Post Office Promotes The Tercentennial

By Dottie Evans

The United States Post Office’s Newtown branch set up shop on Saturday morning at the Booth Library to assist residents with their passport renewals and to help promote the town’s Tercentennial Year 2005.

A handsome, three-inch, hand stamp with bold, black lettering inside an oval frame was used to cancel any letters that residents brought in for mailing throughout the day.

“It’s been a steady flow of people coming through.  We’ve probably renewed at least 30 passports,” said postal worker Jim Stiewing, who conducted the event with the help of his co-worker Barbara Oliver.

“The time went pretty fast because we were so busy,” said Ms Oliver at 2:30 pm as the five-hour period was drawing to a close.

The special USPS Passport Day and Tercentennial Cancellation took place in the library’s public meeting room between 10 am and 3 pm.

In addition to renewing existing passports, Mr Stiewing and Ms Oliver received applications for new passports, provided the special cancellation of letters with a stamp commemorating the Tercentennial, and sold stamps commemorating Black History Month and the lives of famous Americans.