MILCOPEX
September 20th to 22nd Milwaukee, WI
Congratulations to USPCS member Anthony F. Dewey for winning both the Grand Award for A Postal History of Hartford, Connecticut and the Best Single Frame award for The “D” Rate-Change Stamps of 1985 at MILCOPEX. His Postal History of Hartford, Connecticut exhibit also received a Large Gold and the AAPE Award of Excellence for its epilogue.
This year MILCOPEX hosted the Christmas Philatelic Club. Darrell Ertzberger’s exhibit Compliments of the Season: Christmas & New Years Greetings from U.S. Rural Carriers, won both the Most Popular and Best Christmas Exhibit awards. His exhibit also received a Gold award and the AAPE Creativity Award.
Gold level exhibits by USPCS members included Free to All – America’s Public Libraries 1833 – 1960 by Larry T. Nix; and The State of the U.S. Mails – 1909 by Lawrence Haber, who also received the APS 1900-1940 Medal and the U.S. Stamp Society Statue of Freedom Award.
INDYPEX
October 4th to 6th, Indianapolis, IN
INDYPEX hosted the American Helvetia Philatelic Society this year, and the exhibits on display were very competitive. Congratulations to USPCS member Michael Ley, who won the Reserve Grand Award for his exhibit Burma – The First Two Issues. His exhibit also received the American Philatelic Congress Award.
Other USPCS members exhibiting at INDYPEX included Gary Hendren, whose St. Louis Street Car Mail, 1892-1915 received a Large Gold and the J. David Baker Postal History Award; Wayne Schuetz, whose Study of NYC Registered Labels, 1883-1911 received a Gold and whose Alphabet Letter Examiner Markings Used in NYC, 1882-1902 received a Large Vermeil; John Becker, whose Doremus Machine Cancels of Indiana, 1901-1919 received a Vermeil; Cheryl Ganz, whose Suchard Chocolate Advertising on Swiss Postal Cards received a Large Silver; and Janet Klug whose Queen Mary of Teck & King George V won both received a Silver and won the Most Popular Multi Frame Award.
CANPEX
October 19th and 20th, London, Ontario
USPCS member Robert Anderson represented the society at CANPEX, where his exhibit on Canada’s Non-denominated ‘A’ Stamp received a Large Gold.
Civil War Exhibition
October 25th and 26th, Bellefonte, PA
This year the Confederate Stamp Alliance hosted a special Postal Exhibition & Symposium at the APS Headquarters in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The show was held in conjunction with the dedication of the Kaufmann Civil War Room at the American Philatelic Research Library. Patricia A. Kaufmann is an expert on Confederate postage stamps, whose work has been published in many journals and books, and who has received multiple awards for her many contributions to philately.
The USPCS had a strong showing at the exhibition. Daniel J. Ryterband received the Multi Frame Grand and Large Gold for his exhibit A Country Divided: Effects of the American Civil War on the Mails. Daniel Knowles received the Multi Frame Reserve Grand, Large Gold, and American Philatelic Congress Award for his exhibit The Development of the Confederate States of America Postal Service from Secession to Appomattox. Both Ryterband and Knowles also gave well-attended talks at the show, educating the audience on the complicated history of the postal system during the American Civil War.
The Single Frame Grand was awarded to Richard Drews for his Trans-Oceanic Uses of the 30 Cent U.S. Issues 1861-68. The exhibit also received a Large Gold and the United States Philatelic Society Classics Society Medal.
Tony Crumbley’s exhibit, Independent Statehood and Confederate Mail of North Carolina 1861-65, received a Large Gold and a Postal History Society Medal. The Pollock Family received a Large Gold, APS Research Award, and Military Postal History Medal for their exhibit, The Role of the Union Navy in the Civil War.
Gold awards were given to Wayne Farley for West Virginia: Born of the Civil War; Bruce Roberts for Arkansas 1861-1865: A Divided Postal System; Randolph Smith for Rally ‘Round the Flag; and Anders Olason for The American Civil War 1861-1865: Background Course of Events and Aftermath. Olason’s exhibit also received the American Topical Association First.
Large Vermeils were awarded to George Kramer for Telegraphy in the Civil War; Clifford Alexander for Confederate States of America 2¢ Rates and Fees; and Jerry Wells for 1861 – Postal Service in the Seceded States, USPOD Operations (Jan 1- May 31). Vermeils were awarded to Mike O’Reilly for Huntsville, Alabama Confederate Postal History; to Rodney Kelley for Arkansas Under Two Flags, which was also awarded the AAPE Award of Honor; and to Randolph Smith for Coping with Adversity: Confederate Covers in a Time of Paper Shortage, which was also awarded the AAPE Creativity Award.
Silver awards were presented to Ken Trettin for Customs Cancellations of US Revenue Stamps of the Civil War Era; and to Joe Crosby for The Divided Postal History of the Civil War in Indian Territory.
In addition to the many USPS members exhibiting in the open class, three members exhibited in the Court of Honor. These included Richard Drews’s My 3 Cents Worth; Mike Farrell’s Blockade, Bucks, and Florida Express: Bogus Stamps of the Confederate States; and Doug Weisz’s New Orleans in the Confederate Mail System.
Other members present at the show were Stefan T. Jaronski, who gave a talk on the evolution of the Confederate Army Field Post service during the Civil War; and Francis J. Crown, who presented his research on the 3¢ Nashville Provisional.
