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50th ANNIVERSARY of STATEHOOD OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON SCOTT 858 COMMEMORATIVE of 1939 COVER IS EMBOSSED WITH THE WASHINGTON STATE SEAL SIGNED by EVENT DIGNITARIES: BEN S. SAWYER -- Postmaster, Olympia, Washington BENJAMIN J. WEEKS -- Oldest stamp collector in U. S. CLARENCE D. MARTIN -- Governor of Washington State BELLE REEVES -- First female Secretary of State R. E. SELLERS -- Superintendent, Division of Stamps Addressed to Miss Doris Viola Wunder of New Orleans Anna Belle Culp Reeves (1871-1948) Belle Reeves was Washington's eighth Secretary of State, first woman to hold statewide elective office, and first female Secretary of State. Several times in her 10-year tenure, she was acting governor when the governor and lieutenant governor were simultaneously out of the state, another first for a woman. As a Democratic member from Chelan County, she served 16 years in the House of Representatives before her appointment at the age of 63 to the state office by Governor Clarence D. Martin (1884-1955). Caption of picture from Tacoma Times 11/13/1939, pg. 8 Date: 11-11-1939 B.J. Weeks of Tacoma, the oldest philatelist in the US, offers a dollar to Postmaster Ben Sawyer, center, for the first sheet of the Washington State Jubilee commemorative 3 cent stamp at the Olympia Post Office on Admittance Day, November 11, 1939. The stamp honors Washington's entrance into the union 50 years prior on November 11th. Secretary of the Washington State Historical Society W.P. Bonney, right, stands ready to receive the stamps which will become part of the collection at the state historical museum in Tacoma. The stamp will be issued only in Olympia on this date and will be available in the remainder of the state on the following day. Despite the fact that the 11th was both Armistice and Admittance Day, the post office was kept open for several hours to accommodate those wishing to purchase the stamps. American Philatelic Society dealer member |
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