Philatelic Society of Lancaster County

The James Buchanan Chapter #173 of the American Philatelic Society
Chapter #118 of the American Topical Association

Welcome – Enjoy your Visit!

Our Society is an award-winning, non-profit community organization dedicated to promoting stamp collecting as a hobby for education & fun, from teens to adult, from beginners to postal historians, serving members from PA, MD, DE, NJ & beyond. To learn more about Membership Benefits and to become a member, click JOIN US or reach out to Dr. Charles J. DiComo, PSLC President at charlesdicomo@gmail.com.

SOCIETY PROGRAMS

We meet in-person the second Wednesday of each month at Landis Homes, 1001 E. Oregon Rd., Lititz, PA (directions below). Doors open 6:30 PM. We hold a brief business meeting, followed by keynote speaker, then Show, Tell & Ask, where members & guests share their favorite stamp, cover, or philatelic item. There are refreshments, snacks, and a bourse. Come early: share, buy, sell, or trade.
*** Added Bonus For All Far & Wide: We host a Virtual Zoom meeting on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Visitors always welcome! Contact Paul Petersen at +1 (717) 299-5640 or pcpetersen@comcast.net for more info or to sign-up to present.

January 14: Winter Society Auction. The Society holds three (3) Auctions a year at the Club (Winter, Spring and Autumn). Auctions are for Society Members-only. However, anyone can join the Society for $10.00 the night of an Auction and get yearly access. Material for sale is broad in scope, from stamps, postal history, albums, ephemera, supplies, etc. – both international and United States. There is always something for everyone at a reasonable price. Why not stop by, grab a paddle and have some fun! For more information, visit Auction Instructions. Download the Auction Lot Form HERE.

January 28: (Zoom) “Century of Progress Aerophilately of the 1933-1934 Chicago: Part-I,” by Jim Haxby. Eighty years ago, in 1933-34, the City of Chicago was host to a remarkable World’s Fair, the Century of Progress Exposition. As it evolved, the primary theme of the fair became the advancements of mankind through science, making it a showcase for modern living, consumerism and entertainment. In keeping with the fair’s theme, several consequential aviation events and displays were mounted. These and their philatelic aspects are the subject of this presentation.

Part I details two major events. First is the visit by General Italo Balbo and the Italian Air Cruise of 24 seaplanes that involved a double crossing of the North Atlantic, an amazing feat for the aircraft of the day. An extensive philatelic program was associated with Balbo’s trip. And second is the Piccard-Compton Stratosphere Ascension attempt in the balloon, Century of Progress.

February 11:
February 25: (Zoom) “Century of Progress Aerophilately: Part-II,” by Jim Haxby. The Century of Progress was staged less than a decade after Lindbergh’s historic flight to Paris. Commercial airliners capable of reliably carrying a significant passenger payload across the Atlantic were still years in the future. But, the German dirigible, Graf Zeppelin, had already done so multiple times by 1933. So, it seemed appropriate that the Graf and the German-American dirigible, U.S.S. Macon, pay a visit to the Fair. The Graf’s visit was associated with special stamp issues by several countries, including the United States. Part II covers the airships’ visits, as well as the Adams nonstop air mail pick-up and delivery demonstrations, and special airplane and balloon races staged at the Fair.
March 12:

March 25: (Zoom) “Lutheran Charity Seal Collecting (1910-1977),” by Stanley Jones.
April 8:
April 22: (Zoom) “The Greenland Parcel Post Stamps,” by Jaume Balsells.
May 13: “The Decimal Era of Canadian Postal History,” by Ronald E. Majors, OTB, Ph.D. The decimal era of Canadian postal history (1859-1868) took place after the pence era ended. Due to its proximity sharing a 5,500 mile border with loosely organized provincial governments and the Hudson Bay Company, Canada began to align itself to the United States and adopted the cents and dollar as its official currency. The US Civil war brought Canada provinces closer together on the issue of slavery, already forbidden throughout the British Empire since 1833. In fact, over 50,000 Canadian joined the Union Army and Navy with only a few joining the Confederate effort. Near the end of the decimal period, Confederation (1867) brought together the loosely held provincial districts. Later, other geographical entities such as British Columbia and Newfoundland joined the Confederation.

