Chilly weather meets Winter Woodland Animals stamps

Philatelic Foreword by Jay Bigalke

Small-town ceremonies are the best in my book. On Oct. 10, Linn’s Stamp News assisted local United States Postal Service officials in organizing a dedication ceremony for the Winter Woodland Animals stamps.

Linn’s article about the four stamps appeared on page 1 of the Oct. 9 issue.

The ceremony took place outside on the steps of the Woodland Township Hall, built in 1867, because inside, the floor was breaking in the back of the room. Luckily, nobody was injured, but it did add some extra drama and resulted in the event moving outside.

I joked in my remarks as master of ceremonies, “I guess the animals wanted us to come outside with them.”

The temperature inside and out was about the same: 40 degrees, fitting for the “winter” part of the stamp issue’s name.

Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony.

The Lakewood Public Schools had 45 students help with the Pledge of Allegiance, which was nice. Katie Kirk, who designed the four stamps, provided some stickers for the students, and I built a small scene out of Lego bricks that included each of the animals in the set. My son Gavin walked it around and showed it to the students after the ceremony.

Speakers talked about a variety of subjects, ranging from Woodland’s history to Nordic mythology relating to the animals because the Lakewood schools mascot is a Viking.

Having a expert speaker on foxes was extra special; Jennifer Patton, co-founder of Foxes Journey Sanctuary, shared interesting facts about foxes and also revealed she collects stamps herself.

Even with a little excitement at the last minute, I think it turned out to be a nice celebration in the village of Woodland, whose population is right around 400.

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