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~- . ~c lt4)<14. t'.t.. ........ Spring 2011 1 Spring 2011 Volume 42, Number 1 Whole Number 245 IN THIS ISSUE: The Turbulent 70s by Michael Dattilico .......... 9 La Posta: A Journal of The Postmasters General of the United States XLIX. Walter F. Brown, 1929-1933 American Postal History By Daniel Y. Meschter .......... 19 Website: www.la-posta.com A Man’s Dying By Richard Martorelli .......... 23 Publisher: Richard W. Helbock Associate Editors: Henry Berthelot Tom Clarke Coastal Artillery in the Canal Zone Rod Crossley Michael Dattolico By Wayne L. Worthington .......... 38 Dennis H. Pack Robert G. Schultz Receiving Marks and Abington, Advertising & Circulation Manager: Cath Clark Montgomery County, Pennsylvania COVER: A psychedelic swirl reminiscent of the By Tom Clarke .......... 45 tie-died tee-shirts of the decade provides a col- orful background to a few covers illustrating as- Improving Postmark Illustrations: The Background pects of the postal turbulence of the 1970s. Michael Dattiloco refreshes our memories. By Dennis Pack .......... 52 La Posta: A Journal of American Postal History is published four times a year with issues mailed on or about the 20th of March, June, September and December. Persons desiring infor- An Air Mail Cover Census mation on manuscript submittals or subscription should e-mail or By Richard W. Helbock .......... 64 write La Posta c/o All About Mail, 33470 Chinook Plaza, Suite 216, Scappoose, OR 97056, [email protected] or (Digital edition only) Telephone in Australia: 612-6645-1829 Opinions expressed in articles appearing in this journal are The Post Offices of Harlan County, Kentucky those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the By Robert Rennick .......... 81 views of the publisher. La Posta cannot be responsible for the accuracy of any information printed herein. Postmarks of Territorial Alaska, 4th edition Introduction and “A” Towns (1st Draft) SUBSCRIPTION RATES: By Richard Helbock .......... 103 U. S. A. - $25.00 per annum (4 issues) CANADA - $33 (US) per annum OVERSEAS - $65.00 per annum airmail A digital only subscription is available for $12.50 worldwide 2 Whole Number 245 LA POSTA Benefactors & Sustaining Subscribers La Posta Benefactors are those persons contributing $50 or more for their subscription. Benefactors recog- nize that the La Posta journal, along, with its books and e-books, are a vital force that helps build and sustain interest in American postal history. Benefactor and Sustainer contributions go beyond just supporting the journal and help fund our research and publishing endeavors. We would like to give our special thanks to the following individuals for contributions above and beyond: Joseph J. Adamski Michael P. Corriss Millard Mack Robert G. Schultz Albert Aldham Rod Crossley Richard Malmgren Larry R. Sell Gary Anderson Richard F. Curtin Bernard D. Mayer Jr. Dr. Michael Senta Ted Bahry J. Leonard Diamond Larry McBride Timothy M. Sheehan Rex J. Bates Elwyn J. Doubleday R.J. Randy McEwen Gus Spector M.D. Henry F. Battestin Jr. Alyce Evans Col. Richard Morain Rex H. “Jim” Stever Robert Beasecker Edward Fisher Burnham S. Neill Robert Stoldal John Beirne Ted Gruber James K. Oliver W. L. Strauss Kevin Belmont Kenneth L. Hamlin Larry Oliver James R. Stultz Dr. Steven J. Berlin B. Clyde Hutchinson Alan Parsons Mike Tacha John Bigart James H. Inverarity Richard F. Pesot Jeffrey Wallace William E. Brooks Gordon E. Katz George Pinyuh Owen L. White Chip Brown George Kramer John A. Pollard Kirk Wolford Mike Brown Jon E. Krupnick Rev. Elwood S. Poore Thomas E. Caton William O. Kvale Robert Quintero John A. Cheramy Russell Lang Robert G. Rose Walter S. Clarke Richard A. Long A. J. Savakis David C. Collyer Dennis J. Lutz MD Paul C. Schroeder The following individuals and institutions have contributed financial assistance to La Posta in excess of their subscriptions and we are proud to list them as our Sustaining Subscribers. We are indebted to them for their generous support. Without it La Posta could not continue to exist. Raymond Agren Joseph M. Farkas Lynn I. Minneman Bob Summerell Kirk Andrews Richard Farquhar John Edwin Moffatt Robert D. Swanson Dennis K. Austin Norman Ferguson Steven R. Morehead Michael F. Taugher Robert A. Beall Ronald W. Finger James Moses Norman Tjeltveit John E. Beane MD Sidney Fingerhood E. F. (Al) Mueller Don Tocher Stan Bednarczyk Dale Forster David Mui Allan Tomey William R. Beith Myron Fox John G. Mullen Thomas P. Unterberger Bary D. Bender Ernest E. Fricks James P. Myerson Charles S. Wallis Jr. Henry J. Berthelot A.E. Gaddy Eric A. Nelson John Weigle David Bize William Gracie Ray L. Newburn Jr. Ernest G. Wheeler Thomas V. Boettger Raymond S. Hadley William A. Nix Kenneth L. White Eppe Bosch Larry J. Haller Robert Omberg Robert B. Whitney James N. Boyden LTC John T. Hardy Jr. Dennis Pack Louise