Great Letter-writing Story!

In Metairie, Louisiana, a class of first-graders at St. Angela Merici School wrote letters to the father of one of the classmates. Capt. Mike Anderson, a Air Force Reserve member, was  recently stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar when he received the package of letters from the 20 kids. And, then, he wrote each child a reply letter! You can read the entire story on the New Orleans Times-Picayune website, http://blog.nola.com/eastjefferson/2014/03/metairie_first-graders_shower.html.

If you are interested in writing letters to U.S. military personnel serving overseas but don't have any personal connections, you may use the service AnySoldier.com. Just click that link for more details.

Star-Spangled Banner Stamp

Today, the U.S. Postal Service showcased the Star-Spangled Banner Forever Stamp during a special ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, home to the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that inspired the national anthem.

The stamp was first issued Jan. 28 of this year. It was featured at the museum to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key's song “Star-Spangled Banner.”  

You can read more about the stamp on the USPS website here and here.  Additionally, the Smithsonian Institute has a Star-Spangled Banner website.

Fun Little Song

Thought you might enjoy this fun little song: "Love Letters" by Metronomy:

US Stamp Prices to Increase Sunday

On Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, the price to mail first class letters and postcards in the United States will increase slightly.

The cost of a first class letter (up to one ounce) will be 49 cents. The cost to mail a postcard will be 34 cents. Additionally, the cost of additional ounces for domestic first class letters will increase by 1-cent to 21 cents.

The cost of letters (up to 1 ounce) and postcards to all international addresses will increase to $1.15.

If you have "Forever" stamps, they will be good for the cost of first class postage (up to 1 ounce), no matter how much you paid for them. If you have any questions about how much postage a particular letter will need, take it to your local post office and ask them to double-check it for you.

Happy letterwriting!

No US Mail today

This is just a reminder that today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S., and it's a federal holiday and is observed by the US Postal Service. There will be no mail delivery, but Express Mail may be delivered. Official US Post Offices will be closed; however, you can still buy stamps at other places that sell postage.

Great video by Snail Mail My Email

The video is by the project Snail Mail My Email, which gets volunteers to handwrite other people's emails and mail them to the intended recipient.

But, the video is about much more than that project....it illustrates how important "real" letters are to people!

Take a few minutes and watch...

Snail Mail vs. Email from ivancash on Vimeo.

1897 "Yes, Virginia" Santa Claus Letter | Roadshow Archive | PBS

On this Christmas Eve, it's interesting to see a 1997 Antiques Roadshow appraisal of the original letter that Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897. The letter spurred a response that has become beloved by Santa Claus fans everywhere. The link below has a video of the appraisal, as well as photos of the original letter.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/199704A43.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=antiquesroadshow