PORTLAND, MAINE – In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts, the United States Postal Service is issuing the Scouting stamp on Tuesday, July 27. This first day of issue will be marked by a special ceremony at the West Newbury, VT, Post Office.
West Newbury Officer In Charge Patsy Cole and her staff will oversee a stamp unveiling in a special ceremony upstairs at the West Newbury Town Hall beginning at 12:30 p.m.
A senior district postal official will offer welcoming remarks and some information about the new stamp. Bradford Scout Troop Leader Scott Johnson will speak and introduce some of his cub scouts.
Finally, Postmaster Laurie Vaughan, Troop Leader Johnson, Officer In Charge Cole and selected scouts will make a special presentation of a framed enlargement of the stamp.
Refreshments will be served. Scouting stamps will be on sale at the post office after 1 p.m.
For more information, customers may call West Newbury Post Office OIC Patsy Cole at (802) 429-2306.
Scouting stamp background: To create this original design, illustrator Craig Frazier depicted the images of two different scouts in clothing and accessories that are often part of the outdoor scouting experience — hats, packs, boots, and binoculars. At first glance, one sees the large silhouette of a scout peering through binoculars. Within this figure is another scout perched atop a mountain taking
in the vista.
“I wanted a level of discovery to be portrayed in the stamp itself,” Frazier recalls. He continues, “The small figure and landscape indicate very hard, directional light coming from low on the horizon—either early morning or late afternoon. The sky has that pale blue to indigo transition that happens only at those two times of day.”
Craig Frazier works out of his studio in Mill Valley, California. His designs for the Postal Service include the 2003 Nurturing Love stamped envelope and True Blue, the 2006 stamp in the Love series.
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