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Author
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Topic: Founding a Hall of Fame for space philatelists
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micropooz
Member Posts: 1512
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 07-28-2012 06:50 PM
   
quote:
Originally posted by DOX32:
LM1 please identify who you are.
Methinks LM1 just nominated himself above...  |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2610
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 07-29-2012 04:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by fredtrav:
I know very little of this person but have seem a huge number of covers from her collection, Margery Himes. Any info any one might have on her would be interesting.
Margery L. Himes has been a very active collector until the 90s. Since living in a retirement home, she has cut down a lot on her activities. She is still alive, as far as I know. We've been in contact for about 30 years I think. |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2610
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 07-29-2012 04:52 AM
quote:
Originally posted by micropooz:
Methinks LM1 just nominated himself above...
You think right. Second person on his list. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-29-2012 01:38 PM
Hello Ken. Yes, we met once at the ASTP launch on 15 July 1975. I think that we met at the Came Canaveral Post Office where you were preparing covers. That was 37 years ago. And we did correspond many times over those 37 years and before that. I was sure that you knew who I was because you and Woody have purchased items from me on eBay that you both saw me mention on collectSPACE in the Buy & Sell category. Ken, you purchased several items from me and I use my correct name & address when I mail items. I also include a colorful business card with each item. Yes, Ken, the ASTP Catalog that you purchased from me is an original — not a copy. I found 50 of them in my ex-basement last year. I have only a few left. I thought that you were kidding when you asked who I was because you already knew, as did Woody. Now the question is, why did you ask? Yes, my name is Bill York and I have served this hobby in several capacities since 1968 when I first came to New York City and met with Mr. Herbert Rosen concerning the IASP Editorship. That is 44 years ago. Yes, I nominated myself and 18 others for inclusion in the Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists. I have many more to nominate, since the nominating process has apparently been left to me. There is no rule against nominating yourself. I have several more individuals to nominate. I would like more participation from everyone. Those who were concerned about my identity should be more concerned with the future of the hobby. I had hoped that the Hall of Fame would enliven the hobby with renewed interest. This is NOT a Space Unit activity. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 07-29-2012 03:33 PM
Bill, to answer your question — NO — I certainly did not know LM1 was Bill York, nor that it matters too much anyway.While I do recall ordering on eBay an Explorer/ASTP issue, I think many months ago, I do not usually pay attention to most return addresses or sellers... honestly! Why do I ask? Very simply; I just wanted to know if we had met or corresponded beforehand. Throughout my "space philatelic career," I have met, corresponded, and been/still am in contact with hundreds of space enthusiasts, collectors, and dealers alike. Nothing more or less! |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-29-2012 04:31 PM
Ken, would you like to be on the Hall of Fame Committee? |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 07-29-2012 08:35 PM
Bill, while I do appreciate the offer, how do other space philatelists feel about a hall of fame concept?If only a few like the idea, while perhaps many others would not support such a formation, maybe it shouldn't go forward. I would think many more questions, guidelines, and issues would have to be raised and resolved before a project like this can go forward. What do others think about a hall of fame for astrophilately? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-29-2012 09:08 PM
The hall of fames of which I am either associated or aware of were begun and are administered by established organizations (e.g. the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame is managed by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and owned by NASA; the Space Camp Hall of Fame is managed by the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame Foundation and owned by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center). I'm not sure a hall of fame without a respected organization behind it carries much meaning. In this case, it would seem the Space Topical Study Unit (Space Unit) would be the most appropriate to undertake this project, if not the American Philatelic Society. The latter in fact, already has a Hall of Fame... |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 07-30-2012 10:50 AM
The organizations that you mentioned, particularly the APS, are professional organizations. Their employees make a living working there — they are professionals. In no way did I anticipate that the Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists would be on a professional level. When I was a Director in the Space Unit, I proposed a Hall of Fame. A committee was chosen from volunteers. We established the guidelines for nomination and induction into the HOF. These guidelines were agreed to by the Board of the Space Unit in 2005. The HOF was opened in 2006. However, as of today not one person has been inducted. The HOF failed because I was the only person who had the enthusiasm to follow through with this project and I was gone. Now, a Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists is needed more than ever, because as you can see in the postings above, many of the founders of this hobby have already been forgotten. Some collectors even believe that this Hall of Fame idea is not needed or not wanted. I disagree. The space philatelists in the future will thank us for going forward with this project. We need the participation of more collectors. If you care about the future of this hobby, please step forward and help with the establishment of a Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists. |
