Sunday, May 21, 2006

Columnist sings the praises of stamp collecting

Columnist Bob Baird of the The Journal News in Westchester, NY wrote in his Sunday column earlier this month about his childhood and how stamp collecting helped him in geography and history.

Bob writes, "I knew where Bosnia was long before Yugoslavia came apart at its ethnic seams. I knew a king of England gave up the crown for the woman he loved. I met less-than-famous Americans like Ralph Bunche and Robert Taft. I learned how the Depression followed World War I and how we drifted back to war."

"My collection of stamps from the Gold Coast and Togoland ended when they became Ghana. I watched the Belgian Congo become Zaire. I knew the faces of inventors, presidents and patriots, not because I had seen them on TV, but because I had their stamps in my albums."

He also mentions how trips to the stamp stores on Nassau Street in lower Manhattan helped him learn how to save and spend wisely.

To read his entire article, click here.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 PM