Chapter 4
Century of Progress (airmail)—issued October 2, 1933
Known as the Baby Zeppelin.
The post office worked with the Graf Zeppelin Company in a plan to bring attention to the Exposition in Chicago with a special postage stamp. The Postal Service estimated $10,000 in revenue from the sale of the stamps. FDR refused to allow the stamp. A diplomatic incident was avoided when FDR allowed the agreement to continue.
August 2, 2001, at 4:54 p.m.—Oroville, California
The afternoon had been slow, as usual, except for Stan. Just as Ed was about to close up shop for the day, the bell on the door rang, and a tall customer walked into the store. Ed appeared out of the back room to see who it was.
“Can I help you?” asked Ed, not recognizing the customer.
“I am just passing through town and saw your shop,” said the man. “I am somewhat of a novice stamp collector and thought you just might have something of interest for me.”
Ed looked over to the end of the counter where the blue international album still lay. He moved his head in the general direction. “There is this one album I was preparing for display that might interest you.”
Both men moved to the end of the counter to look at the book in question. Ed sized up the man and surmised that he probably had some money. Although not ostentatious, he was neatly groomed. Probably from San Francisco, Ed thought. I might want to start with a higher price.
“This is one of my more prized collections,” Ed boasted as if he were the proud daddy of a new baby. Ed lowered his voice and continued conspiratorially, “I had planned on selling the stamps individually, but if it interests you, I might be persuaded to sell it as a package.”
The stranger picked up the album and looked through it carefully. Ed looked at the clock on the wall. Although it had been a long day, Ed would wait until midnight to make a sale. After a few minutes, the stranger put down the book and asked Ed for the price.
“I could let you have it as a set for five thousand dollars,” Ed said, trying to be matter of fact. Hoping the price had not been too high to scare the customer off. Yet, if he could sell it at that price he would have a quick profit of $3500 with no wasted time pricing the stamps.
The tall man stood silently for what seemed to Ed like an eternity. Then he responded, “That is more than I wanted to spend, but you have a sale. Will you take a check?”
“Absolutely!” Ed answered, trying not to give away his excitement.
The stranger pulled out his leather checkbook and made out the check. So as not to offend his wealthy customer, Ed took the check and did not ask for any identification or references. “Thank you for your business, Mr. Hall,” Ed said. The customer picked up the stamp album and walked out of the store. Ed neglected to make a record of the purchase.
The stranger smiled as he got into his car, as though he felt pleased with his purchase. He leafed through the album briefly. Not only would some of the stamps fit nicely into his album at home, he figured there must be over $50,000 retail value in stamps in the album. Then he started his car and pulled out, smiling broadly. There is still gold in these little towns.
Ed again stood at the window and watched his good fortune drive away. Then we walked out the door and locked it, once again feeling cheated. He jumped at my first offer! Ed scolded himself. When will I ever learn? But I did make a tidy profit. Maybe I’ll treat myself to dinner at Greta’s!
Chapter 5
Mother’s Day—issued May 2, 1934
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Postmaster General Farley designed a stamp in honor of James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s hundredth anniversary and to honor Mother’s Day.
The words on the stamp are the president’s.
August 2, 2001, at 9:12 p.m.—Bangor Highway
This evening was less tiresome than usual. At dinner, Ed convinced himself that the price was too low—he had actually sold the album to a sucker. By the end of his fifth beer, he actually believed the story. He even told it to his favorite waitress, Carlene, hoping to impress her. She always waited on Ed when he came in to eat. He noticed that she seemed to flirt with him, and he thought often of asking her out on a date. But he had never had the nerve. He was sure she was out of his league.
Ed was thinking of this when Carlene stopped at the table and stared at him in a strange way. “Ed, this may be forward of me,” she said, “but I don’t care. I like you, and I think you like me so why don’t we go out some night?”
Carlene was not tall, and her figure looked attractive, even in the pink waitress dress that clashed with her red dyed hair and bright ruby-red nails. Trying to hide his shock, Ed stumbled over his words as he responded, “Carlene, I would very much like to take you out on a date. How about tomorrow night?”
“That would be fine with me, Ed. I am glad I broke the ice! You can pick me up at seven. Here is the address. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Great, we can go over to Chico and dance at that country western club by the college…if that’s okay with you.”
“That is wonderful! I love to dance,” Carlene said as Ed walked toward the door. Her eyes followed him as he crossed the street and got into his car. She wondered what Ed would wear…surely not his normal old clothes.
The drive home was short and lonely out on Bangor Highway to Ed’s ten acres. By the time he pulled into the drive of his home, the daylight was almost gone, and shadows were cast about the yard. Walking up to his door, he was met by two men in dark-blue suits, who appeared out of the shadows. One was tall, and the other quite short. After the initial shock of seeing them come out of nowhere, Ed relaxed a little bit. They looked official—not like the kind to cause trouble.
“Who the hell are you guys?” asked Ed.
“Are you the owner of the coin store in town?” the taller man, asked ignoring Ed’s question.
“Yes, I am,” replied Ed. “And who are you?”
“Did Stan Larson sell you a stamp album earlier today?” asked the shorter man, again ignoring Ed’s question.
“Who wants to know?” asked Ed suspiciously, wondering what Stan had gotten him into with the album.
“Just answer the question,” replied the taller man, again in a forceful tone, which caused Ed to take a step back.
“Yes, and I paid a fair price too,” Ed said defensively. “Listen, you guys, I do not know who you are or what this is about. But I’m not going to stand here and talk with you about this any longer until I see some identification.”
The taller man produced a black leather case from his inside coat pocket and held it out to Ed. As Ed stepped forward to take a look at the wallet, he didn’t notice the smaller man’s move. The pain was brief…and then the darkness came.
Chapter 6
Connecticut Tercentenary—issued April 26, 1935
When Sir Edmund Andros, under the authority of King James, attempted to seize the charter of the Connecticut colony, the colonists took the charter into the woods and hid it in an old oak tree for two years until Andros was recalled. Franklin Delano Roosevelt suggested the “rich