nazi Legions had to be postponed as he was in Washington helping a dealer-friend who was ill. We’ve rescheduled his talk for Sept. 15. Perhaps this is just as well; attendance picks up in the fall and John’s talks deserve a wide audience. In his absence we had a general gabfest and exchange of philatelic souvenirs. One of our members had been to the big show in Washington bringing back goodies for all of us and Postmaster Linda Osborne of Ticonderoga had kindly given me enough first day covers and ceremony programs for the Champlain stamps for all our members.


APS Chapter 37Meets at 7:30 p.m. twice monthly on Fridays at VFW Leonard Post,

2450 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga, except June, July, and August

Alfred Carroccia, 152 Windmill Road, West Seneca, NY [email protected], 716-674-0302

Club Elects Four Directors

The club elected Casey Kielbasa, Tim Carey, Alan Davis, and Bennie Passantino to three-year terms on its Board of Directors at the May 5 meeting. Kielbasa and Carey are in-

cumbents. Davis and Passantino replace Fred Laufer and Ann Triggle who decided not to seek reëlection. Many thanks to Fred and Ann for their service to the club. The Board will meet on July 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the VFW Leonard Post to elect the officers for 2006–2007.

The club ended its year with a spectacular presenta-tion of western New York postal history by Irv Tesmer who brought two gigantic binders of covers spanning 18th century Buffalo postal history. Presented were nu-merous advertising covers from hotels and businesses long gone and gems from the Millard Fillmore era including free franking examples.

Several members attended the Washington 2006 show. Kielbasa and Jeff Lazroe so-licited interested members to make a road trip to catch the first several days. Irv Tesmer indicated that he was incorporating the show in a family vacation.Two Club Members DieThe club lost two members this spring. Walter Kielbasa died on April 9 after a long illness. A former Board member, he joined the club in the 1970s and was the founder of Tri-K Stamps. He collected the world and worked hard for the benefit of the hobby. His wife, Louise, and his son, Casey, are both members and continue Tri-K as a source for stamps and supplies. John W. Van Rysdam died on June 4, also after a long illness. He was the editor of the club newsletter from 1998 to 2003, which he typed on his typewriter and was the king of cut and paste. His insightful prose and tongue and cheeky candor enlightened the issues of the day.

The club does not meet June, July, or August. The next meeting will be Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the VFW Leonard Post. The annual picnic will be held in July at the home of Bob and Mary Meegan at a date to be determined. The club wishes everyone a happy and safe summer.


Central New York FDC Society AFDCS Chapter 53

John A. Cali, 613 W. 4th St., Fulton, NY [email protected], 315-592-4441

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Commemorating Clinton’s FollyBy Judy Routson

One hundred fifty years after the first spadeful of dirt was dug for the Erie Canal, first day of issue ceremonies were held on July 4, 1967, in Rome, for the Erie Canal sesqui-

centennial commemorative stamp.

The 8th U. S. Air Force Band provided musical selections; Rome Mayor William A. Valen-tine, gave the welcome; the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Edward P. Buttimer gave the invocation; and the Rev. Jennings B. Reid gave the benediction. U.S. Rep. Alexander Pirnie of the 32nd Congres-sional District introduced the speaker, Assistant Postmaster General Ralph W. Nicholson.

A host of distinguished guests, including the stamp designer, New York City artist George Samerjan, were introduced by Parker F. Scripture, chairman of the Erie Canal Sesquicentennial Committee. Also present was Attorney DeWitt Clinton, a descendent of Gov. DeWitt Clinton at whose 1817 request the New York state legislature provided $7 million to finance the project which originally was derided as Clinton’s Folly.

An engineering marvel of the 19th century, the Erie Canal cost $7 million. It was 40 feet wide and four feet deep, stretching 363 miles from the Hudson River just north of Troy west to Lake Erie at Buffalo. Eighty-three locks lifted boats 568 feet, the difference in altitude between the river and lake. With the exception of a few places where black powder was used to blast through rock formations, all 363 miles were built by the muscle power of men and horses.

After eight years of construction, the canal opened on Oct. 26, 1825. The first boats had 30-ton capacity, being replaced later by 90-foot, 100-ton capacity giants. The Erie Canal provided low cost transportation that opened the midwest and made New York City a great port. Within 15 years of the canal’s opening, New York was the busiest port in America.


APS Chapter 781Meets at 7:45 p.m. on the 1st Monday September–Juneat Hamilton Public Library on the Green, 13 Broad St.

Braden Houston, President, 2063 Spring St. Hamilton, NY [email protected], 315-824-2237

When Snow White Doubled as CinderellaBy Robert Betz

Prior to World War II, during the Great Depression, poster stamps were a very popular collectible. Many food manufacturers, among others, included them in their packag-

ing as an incentive for continuing purchases. The collectivity of the item was increased by the vendor submitting its designs to the National Poster Stamp Society of Chicago for its recognition and to receive an official certificate number. The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sheet bears No. 47 and publicized both the 1937 Disney movie and Armour. The was the first American feature-length animated film and the first Technicolor feature.

Snow White finally made it onto actual U.S. stamps is-sued in 1998 and 2005. The poster stamp sheet is worth about $40.


APS Chapter 1196Meets at 2 p.m. on the 3rd Sunday at Dansville Town

Hall, 14 Clara Barton St., September through June

Susan Edwards, P.O. Box 574, Dansville, NY [email protected], 585-335-8663

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Coin-O-Rama Prize Winners Announced

Our March 19, meeting was conducted by Ed Perry with 28 members present. The topic of the meeting was the Coin-O-Rama. We needed volunteers to sign up to help

set up the show, and also volunteer to work at the door and help with the food concession. As it turned out we had a good turn out for the help. We have some new junior members and their fathers, and they were a big help this year. We also had enough help at the door and for the food concession.

We had a good turn out for the show in April. We sold approximately 800 tickets. We had a few stamp dealers and a baseball card dealer to go along with our many coin dealers. We had door prize drawers every hour and our big drawing at the end of the show.

First prize winner of the $10 gold piece was Peter Edwards of Dansville. Second prize winner of 10 silver dollars was J. Wyatt Wolcott; third prize winner of a prestige proof set was Jody Bennett; fourth prize winner of a 2005 proof set was Bob Derrenbacher; and fifth prize winner of a 2005 state quarters proof set was Gordon Hyde.

We hope every one had a good time. If you have any questions or ideas for improvement or changes in the Coin-O-Rama please e-mail Susan Edwards at [email protected]. Next year’s Coin-O-Rama will be held at the Middle School in Dansville instead of its pre-vious location, the Senior High School.

