Blue Mountain Lake Postmaster Liz Forsell and her staff hosted a “Zip Meets Date” event last Saturday in recognition of the date, 12/8/12, matching up with the post office’s 12812 zip code.
In commemoration, a special pictorial cancellation was held and refreshments were served to postal patrons.
Blue Mountain Lake Postmaster Liz Forsell shows some of her historic cancellation artifacts. Photos of Wende Carr.
The design on the rubber stamp used for the cancellation was created by Forsell and Linda Moke of the Albany district. The image, which features the USPS iconic character, Mr. Zip, was approved in Albany and Washington, DC.
The stamp will be used at the Blue Mountain Lake Post Office for thirty days.
Forsell said approximately 4,000 pieces of mail were stamped on Saturday—a dramatic increase from a typical day when about 150 letters are collected and sent to Albany for cancellation.
“This is the most I’ve done on a cancellation—ever,” Forsell said.
She said the Blue Mountain post office received self-addressed, stamped envelopes from people representing the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Georgia, Maine and more—presumably collectors seeking the special cancellation stamps.
Forsell, a collector herself, said she has an album-full of stamps commemorating Wood-stock, Smokey Bear Day, the Baseball Hall of Fame, an annual Walleye Fest, and the Raquette Lake Mailboat—among many others.
Collectors can subscribe to a postal bulletin to find out when events are being commemorated with special pictorial cancellations.
Anyone can sponsor a pictorial cancellation, according to Forsell.
They can be used to commemorate special events sponsored by an organization or a community—even a family reunion. There is no cost to do so—the service is provided by the USPS.