Wile c/o Alexander & Co. Deane R. Briggs M.D. Wayne Hassell John E. Panek Raymond G. Woodman Roger S. Brody Dr. Edwin J. Helitzer Norman H. Pence Wayne Worthington Dan Brouillette Gary G. Hendren Hans Pohler John Wright Mrs. Gloria P. Brunelli Jeff Higley Stephen Prigozy James Zuelow Dr. Kenneth E. Burden Terence Hines Toivo R. Rannikko Maurice M. Bursey Todd A. Hirn Robert D. Rawlins Arden D. Callender Jr. Reginald L. Hofmaier Thomas S. Richardson Thomas E. Chastang Don L. Hofsommer Norman N. Ritchie C. Robert Chow Robert Hohertz Hal Ross Robert C. Clark Jr. William J. Johnson Henry B. Scheuer Giles R. Cokelet Lucien S. Klein Steven Schmale Collectors Club of Chicago Mr. James J. Kotanchik Schmitt Investors Ltd. Bob Coradi Alfred F. Kugel Joseph Sedivy Thomas E. Corning Eliot A. Landau Edwin H. Shane Vince Costello Howard Lee Charles G. “Terry” Shaw Joe H. Crosby James E. Lee Dan Sherman Roger D. Curran Brian P. Levy Lawrence Sherman, M.D. Matt Dakin Rev. David C. Lingard James E. Shew Robert M. Ebiner Richard Londo Thomas H. Smith Craig Eggleston Larry Dean Maddux Anita T. Sprankle David M. Ellis Richard Martorelli John A. Steele Norman Elrod Robert G. Metcalf Seymour B. Stiss James W. Faber Steven Miedziak Gregory H. Stone Spring 2011 3 Publisher’s Page La Posta review: Detained, Interned, Incarcerated: U.S. Noncombatant Internee Mail in World War II By Louis Fiset, 2010, 234p + CD, Hardbound. The first compilation of mail of noncombatant civilians, diplomats, and Axis merchant seamen held by the U.S. government during World War II. It breaks new ground in the area of U.S. World War II postal history, explaining why political groups were incarcerated as well as their postal history, background on historical events, and a discussion of political groups incarcerated. Edition limited to just 300 copies. $65.00 Reviewed by Cath Clark When the Collectors Club of Chicago chooses to pub- lish a book, it is carefully vetted for its importance to the hobby, and the veracity of its content. We at La Posta have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Louis Fiset’s Detained, Interned, Incarcerated, and it has been worth the wait. This 234-page, beautifully produced hardback is a thorough study of U.S. enemy ter 4 is on internment within Hawaii, and Chapter 4 noncombatant mail in WWII. The text is well-written covers the U.S. incarceration of deportees from Latin and scrupulously researched, describing the sequence America. of internments that ensued as the war approached, pro- gressed, and ended. The role of the M.S. Gripsholm in diplomatic ex- changes is elucidated in Chapter 6, followed by the There are 25 tables, including data on camp locations handling of Axis and French diplomatic staff in Chap- and populations, and useful chronologies. More than ter 7. Chapters 8-11 give comprehensive coverage of 250 crystal clear illustrations of covers, censor mark- the Japanese American experience, from Assembly ings, and photographs, most of which are in color, make Centers to Relocation Centers, and special Nisei sol- the book both educationally edifying, and a joy to the dier units. Finally, Chapter 12 describes the relocation eye. Detained, Interned, Incarcerated is the first com- of Aleuts and Pribilof Islanders to Southeast Alaska. prehensive documentation of the postal history of the U.S. internment program in WWII, affecting the lives The book is neatly concluded with a description of the of more than 140,000 people. It illuminates for the first 1988 Civil Liberties Act that acknowledged serious time the differences in mail handling by the four differ- injustices to citizens of Japanese ancestry with their ent agencies involved in internment, documented with WWII internment. The Act directed that relocation covers and censor markings. Within both a broad his- centers be preserved as national historic sites “as re- toric context, and from a philatelic perspective, there minders of how the government turned on some of its can be no doubt of this book’s importance. citizens in a time of fear.” Fiset also gives locations of monuments and plaques placed thus far at former in- Chapter 1 portrays the events leading to America’s in- ternment camps and assembly centers. The Act also carceration program, starting with the scuttling of the directed support to educational projects to inform the German merchant ship, the S.S. Columbus, and the American people about internal incarcerations during subsequent internments of German and Italian Merchant World War II. Dr. Fiset has truly enveloped the spirit Seamen. Chapters 2 and 3 describe differences in camps of the Act in the writing of this book. operated by the War and Justice Departments. Chap- 4 Whole Number 245 For the collector, there is a discussion of philatelic con- is an exceptional book that should be in the library of siderations of the condition and scarcity of material, both the U.S.