Joe Frasketi
Member Posts: 191
From: Florida USA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 08-01-2012 06:14 PM
Looks like it will be up to me to break the silence here....I do want to thank LM1-Bill for proposing the Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists, although it looks like it won't get any further than that. In any case, it was flattering to me that two people mentioned my name, and it was a re-learning experience to see the real old-timers mentioned, and how they contributed to the creation of space philately. We could still keep this post going just by continuing to add additional names and the role they played in early space philately. This way they will not go unrecognized and will become a permanent record on collectSPACE and the world wide web. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 08-01-2012 09:08 PM
Joe, how are you and good to see your name. Please forgive me, my friend, as I had almost forgotten about your key involvement and devotion to our hobby for so many years. You were one of the first space philatelists that I gotten to know during the early 1970s. |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 08-02-2012 10:47 PM
And, "Joe", was ALWAYS ready and willing to share his knowledge and experience of his time on Grand Turk Island, or GBI. I still have the snapshots you sent me (now decades ago) of those early after-manned spacecraft landings, LBJ at the cafeteria, etc.Regards from Northern Indiana! |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-02-2012 11:37 PM
I have enjoyed reading this thread. If anyone deserves such an honor it is Les Winick who was the long-time President of the Space Unit. He tirelessly promoted space philately and developed an award-winning space collection. For many years he wrote a column about space philately for Linn's and he was the executive director of the highly successful AMERIPEX 86 international stamps show in Chicago in 1986. Another individual who played an important role in the hobby who has not been listed yet is the late Bernice Scholl. Bernice served for decades as Treasurer of the Space Unit. She kept the organization on a firm financial footing. She also encouraged younger collectors (including myself) to participate in the hobby. |
Ken Havekotte
Member Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted 08-03-2012 06:18 AM
Dave, I did list Bernice Scholl in an earlier posing of mine here, and I am glad to see Joe Frasketi included as well. But there are certainly more that may/should be added or included... |
DOX32
Member Posts: 242
From: Lakewood Ranch FL USA
Registered: Jul 2004
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posted 08-03-2012 12:50 PM
As a life member of American Philatelic Society (APS), let me say this is not a professional society. It is the largest remaining Philatelic Society in the USA.By the way, the APS does have a Hall of Fame with this notation: The APS Hall of Fame honors deceased philatelists who have made outstanding contributions to philately. This is my last comment on this thread. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-03-2012 02:33 PM
The American Philatelic Society IS a professional organization, if you use as criteria that their employees make a living by working there. It is not a hobby for them. The APS is a corporation. They have their own building in PA. They have a large philatelic library. The Editor of the APS Journal is paid a very high fee for his services. The individuals who run the APS are well paid for their services. They are all professionals. The APS Board members are all elected and probably are not paid for their services.The Space Unit is a corporation, but I presume that only the editor is paid for his services. All other officers and directors are elected to their positions and are probably not paid. It is a hobby to them. I think that you are confusing professional with profit making. I am sure that the APS is a non-profit educational organization, probably exempt from taxes. The Space Unit is incorporated in Illinois as a non-for-profit corporation. I only mention this because one cS member insisted that the APS was not a professional organization. The APS is; the Space Unit is not, although the SU is a corporation. The HOF that is being proposed here is not on a professional level at all. Basically, it will be a list with brief descriptions. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-03-2012 02:42 PM
In 2005, when I first proposed the Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists to the Space Unit board, it was proposed as a HOF for deceased space philatelists. This idea was turned down, mainly because very few members knew anything about the individuals who had founded this hobby. It was then proposed that we nominate a living person along with a deceased person. No further action has been taken for the last six years. For those of you who do have copies of the Astrophile from the 60s & 70s, look through them and nominate a few individuals who you think are worthy of this honor, along with a few more recent active space philatelists. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-06-2012 11:25 AM
I would like to nominate 2 individuals who should have been nominated from the beginning:- Ralph Engel - Ralph was co-founder of the International Association of Space Philatelists in the 1960s and was editor of the Explorer when it was a newsletter. He rose to become the Vice President of the IASP. Ralph Engel is the author of the first Catalog of American Space Covers. He also wrote articles for the Explorer and helped in every way that he could to promote the hobby.
