Friday, February 27, 2026
USPS celebrates quilter and visual storyteller Harriet Powers
This pioneering folk artist used traditional techniques to create works of art
The Postal Service will release its stamps honoring 19th-century quiltmaker Harriet Powers on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Born into slavery in 1837 near Athens, GA, Powers completed at least five story quilts that depicted familiar scenes from the Bible and local lore.
However, only two are known to survive today — “The Bible Quilt” and “The Pictorial Quilt” — which now belong to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps featuring four panels from the “Pictorial Quilt.”
The Forever stamps will be available in sheets of 20 at Post Offices and at usps.com.
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People
Philadelphia’s postmaster passes
One employee performs a good deed and another sets a record
Philadelphia Postmaster Roman D. King of Pedricktown, NJ, died Feb. 13 at 55 years old.
King worked for USPS for 30 years. He served as postmaster in Philadelphia, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia. During his career, he held positions in mail processing and customer service, including officer in charge. He was also a Gulf War veteran.
“We are shocked and saddened to have lost a member of our postal family,” said Delaware-Pennsylvania 2 District Manager Edward Williamson. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Roman performed his duties admirably during his time here in Philadelphia and we always enjoyed his infectious laugh and smile. He certainly had an impact on many postal employees throughout the country.”
A district statement added: “King will be remembered for his passion, service, commitment to excellence and his refusal to give up on the people and communities he served.”
Doing the right thing
Coraopolis, PA, Letter Carrier Bruce Armah went the extra mile — 52 miles, to be exact — for a customer who lost her wallet.
He was recently delivering mail when he spotted a black billfold poking out of a snowbank.
“It’s just the right thing. If you find someone’s wallet, you just return it,” he said. “I remember when I was a teenager, my father lost his wallet, but someone returned it to him. A couple of months later, my dad found a wallet, and he returned it to that person. He taught me how important it is to return someone’s wallet.”
After he finished his workday, Armah set out to reunite the wallet with its rightful owner, who was grateful for the employee’s actions.
His good deed received local news coverage.
For the record
The Jacksonville, FL, Local Processing Center recently recognized Mail Processing Clerk Daryle Rhodes for her performance and record-breaking time on the delivery bar code sorter, or DBCS machine.
She exceeded the standard of sorting 26,000 mailpieces per hour by sorting 39,000 mailpieces an hour for four consecutive hours, according to Brian Baker, distribution operations manager.
“This was the best performance in the district and a new record for the DBCS machine,” he said.
Rhodes shared her record-breaking strategy.
“The key to mastering the machine has many different variables. I have a very safe, intentional, meticulous way I run the machine to insure timely, neat, consistent, processed mail,” she said.
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News Quiz
Several USPS stamps have gone for the gold
What do you know about the Postal Service’s Olympic-themed postage?
“News Quiz” is a weekly feature that lets you test your knowledge of recent Link stories. The correct answers appear at the end.
1. The first U.S. Olympics stamp, released in 1932, celebrated the Winter Games taking place at what location?
a) Calgary, Canada
b) Lake Placid, NY
c) Lillehammer, Norway
d) Salt Lake City
2. What is the iconic martial arts move depicted on the Bruce Lee stamp?
a) Big Boss
b) Dragon tail
c) Flying kick
d) San Francisco scissor kick
3. What convinced investigators that a New York City mail handler was stealing customers’ packages and checks?
a) They overheard him bragging to a friend.
b) They passed a marked check through the sorter he was operating.
c) They saw him stuff bundles of mail into his personal bag.
d) They trailed him to a bank where he cashed several stolen checks.
4. A social media page devoted to spotlighting Pittsburgh’s “grit and glory” recently praised what character trait of USPS mail carriers?
a) Driving skills
b) Friendliness
c) Sense of humor
d) Work ethic
5. Because of Washington Township, OH, Rural Carrier Vicki Schwarck’s notification, how was help able to enter the home of a customer who had fallen unconscious from a carbon monoxide leak?
a) A friend with the key opened the door.
b) Firefighters first entered through a window.
c) The customer’s dog pushed the door open.
d) The police breached the door.
Answers: 1) b. 2) c. 3) c. 4) d. 5) a.