Friday, October 31, 2025
These stamps put the ‘us’ in USPS
Postal themes are rare but have proven quite popular
Sixty-five years ago this month, a new stamp celebrated a pioneering automated Post Office in Providence, RI.
The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which had formed only three years earlier in 1957, had decided against issuing the stamp because they considered the theme too self-referential, but they were overruled by Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield. His instincts proved correct: More than 833,000 of the stamps were sold on the facility’s opening day alone.
Self-referential themes were not without precedent — Special Delivery stamps with the image of a messenger boy were issued in 1885, and a set of 1913 Parcel Post stamps included representations of postal workers — but the success of the 1960 issue paved the way for several postal-themed releases to follow in the ’60s and beyond, including:
• City Mail Delivery, a 1963 stamp that celebrated 100 years of free city mail delivery from 1863 to 1963. The artwork by Norman Rockwell shows a letter carrier with a handlebar mustache carrying an umbrella in the rain, with a boy and dog underfoot.
• The USPS eagle, released on July 1, 1971, the day the Postal Service was born. The stamp depicted the new organization’s corporate seal designed by Raymond Loewy, a well-known industrial artist, and sold for eight cents. First-day-of-issue cancellations of the stamp at small Post Offices are considered rarities.
• Postal Service Employees, a set of 10 designs released in 1973 that included colorful midcentury drawings of letter carriers, retail associates, rural carriers and more.
• Rural Free Delivery, a 1996 stamp celebrating the 100th anniversary of rural free delivery. The stamp was issued in Charleston, WV, at the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association’s 92nd national convention.
Fast-forward 50-plus years and USPS has done it again: In July, the organization released 250 Years of Delivering, a pane of 20 illustrated se-tenant stamps that follow a letter carrier as she completes her route through the four seasons. The artwork was created by graphic novelist Chris Ware, who co-designed the pane with Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS.
Ware told the Stamps Forever website that the experience of researching the stamps deepened his appreciation for postal employees, “who work so extraordinarily hard in conditions both physical and psychological … They’re all amazing people.”
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People
The power of pink
Employees promote breast cancer awareness, supervisors receive new training and a lost wedding garment is found
Postal Service employees across the nation did their part to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
In many USPS workplaces, employees touted the Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp, which has raised about $98 million since its introduction in 1998, and participated in events designed to promote breast cancer screenings and early detection.
It was also a time to show your spirit by wearing pink, the color associated with breast cancer awareness.
At USPS headquarters in Washington, DC, employees from several departments wore pink and gathered for a group photo organized by Tina Collington, an administrative assistant in Operations Integration and Performance Excellence who is a one-year survivor of stage 2 triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease.
“This cause is very close to my heart,” Collington said. “By sharing our photo, I hope to help raise awareness, encourage others and show the unity and support across our postal family.”
A helping hand for supervisors
Being a front-line supervisor for USPS is a juggling act, and Minnesota-North Dakota District is providing extensive training to help new supervisors keep those balls in the air.
“This program has been eye-opening. I’ve gained valuable tools to manage complex situations and ensure our operations run smoothly,” said Tracy Lawrence, a transportation operations supervisor in St. Paul, MN. “Most importantly, I feel supported knowing that USPS is committed to helping me grow as a leader.”
Cameron Parsons, a customer services supervisor in Minneapolis, also got a lot out of the training.
“Even though I’ve been in a supervisor role for 6-7 months, there were a lot of new things to learn,” he said. “The instructors were quite knowledgeable and helpful, and I appreciated having time to connect with supervisors from my state and across the country.”
Leaving no stone unturned
David Hathaway, a USPS customer services supervisor in Telford, PA, recently led a team of employees that tracked down a garment for an upcoming wedding that had not arrived when expected.
Hathaway’s reward? The couple invited him to their wedding.
“They felt we did so much for them,” he said.
It’s par for the course of Hathaway, who said he and his team strive for “100 percent satisfaction” from the customers they serve.
“If something is missing, we all go and find it,” he said. “We stay in constant communication; I don’t let up. We keep the customer informed and we don’t leave one stone unturned.”
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News Quiz
Holiday ready
How much do you know about USPS package delivery upgrades?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. How many packages can USPS process each day thanks to the addition of 614 state-of-the-art sorting machines during the past five years?
a) 60 million
b) 66 million
c) 74 million
d) 88 million
2. What is the subject of “Ambush in Andrews,” the Postal Inspection Service’s first-ever in-house documentary?
a) The harassment of a letter carrier at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
b) The murder of a rural carrier in South Carolina
c) The theft of 10 packages containing cocaine
d) The theft of a USPS truck in Texas
3. What is the name of Ocala, FL, Customer Service Support Supervisor Robert Rivera’s baseball-themed YouTube channel?
a) “Ball Four”
b) “Over the Fence”
c) “Who’s on First: The Show”
d) “You’re Out!”
4. What was Retail Associate Rosalind Smith’s role in delivering a long-lost wedding photo to a couple in Harvest, AL?
a) She found the photo behind a Post Office cabinet.
b) She found the photo on the side of the road.
c) She provided important information to postal inspectors.
d) She recognized the husband when he came into the Post Office.
5. How did Eaton, OH, Rural Carrier Annette Smith save a woman from the second floor of a burning house?
a) She backed her postal vehicle to the house so the woman could jump onto its roof.
b) She called 911 and kept the woman calm while awaiting rescuers.
c) She leaned a ladder up against the house so the woman could escape.
d) She ran into the house and carried the woman outside to safety.
Answers: 1) d. 2) b. 3) c. 4) d. 5) a.
Standard time resumes this weekend
Daylight saving time will end Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 a.m.
In areas where the change is observed, people will “fall back” and set their clocks back one hour at bedtime Nov. 2.
Standard time will be in effect until March 8, 2026, when daylight saving time will resume.
Postal Bulletin lists shipping dates for holiday mail and packages
Postal Bulletin’s latest edition, published Oct. 30, reviews the Postal Service’s recently announced recommended mailing and shipping dates for holiday mail and packages.
Updates to the organization’s policies, procedures and forms are also included.
Employees can go to usps.com to read and download the latest Postal Bulletin, along with past issues.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
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These stamps put the ‘us’ in USPS
Postal themes are rare but have proven quite popular
-
People
The power of pink
Employees promote breast cancer awareness, supervisors receive new training and a lost wedding garment is found
-
News Quiz
Holiday ready
How much do you know about USPS package delivery upgrades?
-
Brief
Standard time resumes this weekend
-
Brief
Postal Bulletin lists shipping dates for holiday mail and packages