Federation and Stamp Insider Changes

Joining the Federation and Stamp Insider family are the newly formed North Country Stamp Club in Plattsburgh and the long-established Staten Island Philatelic Society

whose first pages appear in this issue. We welcome them both.Our first staff writer, Judy Routson, has tendered her resignation due to increasing

family commitments. She has done a fine job for the Stamp Insider and will be missed.Daniel A. Piazza of Syracuse, who contributes the Story Behind the Stamp column, has

been named a contributing editor by Stamp Insider Editor Albert W. Starkweather. In ad-dition to continuing his column, Piazza will be writing on assignment as well as assisting with some editorial chores, including proof reading.

Readers will discover that their copies of the journal are now being mailed directly from the printer in Dallas, TX. Addresses, all of which have been upgraded to zip +4, are being sprayed directly onto the back cover. This should ensure timely delivery and elimi-nate late and non-delivery problems we have experienced in the past. The printer uses the highest level of security to protect the mailing lists he maintains, including ours.


APS Chapter 237Meets at 7 p.m. the 3rd Tuesday at Five Star Bank

Community Room, 351 North Main St. (rear entrance)

Alan Parsons, 809 Holley Road, Elmira, NY [email protected], 607-732-0181

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Club Preparing for an Active Summer

After a busy winter and spring we hope for a summer lull, but not so fast! The club doesn’t rest as it meets during the summer.

Volunteers are needed for the club’s table at the annual Elmira College Octagon Fair on Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While we will promote the hobby in general, special empha-sis will be placed on recruiting new members. If you can help, contact Judy Stewart at club meetings, call her at 732-7075 or e-mail her at [email protected]. Our 31st Stepex show at Arnot Mall will be the following week. Help is needed for set up the evening of Oct. 5 and morning of Oct. 6, manning the club table during the show, and for take down on Oct. 7 beginning at 6 p.m. Summer is a good time to prepare exhibits. For help getting started, the club has the user-friendly third edition of The Philatelic Exhibitors Handbook, released at Washington 2006. It was revised and updated by member Ada Prill of Rochester.

Jules Hojnowski, who helped prepare packets for Stamp Camp USA to use at Washing-ton 2006, ended up sorting 17,500 off-paper U.S. stamps into 175 packets of 100 each — 70 commemoratives and 30 definitives. On April 29 Neal Walker who also prepared packets, Jules, and Alan Parsons went to Knoxville, PA, where Neal and Jules delivered their packets and all three participated in a Stamp Camp work bee to prepare for Washington 2006.

Club Promotion: The club assists the Elmira Post Office in distributing the 35 Stamp Insider copies it receives. Gordon Stratton, Galer Perreault, and Clayton Spangenberg took copies of the May/June issue with an Elmira Stamp Club membership leaflet insert to place in post offices and libraries in their respective neighborhoods.Programs

July 18 — AuctionAug. 15 — APS slide show: French Balloon Posts

Meeting Notes: In our May/June page, Clayton Spangenberg was mistakenly credited for the two club lots sold in the March auction. Credit should have gone to life member Carl Morrell. April — 20 attended. After the business meeting President Mike Breed pre-sented the APS slide show The Division of the Union. May—27 attended. Breed delivered the first quarter treasurer’s report in the absence of Don Dolan. One-page exhibits were shown and discussed by Clayton Spangenberg (revenues), Mike Breed (Elmira glider meet covers), Doc Hammes (chess on stamps), and Marlin Stewart (progressive trial color proofs from the Philippines). Breed called an auction of 25 lots assisted by Judy Stewart and Alex McLeod. 14 lots sold for $57.50, including two club lots selling for $11. From the two club lots plus its commission on the other lots the club took in a total of $15.70.


APS Unit 28www.esphs.org

Meets the 1st Sunday May & October

Membership information: Maris TirumsP.O. Box 5475, Albany NY [email protected], 518-438-1657

Silas Wright and WrightsburghBy Gerald F. Wiley

The Wrightsburgh post office, located at Chamberlin (Chamberlain) Corners in St. Lawrence County, was established in 1841. Ralph Chamberlin, the first postmaster,

was proprietor of the Temperance Tavern, a stop on the underground railroad. The post office at Wrightsburgh closed in 1848, having been in operation less than eight years.

The post office is thought to have been named for Silas Wright, Jr., then U. S. Senator from New York and later New York State governor. He also served as state comptroller. His death at age 52 in Canton on Aug. 27, 1847 ended speculation that he might be a presidential candidate in 1848.

Both covers shown here were mailed in 1844, one at Wrightsburgh with postmaster Ralph Chamberlin’s free frank, the other at Canton with Wright’s free frank as U. S. Senator.

Wright’s likeness appears on the set of eight customs fee stamps issued in 1887 for the New York Custom House (Scott Nos. RL1–8). It also appeared on a $50 gold certificate from 1882 until about 1923.


APS Chapter 428Meets at 8 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at the Sawdust Cafe, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva

James Darnell, 136 Lock St., Clyde, NY [email protected], 315-923-7355

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Club Members Enjoy Two Social Events

The club recently enjoyed its two main social events of the year— a dish-to-pass supper on May 24 at the Sawdust Cafe and our annual picnic with an anything auction on June 28

on Seneca Lake hosted by member Janet Salone. A great time was had by all at both events.Summer finds us easing back a bit with our philatelic activities, as we will be meeting

only once instead of the usual twice a month during, July, August, and September.A few of our members traveled to Washington, DC for the Washington 2006 World

Philatelic Exhibition. Vice President David Himes, Robert LaBelle, and John and Virginia Bourke reported on their experiences at our June 14 meeting.

The club recently prepared two cachets. The first, for the 39-cent Purple Heart stamp, fea-tures the front and reverse sides of the medal along with the associated bar. It may be ordered by sending a #10 sase and $2 for each cover to Gil Lewis, 502 Rt. 88 S., Newark, NY 14513.

The second has both the 37-cent Ronald Reagan commemorative stamp on Feb. 9, 2005 and the 39-cent Reagan stamp on June 14. The cover will have a picture of a smiling Reagan backed by a row of U.S. flags. It was jointly produced by the club and the Galen Historical Society of Clyde. It may be ordered by sending a #10 sase and $3 per cover to Galen Histori-cal Society, c/o James Darnell, 136 Lock St., Clyde, NY 14433.New Job: As he was composing this column, Jim Darnell was preparing for a new job as a substitute rural mail carrier for the local post office.Programs

July 26 — Finger Lakes Stamp Club History Trivia QuizAug. 23 — APS slide presentation: A Visit to the U. S. Postal Museum

Purple Heart EventThe first day of issue cer-emony for the 39-cent version of the Purple Heart stamp was held at Arling-ton National Cemetery on May 26. Finger Lakes Stamp Club is offering a first day cover for the event.

