8/31/2019
Here at the APS, the death knell for summer weather has nothing to do with the temperature outside in sunny Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Instead, we keep a steady eye on the US Postal Service stamp announcements. Once the first wintry stamp is scheduled, we reluctantly pull out our woollen sweaters and mittens, and our building manager begins offering personal space heaters to anyone who dares shiver in his presence.
So, even with August barely behind us and the first Pennsylvania frost still far on the horizon, we're looking forward to a September 17 date for the release of the newest USPS winter offering: Winter Berries Forever. The stamps, which will be sold in panes of twenty, feature four botanical portraits of vibrant winter plants on a spare white background: the winterberry (Ilex verticillata), the juniper berry (Juniperus communis), the beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and the soapberry (Sapindus saponaria). Art director Antonio Alcalá and artist Steve Buchanan designed the set.
The stamp dedication ceremony has been scheduled for September 17, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Tulsa Botanic Garden. The US Postal Service recommends that those who are interested in attending the ceremony RSVP at usps.com/winterberries. Those of us who are unable to attend will wish for good weather for the rest of you all.
As for us at the APS? Well, one of my coworkers just sent me a long-term weather forecast predicting a "Polar Coaster winter" (a concept which, legally, I should not be subjected to until October at the earliest) - so keep us in your thoughts.
News of the Winter Berries Forever stamps can be shared with the hashtag #WinterBerriesStamps. Read the full USPS press release here.
Susanna Mills
Susanna Mills is the editor in chief at the American Philatelic Society.
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