A Passion for Philately

Minneapolis stamp collector Gary Haas and Fresno, Calif., stamp dealer Gary Deitz are featured in an article by Rick Bentley of the McClatchy Newspapers.

Bentley writes, "Gary Haas squeezes between a pair of ceiling-high book cases, arranged to create a small office area and a central location for his stamp collecting hobby.Haas' passion for collecting is evident. Most of the shelves are filled with volumes and volumes of stamps, categorized by date, country, color and subject matter.

He goes on to say, "The collection is so massive that Haas has no idea of the total. It's the accumulation of more than 40 years of collecting, which started when Haas received a stamp collecting starter set for Christmas when he was 8 years old."

Haas is quoted as saying, "In the 1970s, I got a stamp collecting merit badge through the Boy Scouts, where I learned some of the basics of stamp collecting.I started going to stamp shows about six times a year. It's a slow learning process."

Deitz, who turned his 65-year-old hobby into a business, says he'd like to see more people like Haas.

"I got started collecting when there were no TVs or video games, " Deitz says. "Back then maybe 1 in 10 kids collected stamps. Now it's maybe 1 in 1,000."

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Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/05/15/2522424/stamp-lovers-passion-for-hobby.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/05/15/2522424/stamp-lovers-passion-for-hobby.html#storylink=cHaas is quoted in the article as saying, ""In the 1970s, I got a stamp collecting merit badge through the Boy Scouts, where I learned some of the basics of stamp collecting. I started going to stamp shows about six times a year. It's a slow learning process."

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/05/15/2522424/stamp-lovers-passion-for-hobby.html#storylink=cpy