Other processes and changes to improve mail delivery throughout the decimal era took place. Special postal rates arose such as cross river ferriage rates, neighboring town rates, parcel post for small packages, soldier’s rates, photograph rates, non-letter mail such as circular rates to improve business mail were instituted. Money letters were replaced with registered mail with more security features to allow closer tracking. To improve business results, the postal regulations allowed the introduced new and more innovative ways of advertising, using illustrated covers. Colorful and sometimes beautifully engraved envelopes promoted religious-, patriotic-, military- , manufacturing- and special interest-themes. But probably the biggest area of attention was the continued use of stampless covers, especially to exotic places for which postage rates were sometimes misunderstood or unknown. Often stampless covers help us understand the postal rates that were in effect at the time. It is estimated that approximately 50% of the mail was sent stampless and the postmasters at the recipient side of the mail business were entrusted to collect the “proper” postage for a given mailing destination. A small penalty was imposed for the use of stampless letters. This talk will give an overview of Canadian decimal franked and stampless mail to some very rare and distant locations and rates.
May 17: Outdoor Society Bourse (tentative)
May 27: (Zoom)
June 10:
June 24: “Collecting National Airmail Week Material: More Than Meets the Eye,” by Jim Haxby. At first glance, the subject of National Air Mail Week (NAMW) philately seems simple enough. In 1938, numerous post offices around the country used rubber stamps to apply cachets of local significance to air mail covers that were dispatched during a special week in May, 1938.

But when we look a little deeper, we find that not all covers were quite so straightforward. Some towns had more than one cachet design. Some had a different cachet color for each day of the week. And sometimes a common cachet design was used throughout a particular county. Moreover, there was extensive correspondence between postmasters in which they traded separate impressions of the NAMW cachets. This presentation is a general introduction into the intriguing world of National Air Mail Week material.

July 8: “Wreck & Crash Mail: Not a Macabre Collectible,” by Mike Wilson. Mike will start with an overview of air crash mail by showing a sample of 10 covers, ranging from a Balloon Monte cover from 1870 to a Boeing 707 crash in 1962. He then takes a deeper dive on three covers, covering both their postal and social histories. After some concluding comments on air crash mail, he will present rare covers from two other genres of catastrophe mail: a train crash cover from 1891 (one of only two known covers to exist) and a shipwreck cover from 1900 with a seldom seen German cachet.

July 22: (Zoom)
August 12: Club Picnic, Freedom Memorial Park, Millersville, PA.
August 26: (Zoom) “A Journey to the Ney Post Office: A Rural Mountain PO in Late 19th Century PA,” by Scott Ney.
September 9:
September 23: (Zoom)
October 14:
October 28: (Zoom)
November 11:
November 25: (Zoom)
December 9: Society Holiday Dinner.
December 23: (Zoom)

STAMP SHOWS, BOURSES & GATHERINGS

February 15, 2026: K2 Lancaster Stamp Show, on Sunday from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Farm & Home Center of Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Affiliated Dealers: K2 Stamp Mobile (K2 Stamps & Collectibles), Alan Bernstein, Bill Matalavage, Doug McCullough, Frank Soeder, Scott Shaulis, Leslie Botte, Hugh Clark, David Lengyel, Wayne Gehret, Tony Coccio, Jack Zerby & Ward Wilcox. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more info, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com or +1 (301) 524-9562.

April 19, 2026: K2 Lancaster Stamp Show, on Sunday from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Farm & Home Center of Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Affiliated Dealers: K2 Stamp Mobile (K2 Stamps & Collectibles), Doug McCullough, Frank Soeder, Leslie Botte, Hugh Clark, David Lengyel, Wayne Gehret, Tony Coccio, Jack Zerby & Ward Wilcox. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more info, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com or +1 (301) 524-9562.

May 23-May 30, 2026: Boston 2026 World Expo, at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center (BCEC), Boston, MA. For more info on the show, visit or contact Executive Director Mark Butterlineat mark.butterline@boston2026.org or President Dr. Yamil Kouri at Yamil.Kouri@Boston2026.org.

Overview: Boston will be the world’s center of philately for eight days in 2026, as the twelfth international philatelic exhibition of the U.S. gathers at the BCEC. To be held during Memorial Day week (May 23–30, 2026) in the Seaport section of the city, Boston 2026 World Expo will be a significant part of the country’s 250th anniversary festivities. In a 352,000 square foot contiguous exhibition area, Boston 2026 will be hosting a large dealer bourse, as well as a sizable postal administration bourse, and society presence. There will be an FIP competitive exhibition of approximately 3,500 frames, plus other special/court of honor exhibits, as well as a large FIP literature competition. Boston 2026 will be hosting hundreds of meetings/presentations in 40+ meeting rooms of various sizes. A large opening ceremony and closing awards dinner will be staged using the BCEC’s banquet room facilities. Travelers from out of town will appreciate that Boston’s Logan Airport and Amtrak’s South Station are less than 15 minutes away from the BCEC, and that eight show hotels will be within walking distance. And best of all, attendance is FREE!

July 19, 2026: K2 Lancaster Stamp Show, on Sunday from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM at the Farm & Home Center of Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Affiliated Dealers: K2 Stamp Mobile (K2 Stamps & Collectibles), Doug McCullough, Frank Soeder, Leslie Botte, Hugh Clark, David Lengyel, Wayne Gehret, Tony Coccio, Jack Zerby & Ward Wilcox. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more info, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com or +1 (301) 524-9562.

