Westmoreland County Philatelic Society

MEETING DATE

Next Meeting will be on November 11

The next meeting of the stamp club will be November 11. Bob Ginther will bring his stock and provide a dealer’s bourse as the meeting activity. Please bring cookies for the table. Coffee and tea will be provided. The hall is open from 1 pm, the meeting starts at 2:15pm.

Aerophilately Show - October 19-21, Friday & Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm; American Air Mail Society, American Philatelic Center, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte. Contact Jeff Shapiro, coverlover@gmail.com; ww.americanairmailsociety.org; 508-460-0078.

Pittsburgh Area Stamp and Coin Show – Sunday October 21, 2007; 10:00am to 5:00pm; Wilkins Township Fire Hall, 109 Powell St., (Just off Greensburg Pike) Sponsored by James J. Reeves. Call 800-701-7091 for more information.

PITTPEX 2007 - Saturday/Sunday, November 3 & 4, 2007; South Fayette Fire Hall, 661 Millers Run Road, Bridgeville. I79 Exit 54 (Bridgeville), Left on Route 50 West, .05 miles to Millers Road, Right 2.3 miles to fire hall. Contact Ron Carr, rgc211215@aol.com; 412-561-6562. Annual exhibition and bourse sponsored by the Philatelic Society of Pittsburgh. About 20 dealers, USPS substation, Exhibits, youth area, flea market.

Johnstown Stamp Show – Saturday, November 10, 2007; 10:am – 4:00pm; Senior Activities Center, 550 Main St., Johnstown. Sponsored by the Johnstown Stamp Club. 5 dealers, USPS substation. Contact Charles D. Holtzman, Jr., chazhjr@msn.com; 814-532-0199.

Cranberry Stamp and Postcard Show - Sunday, December 9, 2007; 10:00am - 4:00pm. Four Points Sheraton Inn, 910 Sheraton Drive, Cranberry, PA (North of downtown Pittsburgh, at the interchange of I-79 and the PA turnpike) About 8 stamp and cover dealers from the local area, good selections, a nice program. Sponsored by Sandra & Jan Harris. Call 412-851-1674 for more information.

On an autumn day in 1888, a shaggy pup took his first step toward becoming a postal legend when he crept into the Albany, New York, Post Office. Postal employees allowed him to stay and named him Owney. At first, Owney stayed close to the Post Office, but he soon began riding mail wagons to the train depot and then rode the railway mail car down to New York City and back to Albany. As Owney traveled farther, his friends at the Albany Post Office feared he might wander too far away to find his way home again so they purchased a leather collar with a tag reading “Owney, Post Office, Albany, N.Y.” The Railway Mail Service clerks recorded Owney’s travels by attaching metal baggage tags to his collar to identify the rail lines he traveled on. He was soon weighed down by his collection of tags. Postmaster General John Wanamaker presented Owney with a little jacket to distribute their weight more evenly. Owney took to traveling farther and staying away longer, eventually visiting Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Suez, Algiers, and the Azores. While being shown off to an Ohio newspaper reporter, Owney bit the postal clerk who was handling him. The Postmaster had Owney put down on June 11, 1897. Railway mail clerks chipped in money to have a taxidermist preserve Owney’s body, which then was sent to postal Headquarters in Washington, D.C., for exhibit. In 1911, the Post Office Department entrusted Owney to the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1993, Owney has been part of the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

Ed: Reprinted by popular request from the Dec. 2004 WCPS Newsletter. This is an article from “USPS An American History”, USPS website.

On October 25, 2007, in New York, New York at the opening of the American Stamp Dealers Association Mega Stamp Show, the Postal Service will issue a 41-cent Yoda commemorative stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20. Designed by Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, Virginia, and illustrated by Drew Struzan of Pasadena, California, the stamp goes on sale nationwide October 25, 2007. With this special issuance, the Postal Service fulfills the wishes of the hundreds of thousands of people who voted online for their favorite Star Wars stamp. This new stamp depicts Yoda as we have always known him: stately and wise, a mentor and a Jedi — and a major force in the most beloved space adventure of all time. First day address:

All orders must be postmarked by December 24, 2007. There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

