WWII-Era Stamp Collector Tells Tale of Passion

Ann Sperring writes in the Ocala, Florida Star-Banner,"Most people who struggled out of the Great Depression of the 1930s prefer to leave the memories of those lean and fearful years behind. Tony Burgio is an exception."

She goes on to say, "In the depths of the Depression, however, he found a lifetime source of happiness, education, achievement and pride - stamp collecting. It all began with shuffling through trash cans."

Tony (shown above) is quoted in the article as saying, ""My older brother had gotten a part-time janitorial job at a doctor's office, and he let me help him. My brother was interested in stamps, and I wanted to be like him. I would go through the trash looking for letters with different stamps. It turned out the doctor was a stamp collector and occasionally would throw out a stamp collecting magazine."

The rest...as they say...is history.

Burgio is the senior member of the Gen. Francis Marion Stamp Club of Ocala.

To read the entire article, click here.