BNAPS Golden West Regional (California) Group

REPORT OF WESTPEX MEETING, April, 2008

The Golden West Chapter met on April 26th at the WESTPEX A.P.S. show held in San Francisco. Gar Lohman was the acting chairman. There were 11 attendees.

William Barlow, President of the Collectors Club of San Francisco, and expert on stamp printing, gave a presentation "Watermarking the Newfoundland Official Seal". Bill now has 15 examples of the stamp with partial watermarks (there are none with complete marks) and has expanded upon the pioneer work of John Walsh. Bill is now able to state, with a high level of assurance, that the first of the two lines of the watermark is:

JUDICIAL LINEN BOND

While he has fewer samples from the second line, he (as well as Walsh) believes it to be:

CUSTOM FINE

Barlow's presentation was well received. He is always looking for more copies with watermarks. Contact him through me - Norris R. Dyer, nrdyer@comcast.net

Westpex Notice

Just a reminder - - The particulars for our BNAPS meeting at WESTPEX are as follows:

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 6096 on Sunday, April 29, 2007. WESTPEX will be held at the San Francisco Airport Marriott.

There are two items of good news with regard to WESTPEX.

First, we now have an outside speaker for our meeting. Mr. Wayne Menuz will discuss the postal stationery of BNA. Wayne is a former member of BNAPS and was a long-time member of our Postal Stationary Study Group. Thus, it should be a good match.

Second, BNAPS has begun sponsoring an award at WESTPEX. This will be the first year it is presented. Obviously, it will be given for the best BNA exhibit in the show. Entries for exhibits have already closed for this year, but this could be a real incentive for our own members to get possible exhibits into good shape for next year.

Hope to see many of you at WESTPEX.

  • Contact: General information, Joe Schlitt; at (925) 516-9067 or E-mail.

    PENPEX Update (November 18, 2006)

    Meeting Date and Time

    Just a reminder - - our next regional meeting will be at Penpex from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2006. Interested non-members are welcome, so bring a friend!

    The Penpex show will be held in the Community Activities Building located at 1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City, CA. Penpex expects to have 19 dealers, 56 exhibit frames, a show cachet and cancel, a large silent auction and multiple raffle items. Admission is free and there will be a snack bar. Further information is available at www.penpex.org.

    The agenda for our meeting will start with self-introductions and a sign-in, then include a program, a short business meeting, show and tell (or ask), and other (time permitting).

    PENPEX Program

    The program will have two parts. With any luck, these will be done as PowerPoint presentations. Having had no volunteers step forward, I will try to “lead by example” and do a presentation. The title/topic will be as follows:

  • The Double-Printed Stamps of Newfoundland:

  • Double Impressions and Double Surcharges

    The second part of the program will be the viewing of a new BNAPS promotional CD. While intended mainly as a membership recruiting tool, the BNAPS slide show is well done. It is worth seeing as a reminder about our society’s many activities and services.

    Business Meeting

    Topics will include a brief update on the Group’s finances, discussion of a possible Golden West meeting prior to our April gathering at Westpex, future presentations by Group members, and an update on our application for membership in the Council of Northern California Philatelic Societies.

    Contact: General information, Joe Schlitt, at (925) 516-9067 or E-mail

    Note to hard-copy recipients. We save about 50? a person when sending information by e-mail. If you are willing to receive the notices and reports electronically, pls. e-mail Joe Schlitt.

    Group Activity Up-Date (October)

    Meeting Dates and Times

    We now have confirmed dates and times for our up-coming meetings at Penpex and Westpex. These are as follows:

    PENPEX: 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2006
    WESTPEX: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 6096 on Sunday, April 29, 2007

    The address for the Penpex show is 1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City, CA. There is only one meeting room at this show, hence the late time. My suggestion is to come early, hit the dealers for any good stuff, take a look at the exhibits and then attend the BNAPS meeting. As usual, Westpex will be held at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel.

    The agendas for both meetings will be the same. They will start with self-introductions and sign-in, a program (speaker/topic to be announced), a short business meeting, show and tell (or ask), and other (time permitting).

    VOLUNTEER NEEDED! We will try to get an outside speaker for Westpex, but need a group member to volunteer to do the program for Penpex. Several people at the September meeting showed/described some very interesting material from their collections. If one of you (or anyone else) would be willing to do the Penpex program, please contact me with your name and title or topic.

    Other Activities

    As voted at the September meeting, the Golden West group has applied for membership in the Council of Northern California Philatelic Societies. Gar Lohman has "volunteered" to be our representative on the Council, but indicated that he would be happy to turn this over to anyone else interested in serving as our representative. No personal member information was provided with our application. Assuming that our application is approved, each of you will have the option of providing information and signing up to receive the Council newsletter.