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APS Chapter 138Incorporating Women’s Seal and Stamp Club

Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Tuesday at Bethany Reformed Church Community Center, 760 New Scotland Ave., Albany

Maris Tirums, P.O. Box 5475, Albany NY [email protected], 518-438-1657

Italian Forces Mail, Auction Programs Popular

On April 11, member Jerry La Mastra entertained us with a very enjoyable

and educational presentation of Italian Forces Mail. This was early 20th century up to World War II material with regimental military post cards, early unit post cards, censored, World War I army, military propaganda, Red Cross, and naval cards, among others.

The ever-popular Spring Members Auc-tion was held on April 25 with frantic and heated bidding on a variety of philatelic items. Thanks to Maris Tirums for organiz-ing the event.Tirums Receives Seifert AwardThe highlight of our year was our annual banquet on May 24. For the first time it was held at the Orchard Restaurant and was at-tended by 26 members and guests. Everyone enjoyed the good food and good company.

The evening also saw the presentation of the first Bill Seifert Award, given to the member who, like Bill, is most willing to share this great hobby.There were eight members eligible with five getting one or more votes, but the clear ma-jority went to Maris Tirums.

The club’s officers and board of directors wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer and are looking forward to seeing everyone in September.Programs

The schedule for the coming year will be in the September–October Stamp Insider.

Award WinnerMaris Tirums displays his award. He also created the souvenir maximum card, top, for the club’s 80th anniversary on May 23.G

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APS Chapter 1227Incorporating Community Stamp Club

Meets at 7 p.m. on the 4th Thursday exceptJuly and August at Rome Municipal Building, Second Floor

Lavinia A. Tilton, 8081 Passer Road, Blossvale, NY 13308-2232315-337-8841

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Club Members Meet with Home Schoolers

Four members of the club met with the local Home Teaching Group. There were more than 20 youngsters with their mothers attending the talk. Five were already collectors

with one wannabe.The club welcomes a new member, Pat Hash of Rome. Lavinia A. Tilton has taken over

as acting secretary of the club, replacing for-mer Secretary Joseph O. Christofaro.Fort Stanwix Day CoverPlanning has been completed for our Fort Stanwix day cachet on Aug. 3. Joe Occhipinti designed the special cancella-tion, which has been submitted to the U.S. Postal Service.

Steve Stawiarz designed the cachet. The covers will go on sale Aug. 3. To order, send $3 and a sase to Lavinia A. Tilton, 8018 Passer Road, Blossvale, NY 13308.

Meetings resume in September after our summer hiatus.

Mr. and Mrs. Routson Go To WashingtonKeith Routson gets up close and personal with Mr. Zip at Washington 2006, while Judy enjoys a photo op with Ben Franklin at the Wonders of America exhibit.


APS Chapter 1193Meets at 7 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday except July and August;

contact John A. Cali for location

John A. Cali, 613 W. 4th St., Fulton, NY [email protected], 315-592-4441

Club Taking Summer Break

The club adjourns during July and August and will resume in September. Our activities will not disappear entirely. We plan to participate at the Oswego County Fair in Sandy Creek.

Members of the area stamp, coin, and postcards groups may join us at this July. Hannibal will celebrate its bicentennial and our club hopes to participate during this momentous time. The celebrations are expected to continue into October. Club Secretary John A. Cali has received a graphic to use in creating a pictorial cancel for the Hannibal Bicentennial Committee.

The club is still seeking a permanent meeting place and will meet in members’ homes until a site is found. Sum-mer is a good time to look as we relax from our usual meeting activity. However, our individual collecting interests will likely continue throughout the year. Anyone interested in our group may contact the secretary.

Cali in ActionJohn A. Cali, secretary of the Fulton Stamp Club, is shown in action at two pre-vious Syracuse Stamp Club events. He manned the Ju-nior Philatelists of America booth, top, in May 1992 at the club’s Kids Stamp Show in Tully. He was flanked by Ron Traino, left, and Ray Stummer, right, at the SSC’s sale of covers for the 25th anniversary of the Erie Canal Museum on Oct. 25, 1987, in Syracuse.


APS Chapter 210Meets from 7:30–9:30 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Wednesday

in Room 384, Morrison Hall at Cornell University

Yoram B. Szekeley, 104 Klinewoods Rd., Ithaca, NY [email protected], 607-257-5346

Club Meeting Throughout Summer

The club will maintain its regular schedule throughout July and August. The first meet-ings of the months will feature kiloware and APS sales boxes, while the second meet-

ings will have auctions.Kiloware for the last few meeting has been supplied by a dealer on the honor system,

as well as by one of the club members. Enthusiastic response to both meetings offerings is helping keep interest in the club alive.

The club currently has 12 members, and recently had a member return after an ab-sence on invitation of Treasurer Yoram B. Szekely.Skipping A Year on CataloguesThe club decided in 2005 to buy Scott catalogues only every other year due to escalat-ing costs. The club has purchased the 2006 catalogues and will not buy another set until 2008.

Shrines To Commemorate Kateri Tekakwitha

This year marks the 350th birthday of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American known as the Lily of the Mohawks and a candidate for sainthood. She was born in Os-

sernenon, now known as Auriesville, and was baptized in nearby Fonda.Two special pictorial postmarks will be available in the Mohawk Valley — on July 2 at the

National Kateri Shrine on Route 5 in Fonda and on July 9 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs on Route 5S in Auriesville. Postal stations at both sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cacheted covers may be ordered for $2 each from the National Kateri Shrine, P.O. Box 627, Fonda, NY 12068-0627 and the Tekakwitha League, 136 Shrine Road, Auriesville, NY 12016. Bob Renaud of Carthage designed the Fonda cachet and Joe Izillo designed the Auriesville cachet. Renaud will be at both shrines with his original oil paintings of Kateri.


