Two great things about Jim Crews:

1. He's a brilliant artist.

2. We've been friends for many years.

Please visit Christian Brothers University and the beautiful Ross Gallery in the lower level of the Plough Library through April 14, 2016 to see Jim's exhibit.

Here are few examples of Jim's award-winning work:

Abstract Humanity III, mixed media on paper , 36"x48"

Radiance, serigraph on paper, 30" x 22"

Young Couple, mixed media on paper, 60" x 44"

Triangularization, mixed media on paper 60" x 40"

Jim's exhibition is wonderful.

Please Visit the Ross Gallery at 650 East Parkway South, Memphis, Tennessee and call (901) 321-3432 if you need additional information.

Please click any image to link to Christian Brothers University and The Ross Gallery.

Carter G. Woodson, an historian, was a remarkable man.

In February of 1926 as director of "The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History" he designated the second week of February as "Negro History Week".

This week was chosen because it was because it was the same week as the birthday of Abrahan Lincoln, February 12th, and that of Frederick Douglass, February 14th.

The balck communities of my nation have celebrated the lives of Lincoln and Douglass since the late 19th century.

Here is a Royal Crown Cola advertising cover from February 24th, 1948, now known as "Black History Month", which celebrates the lives of two great men upon the grand opening month of the post office at Hale's Ford, Virginia, known as the birthplace of Booker T. Washington.

The stamp, Scott #943 issued in January of 1948, commemorates the date of the fifth anniversary of the death of George Washington Carver, botanist and inventor.

The cachet on the left honors the life of Booker T. Washinton and is a reproduction of an illustration from Mr.Washington's essay, "The Story of My Life and Work". Mr.Washington is represented as the the child in the hat holding the stick in his hand in the lower center of the illustration.

Notice the circular date stamped machine cancellation "Booker Washington Birthplace VA. FEB 24 5-PM 1948" and the motto "A Memorial to a Great American".

The cover was part of a collection from Saint Francis county which also included the post office at Colt, Arkansas and was originally delivered to Crutcher's Grocery in Colt, perhaps the location of the town post office.

Crutcher refused the cover but it still managed to remain in the collection even after it was stamped with a "Return to Writer" handstamp with the "Unknown" line checked in the body of the handstamp.

It's circular date and flag stamped COLT MAR 10 P.M. 1948 ARK 

The "P.M." means it was recieved in Colt in the afternoon of March 10th, 1948, fourteen days after it was mailed from Virginia.

And signed, on the back, "this don't belong hear"

Why ?

The Hebrew Calendar is incredible.

Fascinating and a marvel of space and time.

September 4, 1957, the date of the first day cover issued in Jerusalem, was three weeks to the day before the Jewish New Year which began on Thursday, the first day of Tishrei beginning the year 5718 according to the Hebrew calendar.

The State of Israel issued three beautiful stamps commemorating the Rosh Hashana, the New Year. 

They are the Ancient Seals of Israel,the horse,  the Lion and the Gazelle.

Scott Catalog #129, on the right, is the ancient horse and seal 50 prutot denomination. It's ochre and black in color with 14 perforation per 2 centimeters and is watermarked on the back.

The 160 prutot denomination, Scott Catalog #130, has 14 horizontal perforation per 2 centimeters and 13 perforation vertically per 2 centimeters.  It has no watermark.

The 300 prutot denomination on the left, Scott Catalog #131, is deep carmine, black and pink in color, has 14 perforations horizontally per two centimeters and 13 perforations vertically per two centimeters. It has no watermark.  

I lived in Israel in 1974. I was a student.

God is an ever present force in Israel and in my life.

He's pretty good at blowing the garbage away..

אהבה ושלום יכול להיות רצון האל לשארית ימי חייך

May love and peace be the will of God for the rest of your life.

I've been a ham radio operator since I was a kid.

The symbol above is a simple circuit diagram of the most basic elements of a radio receiver, an antenna, an inductor and a ground.

Stamp collecting and amateur radio have something in common:

You can travel around the world from your chair and never leave your home.

The difference, though, is that with ham radio you do it at the speed of light, and make new friends in real time.

Hams are vital to the communication structure of the world. 

Amateur radio operators seek to create a safe environment for all people in times of disaster and can relay communications in ways that no other form of conveying information is capable of.

Especially in time of war or in a national emergency.

Here's an example of amateur radio represented on an American stamp from my collection honoring amateur radio operators and commemorating the 50th anniversary of the American Radio Relay League 1914-1964:

In 1877 an man by the name of J.A. Lynch from Denison, Texas decided to pick of his 50 head of cattle and his family and move west. They were seeking a climate that was free of the ravages of malaria, An infectious disease caused by sporozoan parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito and has symptoms marked by sudden attacks of chills and fever.

Mr. Lynch suffered from pain in the connective tissues and joints of his body, as did his wife.

As Indians, specifically the Comanches, were on the warpath, Mr.Lynch made the decision to settle in Palo Pinto County, Texas.

Since they was four miles from the Brazo River, the only source of water, Mr.Lynch made a deal with a well driller, a man by the name Providence, to drill a well in exchange for some of the family oxen.

 The Lynch's started drinking from the new well and began feeling better.

News of the great water began to circulate fast and soon thousands of people were making the pilgrimage to the area to taste the water as though it had become a sacred place.

Since Mr. Lynch could only produce 100 gallons a day at that time he had strangers sign a declaration that they were sick and needed the water.

In 1881 Mineral Wells was born and Mr.J.A. Lynch the new mayor.

In 1939, Mineral Wells drove a stage coach to the New York World's Fair to promote the healing power of their extraordinary water and it's benefits to health as "nature's gift to suffering humanity".

Here are some items from my collection recalling that great event.

And the great pamphlet that was enclosed inviting you to come to Mineral Wells:

The stamp on this great advertising cover from the 1939 New York World's Fair represents the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition which was taking place the same year in San francisco.

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease.

There is no cure,

Only immunization can prevent it from spreading.

We must fight this disease and all birth defects with the help of God.

Please support the March of Dimes.