The first stamp to picture Native Americans was issued in 1893, almost 69 years after then Secretary of War John Calhoun created the Bureau of Indian Affairs on March 11, 1824. Initially part of the War Department, BIA has been part of the Interior Department since 1849. So there’s a kind of notable irony in […]
The Sad Ways Native Americans Were Portrayed on Stamps Read More »
Before there were Google Maps, before there was MapQuest, there was something my daughters called “GrannieQuest.” GrannieQuest was a remarkable, personalized navigation service. If you were driving somewhere, you would call my mother and ask for directions. You would quickly get accurate, detailed directions (told from memory) even if it had been years since my
My Mother, AAA TripTik’s, and Other Travel Artifacts Read More »
Is there anything interesting to say about a stamp honoring the 150th anniversary of Ohio becoming a state and a stamp honoring the 100th anniversary of when the Washington Territory was created? That’s the question I’ve been pondering this evening as I’ve been getting ready to write about the two stamps, which, since they were
From Oiho and Washington to DH Lawrence and Missile Mail Read More »
If, as I’ve done many times, you walk up the wide paved path from the Park Street MBTA station to the Massachusetts State House, you will pass a great work of art: “The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment,” a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. And if you are like
Did You See Saint-Gaudens’ Masterpiece? Read More »
“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” was the opening line of “ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which illustrated the agony with ski jumper falling off the side of the ski jump hill. I watched the show regularly in the late 60s
The Thrlll of Victory, The Agony of Defeat, and the Meaning of Sports During COVID Read More »
My childhood was filled with people who served in the Merchant Marine. I didn’t have any relatives who had served (that I know of). And while I’m sure that some of the adults I knew had served as mariners, I didn’t know about it. But others, who were important to me did serve. Popeye, for
The Merchant Mariners Who Shaped My Childhood Read More »
Drive into many towns in America and you’ll see familiar sight: a gold and blue circular sign that says, “Rotary International.” While I’ve seen these for years, I confess I don’t know much about Rotary International. I have a vague sense that Rotary’s local clubs have been a mainstay of local town life, a place
What Do Those Blue “Rotary Club” Signs Mean? Read More »
What do Robert Louis Stevenson, Sally Rand’s Nude Ranch, monkeys racing tiny automobiles, Diego Rivera, and Indiana Jones, all have in common? The answer is that they are all connected to the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, which opened on February 18, 1939 on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The start of that event
Diego Rivera, Driving Monkeys, and the Golden Gate International Exposition Read More »
“Baker shut up. Able isn’t who you think he is,” was the “punchline” of one of the few stories my father would tell about being a soldier in World War II. (Or at least that’s how I remember the story). When he was 19, my father was the radioman in a mobile reconnaissance unit from
Able to Baker to the International Telecommuications Union Read More »
I have no idea why a stamp honoring “American Sokol,” an obscure gymnastics organization was the popular stamp issued in 1965. But I do know that Sokol has a pretty interesting history. In 1965, stamp collectors sent more than 12.5 million separate items – mainly special envelopes – to the different post offices around the
What’s a Sokol and Why Is It So Popular? Read More »