APS Chapter 1334Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday at the Tillapaugh home,

28 Pioneer St., Cooperstown, except in July and August

Ellen Tillapaugh, 28 Pioneer St., Cooperstown, NY [email protected], 607-547-5646

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Club Shares American Philatelist

The club has its copy of the American Philatelist magazine, which is sent to each member organization, directly to the Village of Cooperstown Library, where it is available for

everyone to read. This is an idea that can be adopted by most clubs whose members are also APS members and already receive their own copies of the magazine The club also has donated covers provided by Albert Keck to the Schenevus School Youth Program.Programs

Sept. 5 — Brooklyn Dodgers Covers by Albert KeckOct. 3 — What Have You Got?Nov. 7 — History of Mr. Zip by Ellen Tillapaugh

TPA Announces Youth Holiday Stamp Contest

The Texas Philatelic Association, Inc. is seeking entries for its 18th annual Youth Holiday Stamp Design Contest for junior philatelists, 18 or younger. This contest includes Christ-

mas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or the holiday that the entrant’s family recognizes.All juniors are encouraged to enter regardless of where they live, even if they are not affili-

ated with a club. The age groups are 7 and younger, 8–9 years, 10–12 years, and 13–18 years.The first place winner’s entry will be featured on the cover of the November–December

issue of the TPA journal, The Texas Philatelist. The prize is a H. E. Harris Traveler Stamp Album for worldwide and U.S. stamps. The second-place winner will receive Kenneth A. Wood’s The Modern World, an atlas for stamp collectors. A little cash, stamps, and sup-plies will accompany both prizes. Youngsters winning first-place in each age division will win a philatelic fun packet plus a little stamp money. Each junior winning second- and third-places; tying for places; and honorable mentions in the three age groups will be sent a packet of surprises. All winners will have their artwork featured in The Texas Philatelist.

To enter the contest, design a stamp in color or black-and-white on white paper. Com-bine philatelic with a holiday themes. Be sure to include the name of the country and denomination on the stamp. Each entry should include the contestant’s name, address, age, collecting interest, and a brief explanation of the artwork.

Jane King Fohn, 10325 Little Sugar Creek, Converse, TX 78109-2409 must receive entries no later than Oct. 1. Entries may also be sent by e-mail to [email protected].

Information about the Texas Philatelic Association and a sample of the full-color pub-lication is available from Carol Arndt, P.O. Box 1095, Odessa, TX 79760-1095. The TPA’s Web site is at www.texasphilatelic.com.


Plattsburgh, New YorkMeets at 1 p.m. on the 2nd Saturday of each month in the second floor

meeting room of Plattsburgh Public Library, 19 Oak St.

Glenn A. Estus, P.O. Box 451, Westport, NY [email protected], 518-962-4558

New Club Issues Its First Covers

We issued a special ca-chet for the unveiling

of the 39-cent/51-cent U.S.–Canada Champlain souv-enir sheet on May 12 in Plattsburgh. The cachet was reused for the first day of is-sue ceremony in Ticonderoga on May 28. A couple of club members attended this event. Pictures of that ceremony may be viewed on the Empire State Postal History Society Web site: www.esphs.org.

Our newly established club has had three meetings since April. We have made contact with about 15 stamp collectors from Clinton, Franklin, and Essex counties in New York State and Franklin, Grand Isle, and Chittenden counties in Vermont. The club is still in formation. There are no officers and no dues. Money left from the disbanded Plattsburgh Stamp Club is being used to finance the initial operations. The April meeting was a get-to-know-each-other session. Glenn A. Estus presented a program on 2005 U.S. commemoratives. May was a Bring and Brag session. In June we hosted our first swap and trade–buy meeting.

You might ask why we have our meetings on Saturday afternoons: It’s a response to the changing demographics of stamp collecting. We are all getting older: It’s difficult for some of our members to drive at night, especially in the wintertime. By having the meetings in the ear-ly afternoon, even in December and January, it’s more likely that we can be home before dark, Also, with the price of fuel rising, members can plan a trip to Plattsburgh and do shopping, etc. with a spouse. Another reason was that the public library space is free; but the library isn’t open most nights. And the space is handicapped accessible, which becomes more important as we get older. Every club has a responsibility to meet the needs of all its members, not just those who are in good health and good shape. Is your club meeting those needs?

On a final note, we wish to thank the Federation for sponsoring our subscriptions to the Stamp Insider for a year. This is a great way to keep in touch with the rest of the state, especially since the next nearest New York State club is 100 miles from us.

If you on your way to Montréal to gamble at the casino or just to experience a European city in North America, stop in and say hello if we are having a meeting that weekend.

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APS Chapter 1442Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st Monday (one week later on legal

holidays) at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 109 S. Barry St.

Jack Searles, 733 Front St., Olean, NY [email protected], 716-392-1072

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Seven Dealers Signed Up for Olepex

So far seven dealers will be participating in Olepex 2006 on Sept. 9 at the John Ash Community Center, 112 N. Barry St. in Olean, according to show chair Fred Printz. He

added that arrangements already have been made for judges for the open competition.The club will be advertising the show in Mekeel’s, the American Philatelist, ATA Topical

Times, and the Stamp Insider. Dealer space at $35 per table is still available. Those interested may contact Ronald J.

Yeager at 814-362-4471, e-mail atlanticbb.net.Auction revenue: The monthly mini auction in May generated $91.25 in sales with 12 of 21 lots being sold.Programs

The next meeting will be held on July 10.

Starkweather Edits Journal for Writers

Stamp Insider Editor Albert W. Starkweather was named editor of The Philatelic Com-municator, quarterly journal of American Philatelic Society Writers Unit #30, in late

April by unit president Peter D. Martin.He succeeds the late Joseph E. Foley of Riva, MD, a former president of APS and jour-

nal editor from 1996 until the onset of his final illness late last year. Foley died on May 3.The purpose of Writers Unit #30 is to encourage and assist philatelic communication,

knowledge, and comradeship. Membership is open to any philatelic writer, editor, or pub-lisher — and anyone interested in philatelic communication. A dozen Federation club members also belong to the unit, including Associate Editor Heather Sweeting.

Membership information and sample copies are available from George Griffenhagen, secretary–treasurer, 2501 Drexel St., Vienna, VA 22180-6906. U.S. dues are $15 per year.

Allegany FDCOlean Area Stamp Club mailed its May newsletter with the Wonders of Amer-ica stamp which was issued on Sunday, May 27.


APS Chapter 728Meets at 6 p.m. on the 4th Monday at Faith United Church,

12 Mark Fitzgibbons Drive

Leigh LeClair, 212 Murray St., Oswego, NY [email protected] , 315-342-5653

Club Ends Its Season With a Picnic

The topic of the club’s May meeting was the stamps of Sweden. Several members brought in their Scandinavian stamps and shared them with the group. The June meeting was held at Breitbeck Park and was the club’s annual end-of-year pic-

nic. The club has adjourned for the summer months and resumes meetings in September.Long-time member Nicholas Todaro is considering moving from Oswego to Kansas

sometime in July.

