BETHEL – Trinidad and Tobago. St. Nevis. French Guyana. Nyasaland and Tanganika.

Chances are, most people haven’t a clue where to find these small countries and islands on a map, unless they are philatelists.

Nancy Mercer, Harry Kuzyk, Clayton Sweatt and Walter Clark are four of the thousands of people around the country who’ve collected these tiny pieces of art, history and geography called postage stamps.

A new stamp club formed to give stamp enthusiasts a chance to discuss their hobby recently started up in Bethel.

It was Nancy Mercer’s idea.

A lifelong stamp collector from Bethel, she began her interest as a child, left it for a few years, then came back to it when she was serving in the Army.

As a child, she remembers that stamps took her places, to exotic places pictured on engraved stamps. As a soldier, she went to some of those places she’d seen pictured on stamps, and each time she went some place different, she bought stamps.

Part of her collection is devoted to Okinawan stamps when it was still administered by the United States after World War II. It reverted to Japan in 1972. She has German stamps, which are among her favorites because of the subtle colors and pictures of that country’s architecture and history.

Touring the globe

“Stamps still take me places,” she said as she carefully flipped through a duplicates album belonging to one of the other members.

Mercer wrote a letter that appeared in a local newspaper, asking if there was interest in forming a club, a place where fellow philatelists could talk duplicates, watermarks, perforations, engraved versus printed stamps and all the other “stampese” only stamp collectors understand. So far, three Bethel people have responded.

For most, stamp collecting started when they were young.

Harry Kuzyk, who grew up in New York City, discovered his love of the postage stamp while in high school. A club had started and he decided to join. Friends and family had given him stamps. Although he didn’t buy many when he served in the Merchant Marine in World War II, his interest continued.

He’s always amazed at the traveling a postage stamp has done.

His favorites are two-toned, engraved stamps issued by the colonies of the British Commonwealth. At one time, the United Kingdom’s empire spread to most corners of the world, including such places as Trinidad and Tobago, islands in the West Indies, and Nyasaland, now known as Malawi, in Africa.

Kuzyk said collecting stamps helped him in school since he knew the geography and much of the history of the countries he studied.

He also recognized the flags for each country as well, because he placed flag stickers of each country in one of his many stamp albums.

Forget the ‘decals’

Clayton Sweatt said his neighbors gave him stamps when he was a youngster growing up in Bethel. That also led to a lifelong love of and appreciation for history. “They are so beautiful,” he said, “especially the French colonial stamps.”

He also likes the older United States stamps, which were also engraved and subtly colored, not the brightly colored newer ones printed today – that he describes as “decals.”

Walter Clark, like the other members, began as a child, left the interest for 30 years, then returned. “I look at stamps as a piece of art,” he said.

Stamp collectors collect for many reasons. These club members said collecting for investment probably isn’t a good idea. But collecting for fun, learning and relaxation is.

“It clears your mind from television,” said Kuzyk.

“You learn about different cultures and people,” said Mercer.

Anyone in the area who wants to rekindle an interest, take a look at stamp newspapers and stamps, and talk the talk about postage stamps is invited to join the fledgling Bethel Philatelic Club. It meets on the last Tuesday of each month at the Bethel Historical Society building. Those interested may phone Mercer at 824-3350 or Kuzyk at 824-2059.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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