    Contact: General information, Joe Schlitt
    At (925) 516-9067 or e-mail

    Note to hard-copy recipients. We save about 50¢ a person when sending information by e-mail. If you are willing to receive the notices and reports electronically, pls. e-mail Joe Schlitt.

    September (2006) Meeting Report

    Gar Lohman hosted the September meeting on the 16th, with seven members in attendance. In addition to things philatelic, members had a chance to see the Lohman's century-old home, now in the final stage of restoration. We also enjoyed a lovely buffet luncheon prepared by Gar's wife, Jan.

    Following a round of self-introductions, the group conducted a brief business meeting. There were three items of importance.

    1. Finances: Opening balance was $30.00 (from a previous period of activity). Income was $88 ($100 Canadian), which was the regional group stipend from BNAPS headquarters. Expenses were $1.50 (Canadian check deposit fee) and $5.00 (stamps, copying and envelopes for hard copy meeting notices). Final balance is $111.50.

    2. Future Meetings: Dates were set for two future meetings, which will be held in conjunction with upcoming area stamp shows. We will meet at Penpex (Redwood City) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2006 and at Westpex (San Francisco Airport) at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 29, 2007. The group voted to change the Westpex meeting to Sunday, as that is when any BNA material will come up at auction. Both times are subject to confirmation of room availability. At Penpex, the group will decide on any 2007 meetings prior to Westpex. Details later, but we expect to have a program at each meeting. For Westpex we will try to get an out-of-the-area speaker. SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

    3. Council of Northern California Philatelic Societies: The group tentatively agreed to join the Council. Dues are minimal (apparently $10 a year) for a group our size and membership will allow us to post meeting notices on the Council web site and at area stamp shows. Details are still being worked out.

    Following the business meeting, members who had attended the BNAPS convention in Sudbury provided a run-down on activities there. Next up was "show & tell (or ask)". Members brought some very interesting items, including the latest know use of the 3 pence Beaver on cover and several full sheets of 19th century Newfoundland cents issues where there are still questions about the different printings. The featured speaker was Gar Lohman, who discussed various aspects of the 5 cent Beaver issue. Several packets of mint Canadian stamps, including plate blocks, were brought for auction, with proceeds benefiting the Youth Stamp Program.

    Contact: General information, Joe Schlitt At (925) 516-9067 or wylecotejs@earthlink.net

    Note to hard-copy recipients. We save postage when sending information by e-mail. If you are willing to receive the notices and reports electronically, pls. e-mail Joe Schlitt.

    Meeting at WESTPEX

    On Saturday, April 29, in San Francisco at the WESTPEX Show, the Golden West Regional Group met, and had the highest attendance in years.

    The ten members who attended enjoyed a full program, led off by John Wynns who came all the way from Arizona to speak at the meeting and also exhibit at the show (vermeil for his 1927 Confederation Anniversary Issue.) John spoke on the Stamp Centenaries During the Reign of George VI. Some of the material he covered was in his BNATopics article (October-December) but he also presented additional covers not shown there. Later in the program he passed around material associated with the "Wings for Norway" stamp. This Norwegian stamp was engraved and printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa and issued to honor the Norwegian pilots who trained during World War II at Toronto and the Muskota BCAF fields in Canada. The stamp was shown cancelled in Oslo in 1946 on a cover to the U.S. See the illustration.

    Bob Dyer showed flown covers from the Steve Fossett flight, recreating the 1919 Alcock-Brown flight. Fossett and co-pilot Mark Rebholz flew from St. John's to Clifden, Ireland in July of last year. Bob organized the carrying of 500 celebratory covers (see BNATopics, July-September, 2005.) He also spoke about BNAPS' new Youth Activity Program which will provide 15 cash grants this year to school groups, junior stamp clubs, and youth activity tables at stamp shows.

    Other members shared material and we discussed ways to keep the momentum going for the group. Gar Lohman suggested a meeting at his home on September 16th. Another option mentioned was conducting a meeting in San Rafael at WINEPEX 2006, a local show in October.

    Joe Schlitt has volunteered to contact BNAPS members in the area, and serve as acting chairman. We are also looking for a list of area members of the RPSC to let them know about the next meeting. All members were asked to put on thinking caps for program ideas over and above "show-and-tell." Joe Schlitt may be contacted at wylecotejs@earthlink.net .

    Attending members were: John Wynns, Jesse Medlen, Gar Lohman, Herb Nishio, Jim Woodfall, Bob Turkowski, Joe Schlitt, Arno Kolster, Carol Edholm and Bob Dyer.

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