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April 18, 2008
NTSS2008 (PORTLAND, ORE.) TO FEATURE US AND FOREIGN FD ISSUES
The annual National Topical Stamp Show
(NTSS) will feature a first day of issue set of stamps from Sierra
Leone honoring Oregon Explorers and their Discoveries at 9:15 AM on
Friday, June 13th. The first of the featured stamps will show Joel
Palmer pointing the way through the Cascades for the end of the Oregon
Trail. The artwork for this one stamp was provided by stamp artist,
Paul Calle, who’s signed and numbered print, Beyond the Ridge will be
awarded to the show’s Grand Champion winner on Saturday evening. The
other three stamps on the miniature sheet will feature: Capt. Robert
Gray who first sailed up the Columbia River, which he named after his
ship; Sir Francis Drake who first scoured the fabulous Oregon Coast;
and Lewis and Clark whose expedition discovered the second highest
waterfall in North America – Multnomah Falls, which will also be one of
the many sites seen on the Monday, June 16th bus tour. The
Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation is responsible for the
creation of this commemorative sheet to help the ATA publicize its show
and location. Oregon Historian, Richard H. Engeman will present a short
program on these historic personages.
The United States’ first ten
commemorative sized coil stamps featuring flags of the United States
will be released on Flag Day, Saturday, June 14th. A first day of issue
flag ceremony with a Boy Scout color guard will be held at noon at the
Monarch Hotel in Clackamas, Oregon, the site of the NTSS. Stamps and
first day covers will also be available for this event. The USPS booth
will be open from 10AM to 2:00 PM on all three days of the show.
In addition to these two First Day of
Issues, the NTSS will have a different cancel and special cover for
each of the three days of the show. The Friday cancel and cachet pay
homage to the 50th Anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1, America’s
first entry into the space race. On Saturday the 100th anniversary of
Robert Peary’s adventure to discover the North Pole will be
commemorated. Sunday’s cancel and cachet honor the 150th anniversary of
Dr. Livingston’s starting his journey up the Zambesi River to explore
the “dark continent” as it was then called.
All covers and cancels will be available
from the ATA during and after the show. Their website, www.americantopicalassn.org will have more information on these.
In keeping with the show theme of
Exploration and Discovery, philatelic talk show host, Nancy Clark will
give her presentation detailing the explorations of Lewis and Clark
starting at 9:00 AM on Saturday. This audio visual presentation was
originally prepared for teachers and was widely seen at Washington
2006. Mrs. Clark’s radio show can be heard by viewing www.wsradio-com/apsstamptalk .
Carol J. Edholm, executive director of
Youth Stamp Conductors will conduct an Educator’s Workshop from 1:00 PM
to 4:00 PM on Saturday. This workshop will provide a materials packet,
new ideas for using philatelic material in an educational setting and
copies of new philatelic projects developed by her. This workshop is of
value to teachers, home school educators, Scout and other youth group
leaders along with coordinators of youth stamp clubs.
ATA Executive Director, Ray E. Cartier,
will speak at a meeting of the American Airmail Society at 11:00 AM on
Saturday, covering the history of the aircraft built at what is today,
Lockheed Ft. Worth, starting with the B-24 bomber through the newest US
military aircraft: the F-35 stealth fighter. The American Association
of Philatelic Exhibitors will hold a seminar of exhibiting at 3:00 PM
on Saturday. ATA Director, Dalene Thomas will present a seminar on
Sunday at 10:00 AM on Postal Stationery as Part of a Topical
Collection. Other specialty meetings, all open and free to the public,
include a meeting of Women Exhibitors, gatherings of the Americana
Study Unit, the Biology Unit, the Medical Study Unit, the Butterfly
Unit, Cats on Stamps Unit, the Lighthouse Stamp Society, Ships on
Stamps Unit and a forming Penguins on Stamps Unit. A Graphics Artists
meeting is still pending as of this time.
Dealers from all walks of philately will
be on hand to help attendees with both topical and other philatelic
needs. The Oregon Stamp Society is lending many helpful hands to assist
in this show.
To entice more attendees to view the
exhibits, a search among the 184 frames to find a stamp honoring the
Oregon Trail will result in one lucky person winning $25 for his or her
efforts.
Two tours have been scheduled with the
first being an afternoon half day tour on Thursday called the “City of
Roses Tour”, in which attendees will hone in on the highlights of
Portland, Oregon. On the Monday following the show, a full day, Mount
Hood Loop Tour is to be held, featuring a bus tour through the Cascade
Mountains and the famous Columbia River Gorge. The bus will stop at
several waterfalls and scenic areas, including Multnomah Falls which
appears on one of the four stamps released on Friday. Other stops will
include a Nature Center, stop at the Bonneville Dam where participants
may see migrating adult salmon in the fish ladders, lunch at the Hood
River Valley, a drive up Mt. Hood’s southeast flank and the vast
ecosystems along the way, with a final stop at Timberline Lodge, 6,000
feet up.
Information and/or tickets for the
tours, the President’s Reception, and the Awards Banquet where Dennis
Dengel will be given the Distinguished Topical Philatelist award are
available on-line at the aforementioned ATA website, or from the ATA
Central Office, PO Box 57, Arlington, TX 76004-0057. Telephone hours
are from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, weekdays, at 817-274-1181.
For information on the world’s largest all-topical philatelic organization, contact the ATA
Central Office, P.O. Box 57, Arlington, Texas 76004-0057 (telephone: 1-817-274-1181; email
americantopical@msn.com; or visit their
website at
www.americantopicalassn.org.
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