Astronomer who discovered Pluto honored with hometown postmark: Postmark Pursuit

By Michael Baadke

American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh was commemorated July 9 with a pictorial postmark from his birthplace, Streator, Ill.

The postmark comes a little more than a month after the United States Postal Service issued two forever stamps in honor of the successful New Horizons mission to Pluto: One stamp pictures the New Horizons spacecraft, and the other shows a photograph of the dwarf planet as taken by the interplanetary explorer during its flyby last year.

Tombaugh is credited with discovering Pluto in 1930 when he was 24. Working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., he was successful in locating what was then considered a ninth planet, based on the calculations of astronomer Percival Lowell.

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Tombaugh died at age 90 in 1997, and when New Horizons was launched in 2006, some of Tombaugh’s ashes were included in the craft.

To obtain this postmark, address your request to:

PLUTO Station, Postmaster, 221 E. Hickory, Streator, IL 61364-9998, July 9.

The following cancels are also available.

McCRACKEN RODEO Station, Postmaster, 307 Main St., McCracken, KS 67556-9998, July 8. (One circle of rope with five-pointed star overlapping second circular marking, “30th Annual McCracken Rodeo, KPRA, 2016.”)

150th ANNIVERSARY CORNWALL BROTHERS STORE Station, Postmaster, 13 Bethune St., Alexandria Bay, NY 13607-9998, July 9. (Two-story stone commercial building with lettering “Cornwall Brothers,” “150th Anniversary, 1866-2016.”)

BARE KNUCKLES BOXING HALL OF FAME Station, Postmaster, 53 Main St., Belfast, NY 14711-9998, July 9. (Two fists, “Bare knuckle boxing living legends day, Gunn-Batchelder-Slice-Quinn.”)

SODA FOUNTAIN Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Elkton, KY 42220-9998, July 9. (Three scoops of ice cream in dessert dish, spoon.)

HERITAGE DAYS Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Alliance, NE 69301-9998, July 12. (Sketch of two American flags, helicopter, fireworks, “Helloooo Alliance 2016.”)

TOWN OF KINGFIELD 200th ANNIVERSARY Station, Postmaster, 8 Depot St., Kingfield, ME 04947-9998, July 16. (Scene of town in oval, “1816-Kingfield, Maine-2016, Bicentennial,” “Celebrating History, While Making History.”)

TOWN OF McDONOUGH, BICENTENNIAL Station, Postmaster, 1600 State Highway 220, McDonough, NY 13801-9998, July 16. (Banner with “1816 Celebrating 200 Years 2016,” tree, “Bicentennial Weekend Celebration,” “McDonough, NY est. April 1816.”)

MAINE POTATO BLOSSOM FESTIVAL Station, Postmaster, 289 Main St., Fort Fairfield, ME 04742-9998, July 16. (Barrel of potatoes.)

PEACH CAPITAL Station, Postmaster, 530 Main St., Porter, OK 74454-9998, July 16. (Large peach with leaf, “50th Annual Porter Peach Festival 1967-2016.”)

NATIONAL PARKS Station, Postmaster, 4025 W. Reno Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73125-9998, July 17-18. (“Celebrating the centennial of,” “100.”)

BEDFORD FALLS Station, Postmaster, 38 State St., Seneca Falls, NY 13148-9998, July 18. (“It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Countdown to the 70th Anniversary!” text between flowing lines.)

AFT CONVENTION Station, Customer Relations Coordinator, 100 S. First St., Room 127, Minneapolis, MN 55401-9641, July 19-20. (“AFT” [American Federation of Teachers] in shield, “100th Anniversary Celebration, Honoring Our Past and Inspiring Our Future, 1916-2016.”)

MAYVILLE Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Mayville, MI 48744-9998, July 20. (Three sunflowers in upside-down magician’s hat, magic wand, “26th Sunflower Festival.”)

The following postmarks have received a 30-day extension.

50th SEASON CELEBRATION Station, Postmaster, 140 N. Main St., Manti, UT 84642-9998, June 16. (Three figures, “The Manti Pageant,” banner with “50 Years,” “Manti, Utah.”)

PARROTT Station, Postmaster, 2300 N. Harris, Helena, MT 59601-9998, July 1. (“Soda Fountain Flashback at the,” ice cream cone, soda in glass with straw.)

Share information by writing to Postmark Pursuit, Box 4129, Sidney, OH 45365.

Instructions for requesting postmarks

Linn’s subscribers can see complete instructions for requesting postmarks here.

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