Chilly PicnicSome members of the Os-wego Stamp club braved the cold wind at the end-of-year picnic on June 12 long enough to pose for a picture. From left: Secre-tary John A. Cali, David Orr, Lori Orr, President Leigh LeClair, Priscilla LeClair, and Nicholas Todaro.

Minetto Honoring Its First SettlerA special cancellation honoring the first

settler of Minetto, Schuyler Worden, will take place at the Magic In Minetto cel-ebration on Aug. 5.

This year marks the bicentennial of Worden’s birth. Both Worden cemetery and Worden drive were named after the man who is best known and remembered as the inven-tor of the Worden Grape, a varietal of the Concord, and Pear, a varietal of the Seckel.

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APS Chapter 207www.geocities.com/rpastamps

Meets at 7 p.m. on the 2nd & 4th Thursdayat Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, 1200 S. Winton Road

Joseph Doles, P.O. Box 10206, Brighton Sta., Rochester, NY [email protected], 585-621-3012

Club’s Benefits Outlined

Whether you’re a beginner or specialist, RPA offers many services and benefits. Our Hing es & Tongs newsletter has articles about collecting and events information. The phila-

telic library has several hundred books, magazines, and periodicals, including worldwide catalogues, which may be borrowed without cost by members. A buy/sell/trade session from 7–7:30 p.m. is followed by the formal meeting. A silent auction concludes most programs.Club FirstsOfficial meeting: March 26, 1913 at Hotel Rochester; dues $2 per year, 50 cents for juniors;Auction: Oct. 22, 1913 of U.S. and foreign stamps; $8.65 in sales, $1 going into the treasury;Banquet: January 1914, held jointly with Rochester Numismatic Association;Members’ competitive exhibit: March 25, 1914 of European countries, ending in a 5–5 tie;Woman member: June 1914, Mrs. Zimmerman never attended another meeting;Honorary member: D. Horetman named on Jan. 27, 1915;Expelled member: M. Ottly on Nov. 24, 1915 for failing to pay a dealer in Bath, England

$37.22 for stamps;Mail auction: May 20, 1964 with 1,129 lots receiving 4,100 bids; CV was $32,000, of

which $28,000 CV was sold for $7,200 at about 26% CV ;Champion of Champions & national philatelic literature competition:

Sept. 19–22, 1968;Ropex: September 24–26, 1971; andSouvenir card: Jan. 21, 1974 at Ropex / Topex ’74 with the 1954 George Eastman stamp.D

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In the Press RoomThomas M. Fortunato, left, chair of the Media Com-munications Committee atWashington 2006, checks out a press clipping with Don Schilling, a public rela-tions trainer, coach and con-sultant from southern Cal-ifornia, during the show. Schilling also conducts a phil-atelic blog.


APS Chapter 153Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st Monday

at Union Presbyterian Church, 1068 Park Ave.

Ronald K. Ratchford, 1105 Union St., Schenectady, NY [email protected], 518-374-3776

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First Rail Passenger Run Commemorated

On Aug. 9 1931, the club, together with the Schenectady Chamber of Commerce, spon-sored a cacheted cover celebrating the Centenary of Steam Railroading. There were

about 1,525 covers prepared with a printed cachet that depicted the De Witt Clinton on its first passenger run and a then modern New York Central Hudson, built by the Ameri-can Locomotive Co. (Alco-Schenectady) in Schenectady. The Hudson was a mainstay of the railroad’s passenger fleet.

The reverse side of the cover had three rubber-stamped signatures —Mayor Henry C. Fagal; Mills Ten Eyck, Chamber of Commerce president who became mayor in 1940; and S. N. Vaughn, Chamber manager. There were also a greetings imprint of the club and a sequential number.

A half-century later on Aug. 9, 1981, Ronald K. Ratchford, who is now the club histo-rian, was involved with a sesquicentennial cover for the 150th anniversary of this initial Mohawk & Hudson Rail Road passenger trip between Albany and Schenectady.

While the eastern and western termini for this passenger excursion trip would be with-in the current city boundaries, they were then on a relatively high plain area instead being at the much lower downtown areas near the banks of the Mohawk River for Schenectady and the Hudson River for Albany.

St. Lawrence International Stamp Club

The club has had two meetings on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River so far this year, but none on the American side because of declining membership. It meets

monthly at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday at Massena Library and on the third Tuesday at Cornwall, Ontario, Library. Contact person is Patrick R. Rourk, 3 Morton St., Norwood, NY 13668-1100, [email protected], 315-353-8892. New members are being sought.


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APS Chapter 814Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first 1st & 3rd Monday except July

and August at the Rev. Paul Kroon Center of Messiah Lutheran Church, 195 Jefferson Blvd., Annandale, Staten Island

Charles R. Carlson, 30 Hopping Ave., Staten Island, NY [email protected], 718-984-7880

Staten Island One of Oldest Societies in U.S.

Founded in 1884, this is among the oldest U.S. societies. In its early days, the club met monthly at a hotel on Canal Street in Staten Island’s Stapelton section. It was a large club

with corresponding and foreign members. SIPS was a founding member of the American Philatelic Society, then called the American Philatelic Association, owning one share. Early SIPS activities are unknown except as recorded in the journals of the APS and the Metropolitan Philatelist, house organ of J. W. Scott. SIPS published an early stamp album, the SIPS Perma-nent Album which were sold at Scott’s store in Manhattan. None apparently survived.

The society celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1894 with a banquet and a SIPS postal card with the inscription SIPS, 1884/Jubilee/1894 overprinted on U.S. postal card Scott UX11. The cards are somewhat rare, changing hands at $140 (auction) to $220 (private sale). The overprinted cards were unofficial, but tolerated and canceled by the local postmaster, Oliver Griffin, a member of the society. They probably served as place cards at the banquet.

Our history becomes sketchy after it feuded with the APS and resigned in 1907, not rejoin-ing until 1972. The society faded in the early 1930s and did not meet for several months. APS historian Herbert Trenchard says SIPS disbanded until early 1970s, but one active member says he joined as a junior member in the 1950s. Another member, now deceased, said the disbandment lasted only a few months. The society held an annual Stipex show through the 1980s until 1990 when our weekly meetings were bounced out of the local armory in 1991 because of our inability to post a $1,000,000 bond. The society had about 35 members at the time, but lost many because of the lack of a permanent meeting place. We met at various churches, members’ houses, and other halls, losing members each time we relocated. We eventually found a home at Messiah Lutheran Church in 1994 and have met there ever since.