August 7-9, 2026: BALPEX 2026 88th Annual Stamp Exhibition & Bourse. Location: BWI Marriott Airport, 1743 West Nursery Rd., Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. Five minutes from the BWI terminal via free Marriott shuttle and five minutes from the BWI Amtrak/MARC station. Times: Friday & Saturday, 10AM – 6PM, Sunday, 10AM – 3PM. Free admission and Free parking. Easy in-and-out ground level venue. BALPEX is a World Series of Philately Show. For more information on BALPEX 2026, call +1 (410) 465-5712 or E-mail: balpex@verizon.net

December 13, 2026: K2 Lancaster Stamp Show, on Sunday from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Farm & Home Center of Lancaster County, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Affiliated Dealers: K2 Stamp Mobile (K2 Stamps & Collectibles), Doug McCullough, Frank Soeder, Leslie Botte, Hugh Clark, David Lengyel, Wayne Gehret, Tony Coccio, Jack Zerby & Ward Wilcox. Table fee is $120 for 8 feet “L’s” (8″ front & 8″ side) with an 8″ back table. Setup starts 8:00 AM. For more info, contact Kevin Kellman at k2stamps@gmail.com or +1 (301) 524-9562.

For existing members who want to renew their membership for 1 or more years, and/or make a donation to support our Society activities and programs, you can use PayPal-Friends by remitting payment to President Charles J. DiComo, PhD at charlesdicomo@gmail.com and denote in Notes section the reason for payment, your name, and now many years. Venmo can also be used @charlesdicomo. For new members, please mail/email your Membership Application along with a check or money order to Treasurer, Lou DiFelice.

Storm Cancellation Policy: Should there be a storm or the forecast of such on our in-person meeting evening, the Board will determine the status of the session. When decided, they will inform Paul Petersen, who will send out an all-Society email. Those not on email should call him at +1 (717) 299-5640 for further info.

MEETING LOCATION

The Crossings Meeting Room (2nd Flr.) and/or High Conference Room (Ground Flr.) at Landis Homes on 1001 East Oregon Road, Lititz, PA (Directions below).

The Society meets in person monthly on the 2^nd Wednesday (except August).
Doors Open at 6:30 PM. Visitors Welcome!
Come Early to Share, Buy, Sell, and/or Trade.
Contact Paul Petersen at +1 (717) 299-5640 or pcpetersen@comcast.net for more information

DIRECTIONS TO MEETING LOCATION

Landis Homes is located on 1001 East Oregon Road, also known as Route 722. Route 722 runs in a somewhat East-West direction between the Lititz Pike (Route 501) and the Oregon Pike (Route 772). You can easily reach this facility from either direction.

(1) From the North or South via Lititz Pike: Take Lititz Pike (Rt. 501) toward Neffsville. Just 0.3 – 0.4 miles north of Neffsville is a traffic light at E. Oregon Rd. (Rt. 722). Turn east, and it is two miles to Landis Homes, which is on the south side.
(2) From the North or South via Rt. 222: Take exit for Oregon Pike (Rt. 272). On Oregon Pike, turn north for 0.3 miles. Turn left on Creek Rd. for 0.3 miles, and then left on Oregon Rd. Landis Homes is about 0.8 miles on the south side.
(3) Entering the Facility: Off Oregon Rd. there are three entrances to Landis Homes: an (1) East, (2) a West, and (3) a middle or Main. Enter here at the Main Entrance, the large building right in front of you is the Calvin & Janet High Learning & Wellness Center (this is the purple building on the map with #5 attached). Park here. The Crossings Meeting Room is on the second deck of this building, and is there is an elevator which you can take up one floor. The High Conference Room is on the first floor just past the front desk on your right.

Below are the driving directions from the Landis Homes website www.landishomes.org.

From Lancaster: Take Route 501 North (Lititz Pike) through Neffsville. At traffic light, turn right onto E. Oregon Rd. (Route 722 East). Continue 2 miles to Landis Homes entrances on the right.
From Lititz: Go south on Route 501. About one mile past the Lancaster Airport turn left at traffic light onto Route 722 East (also known as E. Oregon Rd.) and continue 2 miles to Landis Homes entrances on the right.
From Harrisburg: Take Route 283 East, approximately 30 miles, which leads directly onto US Route 30 East. Follow Route 30 East to the Lititz Pike Exit (Route 501 North). At the stop light, turn left onto Route 501 North. Follow 501 North through Neffsville. At traffic light for E. Oregon Rd. (Route 722 East) turn right. Continue 2 miles to Landis Homes entrances on the right.
From Philadelphia: Take Reading exit (Old exit # 21, at milepost 286) off the PA turnpike at US 222 South towards Lancaster. Continue south on US 222 to the Brownstown Exit. Go right (Route 772 West) a short distance to Rt. 272, which is at a traffic light. Turn left onto Rt. 272 South for 1.8 miles and turn right onto Rt. 722, East Oregon Road. (Speedway gas station is at the intersection.) Continue 1 mile to Landis Homes entrances on the left.

CJD 2026-12-23