Learn
More, Do More, Enjoy More
Through the APS!
Even though many of us will be vacationing this
month, new U.S. stamps will continue to appear. The Celebrate
stamp will be reissued in a 42-cent version; there will be a
new printing of the 10-cent American Clock coil, five 42-cent
stamps honoring vintage Black cinema, and a 42-cent stamp celebrating
the centennial of the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
July is the slowest month of the year for shows — the only
WSP show being the Minnesota Stamp Expo in mid month. Fortunately,
there are some local shows and bourses as well, so you won’t
have to suffer withdrawal symptoms before StampShow next month
in Hartford!
Let Your Stamps Breathe
An article in the May issue of the German Postal Specialist
(the journal of the Germany Philatelic Society) brought my attention
to the damage that old PVC stamp mounts and sheet covers seem
to have caused to classic German stamps. Apparently, lead salts
in the PVC stabilizer interacted with sulphur in the inks of
some stamps, causing a dark lead-sulphide discoloration. This
seems to have been a problem particularly where the stamps have
not been allowed to breathe. More recent PVC films and Mylar
films have not shown this problem and are currently judged to
be safe. I am now going through my collection replacing old mounts
with new and replacing yellowing (another sign of chemical decay)
glassines with fresh ones. So, before you store your stamps away
for the summer, let your stamps breathe with new mounts and glassines.
Board Meeting
Our Board of Directors met in Bellefonte in May. The major
decision that was taken was to approve a set of rules for the
conduct of APS elections. After the 2007 election it was decided
to take a thorough look at our rules and procedures and produce
a revised set of rules. A special committee was formed and, after
a lot of discussion and consideration, including observations
from members, a document was produced that was then approved
by our Board: Report of the Election Policies and Guidelines
Committee. The specific policies approved by the Board were aimed
at ensuring that our future elections are fairly conducted, while
at the same time preserving a candidate’s ability to campaign
as he or she feels appropriate, but guided by our rules of conduct.
Both can be found online at www.stamps.org/Almanac/alm_ElectionPolicy.htm
and www.stamps.org/Almanac/Election_Policy_Report08.pdf. You
may request copies of each by calling 814-933-3803.
The Board
also, at that meeting, began to work on an update to our Strategic
Plan. I will have more on this in the coming months.
Membership
Our membership has been steadily declining for more than
a decade, and this year is no exception. There have been more
resignations than normal this year, fueled in part, no doubt,
by our difficult but necessary decision to raise dues. Our challenge
remains attracting new members. It is no longer satisfactory
for us to sit back and let collectors find and join us. We, each
and every one of us, need to be proactively recruiting. The Society
is doing its part by making our products and services better
known and more attractive, and we are expanding our web services
and presence every month. We also are making available to members
materials that can be used for each of us to recruit. But, the
most important factor is YOU. The selling point in recruiting
is your enthusiasm and obvious joy in being a stamp collector.
If you approach a potential member with this joy, recruitment
will be easy!
E-Mail Newsletter
I hope you are enjoying our monthly e-mail newsletter.
We want you to know what is happening at the APS, and in the
hobby, on a timely basis. The purpose is to enhance and accelerate
our communications with our members. We understand, however,
that some of our members did not receive the first newsletter.
If you didn’t get one and want to receive our newsletter,
let us have your current e-mail address. For our members who
don’t have a computer, but use one at their local library,
our newsletter can be found by going to our website at www.stamps.org/
and clicking on the link “APS Special E-Delivery.”
A
New Collector
I can’t resist a personal story. My name-sake grandson
is now seven. A couple of years ago I watched him collecting
rocks — so I figured the “collecting gene” must
be there. Last year I gave him a bunch of coins, but he was not
interested. Several months ago he visited with his family, and
I asked him if he wanted to see my stamps. We sat down and I
pulled out a loose-leaf book in which I keep U.S. new issues
since 2000, arranged on pages in page protectors. We leafed slowly
through the book, as I explained what the issues were, and his
attention was clearly caught first by the “Nature of America” sheets
and then by the “Star Wars” sheet.
The next day I
went to my local stamp shop (yes, there is one in Bethesda!)
and bought the nine Nature sheets and the Star Wars and put them
in page protectors. I made up a loose-leaf note book, put his
name on the front, and put some stock sheets at the back. That
evening we went through a book of duplicates and then a bag of
stamps waiting to be soaked — he eagerly
took many and put them on the stock sheets. He was especially
entranced by the few used singles that had come from the sheets.
I
sent him home with a beginner’s book on stamp collecting,
and he avidly read the part about soaking. He called me the next
day to announce proudly that he had soaked off the used stamps
and had arranged them on the stock sheets. A new collector was “born.” Now,
this is only the first step. I expect to spend a lot more time
with him over the next couple of years mentoring. While this
is perhaps an easy example, patient mentoring is key to creating
the collectors of the future.
Finally, make your plans to attend
StampShow in Hartford (August 14–17). And, check out the
American Philatelist reprints on our website (www.stamps.org/
Services/ser_ArchivedArticles.htm). The featured article this
month is “America’s First Gold Rush” by Tony
L. Crumbley.
And above everything else, enjoy our hobby, tell
others about it, and share the JOY OF PHILATELY! |
