Stamp collectors from Macedonia, Twinsburg, Solon and other nearby communities will be participating in one of the nation’s largest shows highlighting stamps and postal history in March.
The 133rd annual Garfield-Perry March Party is set for March 17-19 in Strongsville.
The show is one of the longest running in the country.
Club members are making plans for what traditionally is Ohio’s largest club-sponsored stamp show, said Rocco Caponi of Cuyahoga Falls, show chairman.
Stamp collectors and non-collectors are welcome to the free show, Caponi said.
“The show is an opportunity to introduce the hobby and widen interest in stamp collecting,” he explained. “Our members will be on hand to answer questions, introduce visitors and guests to the wonderful world of stamps and postal history.”
The show will take place at the Best Western Plus Hotel, 15471 Royalton Rd., in Strongsville.
The show theme will be the 75th anniversary of the World Series championship of the Cleveland Indians, now the Guardians. In 1948, the team won the World Series in six games over the Boston Braves.
More than three dozen dealers from throughout the U.S. and Europe will be on hand, offering items for collectors to review and purchase.
Club members on Sunday will be available as part of a type of “Antiques Roadshow” for stamps, offering basic assessments of collections individuals may have in their homes or inherited from others.
In addition, the show will feature exhibits on diverse topics such as American mail from the Korean War, Civil War mail from Tennessee, blood as a medicine, postal stationery from Finland and the origins of stamp perforating in the 19th century.
This year’s March Party serves as a precursor to the Great American Stamp Show, which comes to Cleveland Aug. 10-13 at the Huntington Convention Center. Garfield-Perry members have been working with stamp clubs throughout northern Ohio in preparation for the show, which will be hosted by the American Philatelic Society, the American First Day Cover Society and the American Topical Association.
Cleveland last hosted the national show in 1999.
The show will have a special area for children and beginning collectors to obtain stamps and to learn about stamp collecting. Youngsters will be able to obtain free stamps from around the world.
Such outreach allows children to learn geography and history, Caponi explained.
“Imagine holding a stamp in your hand that was on an airplane that flew in World War II, or shows Queen Elizabeth or fun things like horses, dinosaurs and space exploration,” he added.
As part of the commemoration of the Indians’ World Series victory, the club will have a souvenir envelope with a souvenir postmark. It will be available at modest cost with postmarks dated all three days of the show.
For those interested in postal history, the Ohio Postal History Society will hold its annual meeting at 1 p.m., March 18 at the show.
Club members will give presentations on the stamps of Czechoslovakia and Belgian Congo, the first U.S. postal card and 19th-century Ohio fancy postmarkss.
Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday. There is plenty of free parking onsite.
More information about the 2023 March Party and the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club is on the club’s website at www.garfieldperry.org.