Although we have a copy of the old, formal constitution, our meetings today are very informal. Members join around a table and just talk stamps or show their latest acquisi-tions. Our interests are diverse: Austria, Sweden, 1938 prexies, precancels, worldwide used 1840–1940, U.S. proofs and essays, UK Machins, etc. We do not have minutes, reso-lutions, or formal officers. Dues are $25 a year, which we turn over to the church.

We move the last meeting of the season and the last meeting before Christmas to a lo-cal pizzeria. SIPS has 13 active members, and typically has six–10 members at a meeting. There are about 85 APS members in our ZIP Code, but despite APS member mailings, advertising on local cable TV and newspaper, we are unable to attract more members. All our members, save one, are APS members.Next Meeting: The next meeting will be Sept. 18 as we do not meet on Labor Day.


APS Chapter 1357Meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday, except July, August, October,

at Kanestio Historical Society Building, 23 Main St., Canisteo

Sue Babbitt, 1990 Square Woods Drive, Canisteo, NY [email protected], 607-698-2062 �

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Two Club Members Help at Washington 2006

Two club members volunteered at Wash-ington 2006. John S. Babbitt worked

in the Press Room, fielding questions, an-swering phones and helping photograph the event. President Sue Babbitt was at Stamp Camp USA, sorting stamps and as-sembling packets.

The show opened with a first day cer-emony for the set of 40 U.S. stamps featur-ing Wonders of America. The ceremony was a mob scene with standing room only as more than 1,500 filled the room. As a result, many attendees failed to get a ceremony program consisting of an oversize envelope with one of the new stamps, a special pictorial postmark, and an insert providing details of the ceremony.

Oversized displays featuring the Wonders of America stamps greeted visitors to the show’s youth area. Lines were long throughout the day as collectors waited to have their covers canceled with the pictorial digital color postmark. This was just the start of a mul-titude of U.S. and foreign first day of issue ceremonies that took place over the eight-day show. Each ceremony was unique in its own way with music and entertainment.

Collectors were overwhelmed with the dealer’s bourse, foreign postal administrations, numerous specialty societ-ies, hundreds of exhibition frames, and viewing the world’s greatest rarities in the Court of Honor. It was neat to meet many of the art-ists who had designed U.S. stamps. Four and one-half days was certainly not long enough to see everything but enough to whet one’s ap-petite and spur one’s interest in the hobby.

Sue Babbitt at Washington 2006.

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APS Chapter 50www.syracusestampclub.org

Meets at 8 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Friday at theReformed Church of Syracuse, 1228 Teall Ave.

Allen Swift, P.O. Box 3436, Syracuse, NY [email protected], 315-457-3201

Summer Sizzles at Syracuse Stamp Club

Most clubs adjourn for two months or more during the summer, but the Syracuse club remains in high gear

with a full schedule of events.July 7 — An Insider’s Look at eBay: Club member Richard D. Erat has made a profitable part-time career out of buying and selling U.S. stamps on eBay. He will give a presentation full of insider tips about listing stamps on eBay, including what it costs to sell and a demonstration of available selling tools. For a grand finale, Rick will pass around a stamp for inspection and then list it for sale while we watch.

Because the Reformed Church is installing a new floor in our usual meeting hall, this meeting will be in the Onondaga 3 conference room of the Em-bassy Suites Hotel, 6646 Old Collamer Road, East Syracuse. Refreshments will be served. For directions or to get a ride, visit the club’s Web site or call 476-8052.July 21 — Family Night: Club members are invited to bring their children, grand-children, nieces, and nephews to a Family Night on July 21. We will create handcrafted cachets and apply them to FDCs of recent U.S. stamps. The covers will be displayed at the Taft Road Post Office and then returned to their creators. Refreshments will be provided and every child who attends will receive a free stamp collecting starter kit.Programs

July 29 — Club picnic: All members were mailed a postcard invitation to the picnic on Cross Lake. If you have not received yours, call 476-8052.

Aug. 4 — Philatelic Jeopardy! organized by Jim Steele; refreshments and prizesAug. 18 — AuctionSept. 1 — Everyone a Dealer nightMini-auctions at 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 4 and Sept. 1 if material allows.

Richard D. Erat

At Washington 2006Syracuse Stamp Club President Michael Am-mann and APS Vice President Alan Parsons of Elmira attended Washington 2006.

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APS Chapter 292Meets at 7 p.m. except July and August on the 3rd Monday

at Sidney Civic Center, 21 Liberty St.

Robert Finnegan, 10 O’Neill Drive, Oneonta, NY [email protected], 607-432-8141

Club Hosts Elementary School Collectors

The Tri County club played host to 26 robust and enthusiastic young collectors from the Sidney Elementary School during its May meeting. The children took part in an

engaging scavenger hunt involving stamps and also learned how to look up specific infor-mation in a U.S. stamp catalog. Based upon their successes, the children received as many as 400 stamps to add to their respective collections.

In mid June, the club membership held its traditional end-of-the-year dinner at the Sidney Golf and Country Club. With the months of July and August being spent on sum-mer jaunts, the membership will once again pick up with its first meeting on the third Monday of September.Club To Plan ProgramsThe Program Committee will meet during the summer to piece together its programming for the coming year. The September–October Stamp Insider will list the upcoming year’s programming for the club membership. With its declining membership the club will be looking for new ways to entice prospective members to join.Congratulations: The club congratulates Albert Starkweather with the newest look inher-ent in the Stamp Insider, that being the conversion to color.

Insider Takes Second Gold Award

The Stamp Insider received a Gold award in the 2005 American Philatelic Society Chapter Activities Newsletter Competition. Jane King Fohn, competition manager,

announced winners of the annual competition on June 1. This is the second consecutive year that the journal won the highest award.

The Stamp Insider will be displayed along with other competition entries and the awards at StampShow 2006 in Rosemont, IL, on Aug. 24–27. The show will be at the Don-ald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road. The journal will also be part of the Competition Mail Circuit to be circulated among the 28 participating organizations.

The Stamp Insider received an average of 93 of 100 points from the three judges. Par-ticularly cited was the “good balance” of New York news, articles, club pages, and columns. The judges said each club should be encouraged to “mention members’ names.”

The judging was based on the July–August, September–October, and November–De-cember 2005 issues. The largest difference between those issues and our current issues is that the Stamp Insider is now published on clay-coated paper in full color.