- Eugene "Gene" Bella - Originator and editor of The Grand Tour - a publication devoted to space philately produced in the 60s & 70s. Gene also write articles for the Astrophile and the Explorer and he has continued to help the hobby in many ways.
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LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-15-2012 03:55 PM
I just read a quotation attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." This is about leadership. This hobby has had many leaders. Admittedly, this is the road less traveled. If you were to ask your non-collecting friends to join you in the hobby of collecting space covers, they most likely would say, "What is a space cover." They would probably think of something used in the bedroom. The individuals who were pioneers in this hobby probably had a day job unrelated to their hobby. They had to because there was little income to be made in space philately in those days. Some like Bob Ekas and Bod Boudwin may have devoted all of their spare time to the hobby. Bob Ekas, for example, had a space cover service and a space cachet service, but he also devoted a great deal of time producing a publication called The DISH which was sent to his subscribers. It was state of the art in the 1960s, but now we would think of this publication as a forerunner of modern colorful publications devoted to the hobby of space philately. How many of you even know about the early efforts of Bob Ekas, Bob Boudwin and other pioneers in this hobby? If you are relatively new to the hobby, you probably never heard of them and you probably never will. Modern auctions devoted to space philately feature space covers that are priced to make a considerable profit for the seller - and deservedly so. Many of the covers are autographed or flown or both. The auctioneers put a great deal of effort into their auctions because it is a business to them - not a hobby. Many of the covers produces by Ekas, Boudwin, Fitzpatrick and other pioneers of this hobby command a high premium from space cover collectors. This is the difference between the pioneers in this hobby and those who are currently leading it. For the forerunners it was a labor or love, now the profit motive rules. It is therefore proper that we should honor the pioneers of this hobby by including them in the Hall of Fame for Space Philatelists. Future space cover/stamp collectors will then know who were the pioneers and the leaders of this unique hobby. These were the pioneers who took the road less traveled. |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 08-15-2012 09:48 PM
I would like to know a lot more about "McNichol," if I have that right, the man (??) who made a TON of covers/cachets/rubberstamps in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area. I learned of his services WAY too late in the "early" game but enjoyed every one of them that I ever got. At least, later, he numbered them "No. X of XXX covers". Due to my limited "storage" skills (and perhaps space), I crammed covers back to face in drawers and boxes, and several/many years ago, I found that even though I most used rag content/cotton fibre envelopes, his rubber stamp ink would soak into the covers and/or bleed off until the back of the cover in front of them. Anyone? Anyone at all? |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-15-2012 11:51 PM
Gene, do you mean Doc Nichol? I remember his very colorful covers with cachets in light red and blue line drawings. As I recall, the covers were slick and did not absorb ink well. I had many of these covers. That is all that I recall. Perhaps other readers of this thread have a few of these covers that they could illustrate here along with any information about Doc Nichol. He certainly would be welcomed in the HOF nominations. Further information would be appreciated. |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 08-17-2012 10:25 PM
Yes, that's who I am referring to, Doc Nichol. Seems like I always had to send in my own stamped/addressed envelopes for him to "service" with his rubber stamps and provide postmarking services, if there was a fee, it was small (10-cents or so) like most early servicers at the time.I particularly remember him covering Apollo 13 really extensively. Maybe many collectors did not use his service because his postmarks were from Colorado Springs, which, other than the Air Force (HA!) has no tie to spaceflight. Thanks for the correction to the name. |
LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 09-10-2012 11:15 AM
So far, we have 33 nominees, if I counted correctly. We need the cooperation of more space philatelists in this project. If you have more information on anyone already nominated above, please add your comments to this thread. We will eventually need photos and examples of the work of the nominee. If you wish to nominate someone for this honor, please list their name and their contributions to the hobby. Does anyone have information on George Goldey and his contribution to this hobby? |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 09-10-2012 11:36 PM
Seems like the AFDCS did some articles years ago on Goldey, from Canton, Texas, I believe.You will find his covers on eBay periodically. He was quite prolific in his producing covers, but I think his quantities were never that very high. |
Topic Closed
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