On October 25, 2007, in New York, New York, the Postal Service will issue 41-cent Holiday Knits special stamps in four designs. Designed by Carl T. Herrman of Carlsbad, California, the stamps go on sale nationwide October 25, 2007. In celebration of the winter holiday season, the Postal Service will produce these four stamps featuring classic Christmas-time imagery designed and machine knitted by nationally known illustrator Nancy Stahl of New York, New York. Inspired by traditional Norwegian sweaters and knitted Christmas stockings, Stahl decided on “something cozy” for this year’s holiday stamp issuance. There’s a dignified stag, a snow-dappled evergreen tree, a perky snowman sporting a top hat, and a whimsical teddy bear, each of which is sure to add an extra touch of warmth to seasonal correspondence. The stamps will be issued in the following formats:

All orders must be postmarked by December 24, 2007. There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

On October 25, 2007, in New York, New York, the Postal Service will issue a 41-cent Christmas: The Madonna of the Carnation by Bernardino Luini special stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided book of 20 stamps . Designed by Richard Sheaff of Sottsdale, Arizona, the stamp goes on sale nationwide October 25, 2007. The stamp features an oil-on-panel painting entitled The Madonna of the Carnation by Milanese painter Bernardino Luini (circa 1480–1532). Dating to around 1515, the painting is now part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The stamp art is considered a detail of the painting, as the original photograph was slightly cropped on all four sides to fit the stamp format. First day address:

All orders must be postmarked by December 24, 2007. There are three philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

On October 26, 2007, in New York, New York, the Postal Service will issue a 41-cent Hanukkah special stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps. Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamp goes on sale nationwide October 26, 2007. This stamp design was previously issued with a 37-cent denomination in 2004 and with a 39-cent denomination in 2006. First day address:

All orders must be postmarked by December 25, 2007. There are two philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

On October 26, 2007, in New York, New York, the Postal Service will issue a 41-cent Kwanzaa special stamp in one design in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, the stamp goes on sale nationwide October 26, 2007. This stamp design was previously issued with a 37-cent denomination in 2004 and with a 39-cent denomination in 2006. First day address:

All orders must be postmarked by December 25, 2007. There are two philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

The 2007 Commemorative Stamp Yearbook, Item 990700, will be available for sale at all post offices beginning October 25 or as soon thereafter as initial quantities are received.. The yearbook is a 64-page hardbound book that includes 117 commemorative stamps, with mounts, and sells for $64.95. The 117 commemorative stamps have a combined postage value of $48.03. The beautifully illustrated book contains colorful pictures and text on the following stamps:

The new 34th edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps is now available at all post offices. The 34th edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps is priced at $19.95.

A letter measures less than 11.5 in. x 6.125 in. and is less than .25 in. thick. A letter-size piece is nonmachinable and is subject to a 17-cent additional fee if it has one or more of the following:

a. Has an aspect ratio (length divided by height) of less than 1.3 or more than 2.5.

c. Has clasps, strings, buttons, or similar closure devices. Ed. (Many post offices include staples.)

d. Contains items such as pens, pencils, or loose keys or coins that cause the thickness of the mail piece to be uneven.

e. Is too rigid (does not bend easily when subjected to a transport belt tension of 40 pounds around an 11-inch diameter turn).

f. For pieces more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long, the thickness is less than 0.009 inch.

h. Is a self-mailer with a final folded edge perpendicular to the address if the piece is not folded and secured according postal standards.

i. Booklet-type pieces with the bound edge (spine) along the shorter dimension of the piece or at the top not prepared according to postal standards.

Ed. I have trouble with item e. I believe many greeting cards might flunk this test. Few post offices have the equipment to make this test.

Bonus: In 1860, this short-lived postal service began between Missouri and California.

John and Washington Roebling, the famous father-son team responsible for the Brooklyn Bridge, previously designed and built the Sixth Street Allegheny River Aqueduct (1845) for the Pennsylvania Canal and the first steel Smithfield Street Bridge (1845-46) while residing in Saxonburg, Butler County. John Reobling introduced the use of steel rope (cable) that was first used on the incline planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Steel cable became an integral part of the suspension bridges that he built.

a. 1920	f. 1775
b. 1847	g. 1977
c. 1950	h. 1963
d. 1893	i. 1971
e. 1858	j. 1942