APS Chapter 240Meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday

at Holmes & Watson Ltd., 450 Broadway

Terrill S. Miller, P.O. Box 335, Troy, NY [email protected], 518-869-6872

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Club Renames Its Officers

The club held its annual elections on May 5, renaming Terrill S. Miller, president; George McGowan, vice president; Ken Mangione, secretary; John J. Nunes, treasurer;

Arnie Leiter, APS representative; and Terrill S. Miller, Federation representative.Card Commemorates Newspaper’s AnniversaryThe Albany Times Union issued a card with a pictorial postmark to celebrate its sesqui-centennial. Many thanks to Tom Hanley for securing enough copies from the newspaper for club members.Fun MeetingsApril 5 saw the return of Terrill S. Miller’s ever popular Philatelic Quiz. It is a stamp collecting lesson, a history lesson, and a les-son in good fun.

On April 19, John J. Nunes presented a program on possibly the only stamps issued to collect revenue from the Ladies of the Eve-ning. Rosario, a town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, funded its entire police force, and related departments from 1893 to 1914 from this particular revenue. The stamps were required for the women, along with a bi-weekly medical exam, and kept in a book along with other identification.

The stamps have four different over-prints, according to the health of the indi-vidual. Sana meant safe, inferma not safe, conregular menstruating, and observacion being under observation, the most com-mon found today are sana.

We also had our annual Single Page Night. Some of the items of interest were Ameri-can flag stamps, Disney stamps, religious crosses on stamps, U.S. presidents, and making homemade album pages, to list a few. Peg Kosinski dressed up for the theme of American flags.G

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Peg Kosinski and Vicki Miller share a laugh at Single Page Night.


APS Chapter 1537Meets informally at noon Tuesdays at the MasonicCommunity Center, 2379 Union Rd., Cheektowaga

John L. Leszak, 2379 Union Rd., Cheektowaga , NY 14227-2234 [email protected], 716-668-2755

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Masons at the North and South PolesBy John L. Leszak

In the last issue, we touched briefly on the careers of

the famed Masonic explor-ers Lewis and Clark. This month, we’ll highlight the adventures of some other Masonic explorers who have been commemorated on U.S. stamps.Dr. Elisha Kent Kane was commemorated as a Polar explorer on U.S. Scott 2220. Dr. Kane was the sur-geon on the SS Advance, a rescue ship that was sent to locate the Franklin Expedition in 1850. He later became captain of Advance and in 1853 led a courageous evacuation of the ship when it became icebound. He heroically led his ship’s crew across the ice to Greenland.Adolphus W. Greely served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He rose through the ranks from private to major general, and later went on to be a proponent of expanding the telegraph system in the country.

In 1881 he headed a team of 25 that established a series of Arctic weather stations. Bad weather and loss of provisions caused the weather station party great and hardship, and all but seven perished after three years of grueling exposure to the Arctic elements.

Greely later went on to establish telegraph systems in Cuba, the Philippines, and Alaska after the Spanish American War. He is commemorated on U.S. Scott 2221.Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson are two Masonic explorers depicted on U.S. Scott 2223. These courageous Masons were the first to reach the North Pole on April 6, 1909.Admiral Richard E. Byrd made the first transpolar flight in 1926 with Floyd Bennett as his pilot. From 1933 to 1935 he led an Antarctic expedition from which he serviced numerous covers for collectors.

During this expedition, it was noted that 60 of the 82 men on his team were Freema-sons. Byrd is depicted on U.S. Scott 2388.


APS Chapter 66Meets at 7 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of the month (except July

and August) at New Hartford Town Library, 2 Library Lane

Jerome F. Wagner, 160 Proctor Blvd., Utica, NY 13501-6119315-732-0219

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Club Wraps Up Another Season

Member Dick Drumm, the scheduled speaker for the April meeting, was unable to attend due to illness However, our president, Larry Griswold, gave a complete

overview of the U.S. Priority and Express Mail stamps. This area of U.S. stamps can be very challenging, as the high value of the stamps limits their usage and the larger postal facilities commonly use metered postage.

Dick Drumm finally gave an overview of the Stamp Keeper software program at the May meeting. The program is very user friendly and does not require any extensive user experience. The cost of the software is $89.95 with automatic updates of only $16.95 annually. The program would be very helpful in selling a collection or for insur-ance purposes.Election ConductedReëlected officers for the upcoming year were Larry Griswold, president; Sister Jane Margaret, vice president; Je-rome Wagner, treasurer; and Wayne Turkowski, secretary.Position VacantCorresponding Secretary Ger-ald M. Cunningham did not seek reëlection. This secre-tary is responsible for com-municating with the Greater New York State stamp com-munity. Anyone interested in this position should contact the president.Editor’s note: On behalf of the Federation, I thank Jerry for all his great help with the Utica club pages. We will miss his input. I have invited him to submit any articles he might wish to contribute in his areas of expertise.

End-of-Season DinnerThe club held its end-of-season dinner on June 6 at Casa Too Mucha Mexican Restaurant in New Hartford with 12 members and three guests present. From left, front: President Larry Griswold, Treasurer Jerome Wagner, and Judy Routson; back, Jerry Cunningham, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Kolarits, Ed Jordan and his granddaughter Katie, Art Baker, and Keith Routson. Missing from the photo are Recording Secretary Wayne Turkowski, Vice President Sister Jane Margaret, Janet Collmer, Bill Arthur, and Dick Drumm. This was the last scheduled meeting of the club until September.


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Shows& Bourses

July22–23 — Clayton

28th Coin, Stamp, Post-card, Gem, Mineral, Paper & Collectibles Show, Clay-ton Arena. Saturday 10–5, Sunday 10–2. Bourse. George A. Mingle, e-mail: [email protected].

16— AlbanyCapital District Stamp Show, Clarion Hotel, 3 Watervliet Ave. 10–4. Bourse. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395,e-mail: [email protected].

23 — Great Barrington, MAPaper Mania Show, Berkshire South Community Center, 15 Crissey Rd. 10–4. Covers, stamps, postcards, ephemera. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395,e-mail: [email protected].

August5–6 — Niagara Falls

Niagara Frontier Coin Club Collectors’ Show/Expo ’06, Elks Lodge 346, 1805 Factory Outlet Blvd. Stamps, coins, postcards. Saturday 10–5, Sunday 10–4. Frank Munzi, 716-633-4104.

20 — AlbanyCapital District Stamp Show, Clarion Hotel, 3 Watervliet Ave. 10–4. Bourse. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395,e-mail: [email protected].

27 — Great Barrington, MAPaper Mania Show, Berkshire South Community Center, 15 Crissey Rd. 10–4. Covers, stamps, postcards, ephemera. John J. Nunes, 518-399-8395,e-mail: [email protected].

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A. Scott Crossfield —Cont. from Page 30

positions in industry and government. Ironically, the man who had once worn the mantle of “the Fastest Man Alive,” died when he screwed it in while piloting his 1961 Cessna 210A, a plane which had been built within months of his last X-15 flight.

