UPCOMING EVENTS

Spring Expo, Saturday, April 19: Cumberland Valley Philatelic Society, Eugene C. Clark, Jr. Community Center, 235 S. Third Street, Chambersburg. Contact Quinn Witherspoon, rspran@pa.net; 717-264-1252.

WILKPEX 2008 - Saturday, April 19, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, April 20, 10AM-3PM; Garden City Hall Inc., 600 Garden City Drive, Monroeville, PA. 15146.  Directions: Take Rt. 22 West to Monroeville from Turnpike Monroeville Exit.  Turn right at first traffic light Rt. 48 north.  Stay north on Rt. 48 to the first traffic light and turn left onto Old Wm. Penn Hwy.  Continue to the second (2nd) stop sign and turn right onto Garden City Drive. Stay on Garden City Drive. Parking Lot for Garden City Hall is after the third (3rd) stop sign, just before you get to the hall in the Garden City Plaza. 

LANCOPEX 08 – Saturday, April 26, 10am – 5pm; Sunday, April 27, 10am – 4pm; Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster, PA. Sponsored by the Lancaster County Philatelic Society, Contact: James Boyles, jboyles@dejazzd.com; Tel: 717-394-5118.

BUTLERPEX 08 – Saturday & Sunday, May 9 and 10, 10am – 5pm; Tanglewood Senior Center, 10 Austin Ave., Lyndora, PA.  Sponsored by the Butler County Philatelic Society.  Contact: Tom Sivak, tomsstamps2133@aol.com; 724-287-1931.

SCOPEX - June 21-22.  APS Building, 100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte. Sponsored by: Mt. Nittany Philatelic Society, Contact Chris Swavely, cbswavely@comcast.net; Tel: 814-237-5606. 

Flags 24/7 – April 18

On April 18, 2008, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service will issue 42-cent, definitive stamps, Flags 24/7, in four designs. These stamps will be available in the following formats:

·     Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) coil of 100

·     PSA coil of 3,000

·     PSA coil of 10,000

·     Water-activated gum (WAG) coil of 3,000

The stamps, designed by Phil Jordan of Falls Church, Virginia, go on sale nationwide April 18, 2008. Each of the four First-Class stamps features a painting by Laura Stutzman of Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, of an American flag flying at a different time of day: sunrise, noon, sunset, and night. In 1942, Congress passed a resolution establishing a code of flag etiquette. The code states in part that the American flag should be displayed from sunrise to sunset every day, weather permitting, but especially on days of national importance like Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veterans Day. Congress also decided that “when a patriotic effect is desired,” the flag can be flown through the night if properly lit. Although compliance is voluntary, public observation of the code’s measures is widespread throughout the nation.  First day address:

FLAGS 24/7 STAMPS

POSTMASTER SPECIAL CANCELLATIONS

PO BOX 92282

WASHINGTON DC 20090-9998

All orders must be postmarked by June 19, 2008. There are four different first day covers available for this stamp issue.  Each has a set of four stamps.  $3.20 each.

 American Journalists – April 22

On April 22, 2008, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service will issue 42-cent, American Journalists commemorative stamps in five designs in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps. Designed by Howard E. Paine of Delaplane, Virginia, the stamps go on sale nationwide April 22, 2008. With these stamps, the Postal Service honors five distinguished journalists: Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk, Ruben Salazar and Eric Sevareid. Working in radio, television, or print, the journalists reported — often at great personal sacrifice — some of the most important stories of the 20th century. They did their part to keep people informed about the world around them. Art director Howard Paine worked with designer Fred Otnes of West Redding, Connecticut, to create the stamp art. The abstract backgrounds were meant to imply the “worldliness” of the subjects, without referring to explicit events; the fragments of text were meant to suggest headlines of articles by or about each journalist.  First gay address:

AMERICAN JOURNALISTS STAMPS

 POSTMASTER

SPECIAL CANCELLATIONS

WASHINGTON DC 20066-9998

All orders must be postmarked by June 21, 2008. There are three philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

·         First Day Cover/Set of 5, $4.00

·         Ceremony Program with 5 stamps, $6.95

·         First Day Cover Keepsake with 5 First Day Covers, $12.40

Tropical Fruit – April 25

On April 25, 2008, in Burlingame, California, the Postal Service will issue 27-cent, Tropical Fruit definitive stamps in five designs. Designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, the stamps go on sale nationwide April 25, 2008. The stamps will be available in the following formats:

·      Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), pane of 20

·      PSA coil of 100

Illustrator Sergio Baradat of New York, New York, created art that visually slices or halves five tropical fruits:

·         Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

·         Star Fruit (Averrhoa carambola)

·         Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa)

·         Papaya (Carica papaya)

·         Guava (Psidium guajava)

First day address:

TROPICAL FRUIT STAMPS

POSTMASTER

1630 SOUTH DELAWARE ST

SAN MATEO CA 94402-9998

All orders must be postmarked by June 24, 2008.  There are three philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

·         First Day Cover (set of 5), two stamps same design, $4.60

·         Keepsake with set of 5, $10.00

·         First Day Cover (set of 5), two stamps same design, $4.60.

Mt. Saint Mary’s University Postal Card – April 26

On April 26, 2008, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the Postal Service will issue a 27-cent, Mount St. Mary’s University postal card. The postal card, designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Arizona, goes on sale nationwide May 12, 2008.  With the issuance of this stamped card as part of the Historic Preservation series, the Postal Service commemorates the 200th anniversary of the founding of Mount St. Mary’s University.  The stamp art features a watercolor painting of “The Terrace” created by award-winning architectural illustrator Frank M. Costantino of Winthrop, Massachusetts. Composed of Dubois, Brutë, and McCaffrey Halls, the terrace is one of the central attractions on the university’s picturesque campus. Costantino based his artwork on historic photographs and drawings.  First day address:

MOUNT SAINT MARYS UNIVERSITY STAMPED CARD

POSTMASTER

305 S SETON AVENUE

EMMITSBURG MD 21727-9998

All orders must be postmarked by June 25, 2008.  There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue: First Day Cover $0.39.

Other Upcoming New Issues

The First Nickelodeon Was In Pittsburgh

The name "Nickelodeon" was coined by Harry Davis and John P. Harris, who opened their small, storefront theatre with that name on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June 1905. Other sources report the theatre on 5^th Avenue in McKeesport.  It’s first showing of two short films, “Poor but Honest’ and “The Battler Burglar” was a great success as people flocked to marvel at the “moving pictures”.  Though theirs was not the first theatre in the world to specialize in presenting movies, Davis and Harris found such great success with their operation that their concept of a five cent theatre running movies continuously was soon imitated by hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs, as was the name of the theatre itself.

Favorite Stamp Balloting

Here is how we compared to Linn’s National Stamp Poll in voting on the 2007 issues:

FREEPORT CELEBRATES 175^th ANNIVERSARY

Mail your covers to:

175th Anniversary Station

Postmaster

415 High Street

Freeport, PA 16229-9998

Requests must be postmarked by May 8, 2008.  Do not use any stamps issued after April 8th

GOOD NEWS – BAD NEWS

Two stamp collectors wondered whether there was a stamp club in heaven.  They agreed that the first one to go would come back to the other in a dream with the answer.  As it happened, one died soon after.

A few nights later he appeared in a dream to his friend.  "I have good news and bad news for you," the departed one said.  "The good news is that there are stamp clubs in heaven.  I'm very glad to tell you that."  "Then what is the bad news?" the dreamer asked.  "The bad news is that you are giving the program at our next meeting."