Troy, Ohio, serves up red postmark to celebrate town’s annual strawberry festival

By Michael Baadke

A strawberry red pictorial postmark will be put into use June 3 to mark the opening of the annual Troy Strawberry Festival in Troy, Ohio.

Along with the circular element providing the date and location, the postmark pictures two examples of the sweet fruit with the phrase “Celebrating Strawberries.”

Troy postmaster Bradley Grubb and Mayor Michael Beamish are participating in a 9:15 a.m. dedication of the 3¢ Strawberries definitive coil stamp at Prouty Plaza, 1 West Main St., in Troy. The stamp was issued May 5.

The 3¢ coil stamp is being sold at the local post office until noon Saturday, allowing visitors to obtain the new red postmark on the coil. Envelopes must be franked with at least 49¢ postage to be postmarked, and postcards need to have 34¢ postage affixed.

Collectors can obtain the postmark by submitting stamped covers to Troy Strawberry Festival Pictorial Postmark, Troy Post Office, 305 S. Market St.,Troy, OH 45373. A larger addressed, stamped return envelope should be included with the request so the postmarked cover is protected when it is returned in the mail.

Requests for the Strawberry postmark must be postmarked no later than July 3.