Crossfield never let his fame and numerous awards go to his head, and while he never suffered fools gladly, he was always friendly and generous to admirers, and a willing signer for any and all requesters. As the farmer’s son rocketed to the near edges of space he lived the pilot’s dream to cast loose the surly bonds of earth, reached out my hand to touch the Face of God. Soft landings, Scotty.


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Want & ExchangeFind & trade stamps and covers —

$2 per issue for up to 25 words or $3 for up to 50 words. These may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes, nor for payments in cash or stamps. Send payment and copy to the advertising manager: George McGowan, P.O. Box 482, East Schodack, NY 12063-0483; e-mail: [email protected].

Exchange — Your philatelic publication for the Stamp Insider on long-term basis. Contact Editor Albert W. Starkweather, 5520 Gunn Hwy. #1406, Tampa, FL 33624-2847; phone: 813-962-7964;e-mail: [email protected].

Wanted / Exchange — Sheets and broken sheets, blocks, singles, etc. U.S. Christmas/Easter seals, Canada Christmas/Easter seals, Boys Town seals, U.S. and for-eign locals and TB seals. Dave Schue, 680 Latta Road, Rochester, NY 14612-4148.

Wanted — Covers and post cards from Newfoundland, both pre- and post Con-federation. George McGowan, e-mail: [email protected].

Wanted — On cover singles postally used (not FDC or events) 32¢ American art, jazz musicians, American dolls, American aircraft, composers, endangered species 22¢ presidential, 29¢ wildflowers, Cel-ebrate the Century, 34¢ Greetings from America. E-mail: [email protected].

Wanted — Sarawak stamps mint or used Scott #) 153–154. E-mail: [email protected].

Wanted / Exchange — Vatican City MNH singles and margin blocks. Also philatelic literature and Acta Apos-tolicæ Sedis. Member APS, VPS. E-mail: [email protected].

Wanted — 1945–1946 Roosevelt 1–5¢ blocks of 4 — all four corners and plate numbers. Mike Schneider, P.O. Box 280044, Tampa, FL 33682-0044.

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Advertiser IndexAmerican First Day Cover Society ........... 64Art Cover Exchange ................................... 64Azusa Stamps and Collectibles.................. 15Bejjco of Florida, Inc...................................21Buffalo Numismatic Association............... 17Big “E” Coins & Stamps ................................ 62B. Trading Co................................................18Champion Stamp Co. ................................... 27Norman Cohen ............................................ 64Cover Connection....................................... 25Design on Demand...................................... 64eBay Vendors................................................ 23Henry Gitner Philatelists, Inc................... 11Harmer–Schau , Inc. .................................... 13Empire State Postal History Society ....... 64Richard D. Erat........................................... 28Hawkeye Philatelics ................................... 29Eric Jackson ..................................................19Journal of Antiques & Collectibles ..........19LiFaTeC USA LLC ......................................... 63Steve Malack Stamps ...................................21E. Joseph McConnell, Inc............................. 9

George McGowan ....................................... 63Mystic Stamp Company..........................34–35Niagara Frontier Coin Club.........................5Nunesnook ......................................................7Nutmeg Stamp Sales.........Inside Back CoverPrestige Covers ........................................... 62Quality Investors, Ltd. ............................... 13Quality Stamps ............................................ 26R. J. Associates ..............................................33Schmitt Investors, Ltd. ............................. 25Stamp Camp USA.......................................... 32Stamp Insider ............................................... 65Stamp News .................................................. 23Suburban Stamp, Coins & Collectibles ..... 62Syracuse Stamps, Coins & Collectibles....... 9Thousand Islands Show ................................5Vidiforms Company..................... Back CoverVirtual Stamp Club...................................... 64Washington Press ......... Inside Front CoverWant & Exchange......................................... 64Douglas Weisz U.S. Covers.........................33West Seneca Shows ..................................... 63

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Please Patronize Our Advertisers!

66 Stamp Insider

The Last WordsHeather Sweeting, Associate Editor

14329 Victory St., Sterling NY 13156-3172e-mail [email protected]

Looking for Stamps in All the Wrong Places

Have you recently noticed a proliferation of stamps in the news, in advertisements, on pieces of clothing, even cookie boxes? I recently became addicted to Crime Puzzle, a

free game on Yahoo. The “Who Stole Sir Dawson’s Stamps?” puzzle entails matching three or more stamps in a row to change the board color until the whole square is cleared. Each board you clear reveals part of a secret stamp.

This led me to think where else I have seen philately promoted lately. Stamp images may be found in the most unlikely places. At the grocery store, the Little Debbie snack cake aisle is hard to avoid. I bought some, but only because the box front displayed two fake photo stamps with family pictures. I was surprised to find a sweatshirt on clearance bearing an enlarged Fair Haven, NY, circular date stamp postmark in the tiny Fair Haven village gift shop.

The evening news recently had a story about Hiram Bingham IV who is featured on the new sheet of Distinguished American Diplomat stamps. He once was Vice Consul of France. Bingham secretly and single-handedly processed thousands of visas that enabled refugees to escape the Nazi regime. Painter Marc Chagall was among those receiving visas from Bingham. Bingham’s work was officially halted in 1941 when the Roosevelt adminis-tration disapproved of his work and transferred him to Argentina. Bingham later resigned from his embassy position in Argentina after his reports that war criminals were being harbored there were ignored. Bingham’s children found the secret records and story of his work in the back of a closet in their family home after his death in 1956.

Bingham was the kind of person to stand up for what he believed in, even if it meant going against orders, popular opinion, and the norm. If you ask average Americans who he was, they will have no idea. Bingham is exactly the kind of person that should be honored with a stamp. The world needs more selfless heroes like him. How many other unsung heroes will never receive this honor because the USPS feels the need to issue 12 different varieties of Lady Liberty and flag stamps or another Disney sheet? I have nothing against those particular stamps but I’d love to see some more unsung heroes.

There are many unsung heroes in the philatelic world as well — people who quietly volunteer their time for the good of the cause, be it their club, a youth group, an auction, a newsletter, or a stamp show. These folks don’t seek public recognition; in fact they might be embarrassed by it, but they always manage to get things done. If you know any unsung heros, please don’t wait to thank them privately or publicly. Take the time to do it now while you are thinking of it before their great contributions to collecting are relegated to the back of a closet.

66 Stamp Insider

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P.O. Box 401Fulton, NY 13069Return Service RequestedDated Mail — Please Rush

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Dallas, TXPermit No. 3649

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