Hagåtña Bay stamp and ceremony

Jay Bigalke, associate editor of Linn's Stamp News, is featured in an article that appeared on the Pacific Daily News Web site.

Bigalke, Guam officials, residents, tourists and U.S. Postal Service personnel were at the first day ceremony Friday for the eleventh in the Scenic American Landscapes series of international letter rate stamps.

According to the site, "Bigalke stood in line with many stamp collectors, Guamanians and island dignitaries who were the first to purchase the stamps at the Onward Beach Resort. The site of the unveiling was specifically chosen because its view of Hagåtña Bay mirrors the image on the postal stamp, postal officials said."

The report went on to say photographer Michael Yamashita of New Jersey, who took the scenic Hagåtña bay sunset photo used on the stamp, did not make it to the ceremony.

Located approximately 1,600 miles east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. Around 212 square miles in size — roughly three times the area of Washington, D.C. — Guam has a population of about 158,000 that includes native Guamanians, known as Chamorro, as well as others of European and Asian descent.

To read the entire article by Lacee A.C. Martinez, click here.

For more on Guam, click here.