Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. His owner was likely a postal clerk who let the dog walk him to work. Owney began to ride with the bags on Railway Post Office (RPO) train cars across the state . . . and then the country! The RPO clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar.

Lou Hebert who has been reporting and writing broadcast news in the Toledo area for four decades sent me information recently that he authored a story on the adventurous life and tragic demise of Owney the Postal Dog. I’m sure you will find his story of interest.
Click here for his article…

On April 17, 2011 the U.S. Postal Service® will implement a postage rate increase for a number of mail classes including First Class Mail® (domestic and international), Media Mail®, and Parcel Post®. This rate change is in addition to the January 2, 2011 rate change which increased prices for Priority Mail® and Express Mail®. Priority and Express rates will not increase as a result of the April rate change.

First Class Letters will remain at $0.44 for the first ounce and one-ounce First Class Flats will remain at $0.88; each additional ounce (or half ounce for 3.5 ounce letters) will cost an extra $0.20 (previously $0.17).

Be sure to visit the USPO web site for all of the latest rate changes.

The Postal Service depends on mail volume to survive. In recent years letter writing has died, today it’s emails or texting, people pay their bills online and businesses spend a fraction of what they did just a few years ago to send out junk mail.

Because of this and other economic factors the post office has nearly 500 postal closings under way, and has set a goal to close a total of 2,000 in 2011. The postal service argues that its network of some 32,000 brick-and-mortar post offices, many built in the horse-and-buggy days, is outmoded in an era when people are more mobile.

This year may see some major changes with the postal service as they try to maintain thousands of post offices and find new ways to compete in the market place.

Postal history cover collectors may want to pay closer attention to this and try to get a “Last Day of Service” cover.

For die-hard stamp collectors, there’s more to philately than just everyday stamps.  Enduring additions to postal history collectibles include postal stationery (the first stamped envelopes in 1853; postal cards in 1873), commemorative postage stamps (introduced in 1893), and airmail postage stamps (introduced in 1918).  Revenue stamps, instituted by the Lincoln administration to help defray the cost of the Civil War, gave birth to yet another diverse field that found enthusiasts.

Since 1981 the U.S. Postal Service has designated the month of October as National Stamp Collecting Month (NSCM).  Developed to introduce children ages 8-12 to this popular and educational hobby, the NSCM program is also intended to raise awareness about the recreational benefits of stamp collecting among all age groups.

Forest collectible souvenir sheet stamps and stamped postal cards will launch National Stamp Collecting Month for 2010. Creatures of central California’s kelp forest will swim into the nation’s mail stream when SCUBA divers unveil the Nature of America series.

U.S. Postal Service honors Bill Mauldin, one of America’s favorite cartoonists. During World War II, military readers got a knowing laugh from Mauldin’s characters Willie and Joe, who gave their civilian audience an idea of what life was like for soldiers. After the war, Mauldin became a popular and influential editorial cartoonist. The stamp goes on sale in March.

In 1945, he won a Pulitzer Prize “for distinguished service as a cartoonist” and the Allied high command awarded him its Legion of Merit. His illustrated memoir, Up Front, was a bestseller. That same year, his “dogface” Willie appeared on the cover of Time.

U.S. Postal Service art director Terry McCaffrey chose to honor Mauldin through a combination of photography and an example of Mauldin’s art. The photo of Bill Mauldin is by John Phillips, a photographer for Life magazine; it was taken in Italy on December 31, 1943. Mauldin’s cartoon, showing his characters Willie and Joe, is used courtesy of the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Click for more information on Bill Mauldin