A life summarized on a 1¢ postal card

U.S. Stamp Notes by John M. Hotchner

I love to poke through accumulations of covers looking for candidates that might have a story to tell. It’s one of the fun parts of being a philatelic writer. The 1¢ postal card (Scott UX27) canceled March 18, 1946, shown here, is one that appealed to me because of the unusual address block with the drawing of a car.

On turning the postal card over and reading the message, I was drawn in further. It says, “Hello ‘Oat’-ie ole pal: Thought I forgot you, eh? – How could I? .. Just got discharged from the Army and back home again … Whoopie! Oh! My achin back! ... But a pleasing ache this time ??? ... Been all over the Pacific, in Iwo Jima, Guam, Saipan, and seen all I wanted to see ... How’s your self, Oat? Is ‘Maxie’ still with you? Do you have any old magazines, or pictures for sale? ... Write, and let me know, what you’re doing, ye bugger, you ... Your ole friend, Alex.”

So, I looked on the internet for Alex Telatco and struck pay dirt in the form of a write-up on the website Find a Grave.

Alexander George “Sandy” Telatco (1911-66) was a native Ohioan. The meaning of the hand drawn car and the address became clear when I read that Telatco was an auto historian who compiled a list of 86 makes of cars and trucks built in Cleveland.

His hobby was collecting newspaper and magazine articles, ads and other memorabilia relating to the auto industry.

The family member who did the write-up noted that “he had an almost inexhaustible fund of information concerning most of the more than 5,000 makes of passenger cars and trucks which at one time or another have been built and sold in the United States.”

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