Wilkes-Barre Pa June 7, 1999 I came across the following article in the Citizen's Voice on Monday. It was brought to my attention by my mom, who had been telling me about the petitions that were being passed around at local Senior Citizen Groups in an effort to have the Postal Service create a stamp with a miner on it. MINER STAMP IS POSTAGE THAT'S DUE, LET'S GET ONE A postage stamp depicting the American Miner is not too much to ask. We have stamps honoring rock stars. We have a stamp with the word LOVE. We have stamps showing pictures of presidents. We think they've all been great. And we think the postal service has done a good job of regularly asking Americans what pictures they would like on postage. So we're perplexed as to why the post office has not responded to a perfectly reasonable and well meaning request of a group of Wyoming Valley Residents to have a stamp memorializing coal miners. A stamp with a miner would make a heroic-looking picture. The group has even done a sketch. And certainly, the contribution of the miners to American industry - past and present - is worthy of recognition. So we're even more perplexed - even disturbed - to read in the Sunday Citizen's Voice that local advocates for the stamp have been told it' not in the national interest. A stamp with a miner would be a great stamp. The local people who are trying to get one - John Vengien, Donald Godek, Chet Brozenza, Catherine Cavary, Harry Newak, Ernest Paulis and Leonard Sarnick - deserve our support. And they deserve a positive answer from the postal service. Write for a stamp honoring miners to: U.S. Postal Service Attn: Stamp Development 475 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W. Washington D.C. 20260-2435 Please forward this to everyone you can think of, persons, senior citizen , groups, libraries, congressmen, senators etc. Rosanne Munley Gemzik In memory of: John Gardner, killed in mines, Aug. 1878, Pittston Pa Patrick Kelley, killed in mines, 1879 , Pittston Pa. Thomas Gardner, died of Miner's Asthma, 1907 , Pittston Pa Thomas Kelley, died of Miner's Asthma, Leadville Colorado Joseph Volvonas, died 1943, in mines in Pittston Pa. ATTACH YOUR NAMES AND FORWARD ALL OVER THE NET! THEN SEND A LETTER! _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com