Purgatory Post commemorates Burkehaven Lighthouse, Apollo 13
Having to work from home has meant that I haven’t been checking my post office box quite so regularly as normal, but I did make a quick trip over this morning to pick up the mail that had accumulated over the past week. Among what I received was a new cover from Purgatory Post…but before I get to that, I need to back up to Purgatory Post’s March issue, the last in a set of five stamps depicting working New Hampshire lighthouses.
Burkehaven Lighthouse is one of three functional lighthouses on Lake Sunapee. Purgatory Post operator Scott Abbot says the light, which is pictured on the new 5-sola stamp issued on March 2, was built in 1893 by a pair of brothers who operated steamships on the lake.
Purgatory Post Burkehaven Lighthouse stamp
This has been sitting in my mail tray for several weeks, but I am, shall we say, somewhat behind on my blogging. But at long last, here it is.
The stamps on and in the cover I picked up today may have a bit more widespread appeal, especially among collectors of space thematics. The pair of 13-sola stamps commemorate the 50th anniversary of the near-disastrous Apollo 13 mission.
Purgatory Post Apollo 13 stamps
The first of the stamps issued on April 6 pictures Apollo 13 crew members Jim Lovell, Jack Swiger, and Fred Haise, along with their spacecraft’s launch. The second pictures the command module that carried the crew back to earth splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, plus the mission patch.
I read over some of the details about the Apollo 13 mission again yesterday, and while that pre-dated me by a few years, it’s not at all difficult to get a sense of what a big deal it was for the crew to make it home alive. It’s incredible that the crew and their support team on the ground were able to clear one hurdle after another to make that possible, and the anniversary of that mission is certainly well worth Purgatory Post’s commemoration.
Coronavirus leads to cancellation of SAPA meetings
I had hoped to avoid mentioning COVID-19 here on my blog; after all, it’s difficult to find news programs or people talking about much of anything but that disease. Nevertheless, it seems to be impacting most everyone’s life in one way or another, and that includes us stamp collectors.
The San Antonio Philatelic Association earlier this week sent an email notifying members that the club’s final two scheduled March meetings have been cancelled because the church at which the club meets will be closed through the end of the month. Based on what I’ve been hearing on the news, I wouldn’t be surprised if SAPA meetings may be cancelled for longer than that. That’s as much of an update on the local stamp club scene as there is to pass along at this point; I suspect the same may be true in your area.
Meanwhile, the American Philatelic Society and others are urging people to take advantage of the opportunity to spend more time working on their stamp collections. That sounds like a lovely idea, but at least at this time I’m still working, albeit from my garage instead of the office. My employer asked everyone who could work from home to do so, so here I am, and that means I don’t have more time than usual for stamps. Nevertheless, if you do, enjoy, and be safe!
Update (2020-03-26)
The San Antonio Philatelic Association today notified members that all of its meetings through the end of April have been cancelled. A new meeting schedule will be announced once the church where the club holds its meetings resumes normal operations.
Steve R. wrote earlier today asking if I was aware that the Wild Orchids stamps issued last month were released in both booklet and coil formats, and I have to admit that I had completely overlooked the coil stamps. The update published on Sunday did not include spaces for those stamps, but I’ve prepared a two-page patch that includes spaces for all 20 of the orchids stamps (10 booklet singles plus 10 coil singles), and that’s now available on my updates & supplements page.
This is not the first time that Steve has spotted an omission or typo on my pages, and I doubt it will be the last. I’m very grateful to have an extra set of eyes catching mistakes like this!
I’ll soon be starting on spring cleaning, and in part that entails getting organized. Maybe you need to do the same with your stamp collection; if so, you’ll be happy to know that the Spring 2020 Supplement (164 KB, 3 files, 6 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is now available for you to download and print. This update includes spaces for all of the United States postage stamps issued so far this year plus the PTSD semipostal released last December.
I hope you enjoy these new album pages and appreciate your continued interest in my project!
Boys Town mailing reuses hydrangea cinderella artwork
It was just under a year ago that I received the first of many Boys Town mailings containing business reply envelopes bearing either cinderella stamps or pre-printed stamp-sized images. Late last week, I received the cover pictured here in Boys Town’s latest such mailing, and in a way it feels as though things have gone full circle.
Boys Town business reply envelope bearing pre-printed hydrangea designs
If you’ve been following along, you may recognize the pre-printed designs on this BRE because they utilize exactly the same artwork as the labels on the very first envelope that I mentioned here on my blog!
Although this is not the first time that Boys Town has reused artwork, it’s interesting to see that first hydrangea design put to use once again.
