Wisconsin town celebrates its role in U.S. Christmas stamp history

Postmark Pursuit by Linn’s Staff

Waupaca, Wis., resident Craig Corgan is offering a pictorial postmark celebrating the town’s involvement in the issuance of the first United States Christmas stamp in 1962 as well as Waupaca’s seventh annual Christmas Stamp Town Day commemoration. The festive cancel depicts a leafy wreath with a lit candle.

The residents of the small Wisconsin town are quite proud of their role in initiating the first U.S. Christmas stamp. In 1958, Father Jules Simineau, a priest at the local Blessed Sacrament Preparatory Seminary, received a Christmas card from a friend in Australia with a stamp (Scott 313) that portrayed a nativity scene.

At the time, the United States did not have a stamp that honored the religious holiday, and Simineau decided to change that.

He reached out to Father Michael Wasniewski, a priest at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Waupaca, and together they partnered with other local organizations like the Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, Junior Chamber of Commerce, Waupaca Common Council and Waupaca County Board.

The groups orchestrated and conducted a letter-writing campaign by sending correspondence to the Post Office Department and other government officials, advocating for the issuance of a Christmas stamp.

Their efforts eventually caught the attention of U.S. Representative Melvin Laird (1922-2016), who was elected to office in 1952 and represented Wisconsin’s 7th district in central Wisconsin, later serving as secretary of defense under President Richard Nixon (1913-94).

In a letter to Postmaster General John Gronouski Jr. (1919-96), Laird called for the Post Office Department to issue a Christmas stamp featuring the nativity scene as Australia had done.

Spurred on by Laird and other organizations, the Post Office Department eventually issued the nation’s first Christmas stamp in 1962 (Scott 1205). However, citing the principle of separation of church and state, a less religiously themed design featuring candles and a wreath was chosen for the stamp.

Nevertheless, to this day Waupaca proudly celebrates its place in U.S. Christmas stamp history. In 2019 at a local council meeting, Mayor Brian Smith designated Dec. 1 as Christmas Stamp Town Day in Waupaca. The commemoration now precedes the town’s annual Yuletide Festival.

To obtain the postmark, address your request to:

CHRISTMAS STAMP TOWN Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Waupaca, WI 54981, Dec. 1.

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