1910 to 1960

Last week while I was waiting for my turn in the post office I looked over the list of commemorative stamps the USPS will issue this year. The 2010 stamps made me think about the stamps issued in 1960, which predated the year I started collecting stamps, although not by much, but was one of the first year sets I completed.

We lived in Norfolk, Virginia, for the 1961-62 school year. Several kids in my 7th grade class collected stamps, and by spring the stamp bug bit me—hard. After I collected all of the stamps issued thus far in 1962, I worked backward systematically on older years. It wasn’t long before I came up against 1960, a tough year to complete due to the number of stamps issued, but also a year with three stamps that evoked a wonderful phrase that has stayed with me ever since: 1910 to 1960. Only to save space the stamp designers either replaced “to” with a dash or just showed the two years.

Commemorative stamps tell the story of America. They honor people, organizations, and events; portray our history and popular culture; provide public reminders; and mark anniversaries. In 1960, the USPS went overboard on commemoratives, issuing 33 in all, 4 of which were in the anniversary category. One stamp (the Pony Express issue) commemorated a 100-year anniversary, while three stamps honored organizations that had reached their 50th.

It was the 50-year stamps that I thought were neat. I just loved saying the phrase “1910 to 1960″ and thinking about what it meant. Of course as a preteen I had no real grasp of what a half century was. What I liked was the easy math (subtracting 10 from 60) and also that both years were in the current century. Plus the three stamps showed groups I could identify with: Boys Clubs, Boy Scouts, and Campfire Girls. The Pony Express stamp has a great visual (it shows a rider on a galloping horse), but 1860 seemed like a really long time ago. Besides “1860 to 1960″ wasn’t captivating to me.

As I looked over the list of 2010 stamps, I wondered if any of the subjects of the three “1910 to 1960″ stamps would be on it, this time marking 100 years of service. And one is, the Boy Scouts of America. (The Boys Clubs (now the Boys & Girls Clubs) and the Campfire Girls (now Camp Fire USA) are both still going strong, but didn’t make the 2010 USPS list.) While not a surprise, the 2010 Boy Scouts stamp is still a big honor for the organization. It’s been almost 50 years since I collected the 1960 Boy Scouts stamp. I can say now that I have a better understanding of how long (and how short) a half century is.