The May meeting has been changed.
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We will meet on Saturday, May 18 in the St. Martin Library. We will have a brief Board Meeting at 1 pm followed at 2 pm by a General Business meeting. At this meeting active members will decide upon a slate of Officers and Directors for the Club. |
U.S. Stamps Issued in May
Transcontinental Railroad
Issue Date: May 10
Place of Issue: Promontory Summit, Utah
Format: 3 designs on a single pane, self-adhesive
Denomination: 55¢, forever stamp
Issue Date: May 10
Place of Issue: Promontory Summit, Utah
Format: 3 designs on a single pane, self-adhesive
Denomination: 55¢, forever stamp
Wild and Scenic Rivers
Issue Date: May 21
Place of Issue: Bend, Oregon
Format: Pane of 12 stamps, self-adhesive
Denomination: 55¢, forever stamps
Ellsworth Kelly
Issue Date: May 31
Place of Issue: Spencertown, New York
Format: 10 designs in 20 stamp booklets
Denomination: 55¢ forever stamp
Issue Date: May 31
Place of Issue: Spencertown, New York
Format: 10 designs in 20 stamp booklets
Denomination: 55¢ forever stamp
Mother's Day - May 12
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It was first celebrated in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis who, in turn, many years earlier had founded Mothers' Day Work Clubs in five cities. Anna Jarvis began a campaign to make the Mother's Day a national holiday and she succeeded in 1914 when the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May a Mother's Day. In the USA, Mother's Day is one of the biggest holidays for phone calls, and Father's Day is the busiest day for collect (reverse charge) calls. |
Mother's Day is the most popular day of the year to dine out in the United States with almost 40% of consumers doing so. Accordingly, it is also the busiest day of the year for KFC. Today Mother's Day (or a similar event) is celebrated in more than 150 countries around the world, although at different dates. Many countries, including the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and many European countries, celebrate Mother's Day on second Sunday of May. On the other hand, in many African countries it is celebrated on 21 March. To summarize, most of the Mother's Day dates around the world fall in May or in March.
Armed Forces Day - May 18
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Armed Forces Day 2019 is a federal holiday observed annually on the third Saturday of May. It is a day dedicated to paying tribute to men and women who currently serve in the United States' armed forces. Additionally, Armed Forces Day 2019 forms part of Armed Forces Week. It should be noted, that because of their unique training schedules, National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in the month of May. |
The inception of this Armed Forces Day dates back to 31 August 1949, it was a day dedicated to honor Americans who were currently serving in the five U.S. military branches – the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard – following the consolidation of the military services in the United States Department of Defense. It was intended to replace the separate Army-, Navy-, Air Force-, Marine Corps- and Coast Guard Days but, today, the separate holidays are still observed independently.
On 20 May 1950, the holiday was first observed. The theme for that day was “Teamed for Defence” which expressed the unification of all military forces. Armed Force Day 2019 still remains as a day focused on expanding public knowledge and understanding on what type of job was performed within the army, the role of the military within civilian life and as a day of honor for all those serving in military forces.
Traditionally, Armed Forces Day 2019 is viewed as a time of honor. The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions and air shows. Today, many events and activities take place and may include: Multi-service military displays in areas open for the public, various educational activities that teach children about the armed forces and large parades and other local celebrations. The United States' longest continuously running Armed Forces Day Parade is held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Certain types of music are also played at Armed Forces Day 2019 events as a way of showing respect those in the armed forces who died for their country.
Memorial Day - May 27
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Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2018 occurs on Monday, May 28. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
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The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo, NY—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.
The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, anFor decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. The holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.
Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo, NY—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.
The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, anFor decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. The holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.
Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history
Yom HaShoah - 27th Day of Nissan
יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה
Many people in the United States observe Yom HaShoah, which is also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. It commemorates the lives and heroism of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945. Many people in the United States, including those with Jewish ancestry or connections, observe Yom HaShoah on the 27th day of the month of Nisan.
Many Jewish communities hold commemorative ceremonies or events to remember Holocaust victims who died during World War II. Activities may include lighting memorial candles and reciting the Kaddish, which is a prayer for the departed.
The Masorti (Conservative Judaism) movement in Israel created Megillat HaShoah, a scroll and liturgical reading for Yom HaShoah. This is a joint effort between Jewish leaders in Israel, the United States and Canada. Rituals associated with Yom Hashoah are still being made and suggested. These rituals vary among synagogues in North America.
Source: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/yom-hashoah
Source: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/yom-hashoah
In philately, what is an aniline ink stamp?
When was the 1847 issue of U.S. stamps declared invalid for use as postage.
