Dorothy B. Blaney (June 29, 1921 – May 12, 1998), of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, was the

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Perryopolis, Pennsylvania Perryopolis is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 1,705 at the 2020 census. History George Washington purchased here when land first became ava ...

, who became a leading advocate for encouraging youths to become

stamp collectors Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

. She was named to the American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame in 1993.

Collecting interests

Blaney collected postage stamps so that they could be used by the youth groups she created.

Philatelic activity

When the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

(USPS) introduced the Ben Franklin School Program in 1976, postmaster Blaney used it to great advantage by in the

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, area by forming 700 stamp clubs for children. Because of her extensive participation and experience with the program, she was named an advisor to the program by the USPS and continued to devise new ways to motivate postmasters and schools in participation in the program. When Blaney retired from the USPS, she continued her work in encouraging youth participation in the hobby of stamp collecting. She was a knowledgeable speaker, and spoke and lectured over 1,000 times to children, parents, and members of the USPS. Blaney was active at various philatelic shows and exhibitions, encouraging participation by junior stamp collectors. She was named as chair of the Youth Activities Committee of the

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phila ...

Philatelic literature

Based on her experience in encouraging juniors to collect stamps, Blaney wrote ''Tips for Promoting Youth Philately''.

Honors and awards

Dorothy B. Blaney received numerous awards for her philatelic work, including the Ernest Kehr award. In 1999 she was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American Phil ...

."Dorothy B. Blaney," in "''WE Expressions'', Vol. 3-6, June 28, 2009, Women Exhibitors, American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors.

References

External links