With the release of the Oregon Statehood postage stamp on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009, the United States Postal Service has authorized a unique special commemorative postmark to be issued in every community in Oregon to help all state residents celebrate 150 years of statehood.

The postmark incorporates an outline of the state’s boundary, which will be used to frame the entire Oregon Statehood stamp image.  All 326 Oregon Post Offices are participating in the event.

Each postmark will include the city and ZIP Code information for each participating Post Office.

To further celebrate the issuance of the stamp and the special postmark, several Post Offices around the state are hosting special local events on January 14.

The postmark may be used for mailing items on January 14, and will be available to collectors for an additional 60 days at each Post Office.  Stamp collectors may contact their local Post Office for details.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.