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<p>[QUOTE="DonSellos, post: 1619484, member: 1797"]Hi Hochstrasse:</p><p><br /></p><p>I have been tempted for years to take up collecting, first, the state quarters, then the national parks and/or what ever came next. So, far I have resisted the urge. Just too difficult and expensive to store or mount coins. That was the main reason I switched to stamps from coins many years ago. Coins are still attractive to me, though. </p><p><br /></p><p>Back in the early 1960s, when I worked for the Post Office in Omaha, my last assignment was as a substitute window clerk. That is, I would go to the outlaying stations and work one of the windows whenever one of the regular clerks would take some time off. That was my favorite task in my short-lived post office career, mostly because of the different requests the people would make, among which was a request for plate blocks. </p><p><br /></p><p>Most of the clerks were mildly irked by stamp collectors and were reluctant to break up a new pane of 50 stamps for just the plate block. I was never sympathetic with those clerks' attitude. This was before I collected stamps, but I was a coin collector and I used to go to small town banks and buy 20 to 30 dollars worth of pennies, nickels, dimes, etc to go through at home looking for the good dates and mint marks of those I did not have. I guess I was just more empathetic with the plate block collectors. </p><p><br /></p><p>I remember one collector particularly that frequented the South Omaha station. It was a larger station and there were always two window clerks on duty. My partner who worked the window next to me wouldn't sell just a plate block and would warn me when this one collector came in the door. I always sold him what blocks I had until my stock was depleted, except for the Special Deliveries. The guy even bought those which amazed me as I don't remember every selling more than two or three Special Delivery stamps at one time. </p><p><br /></p><p>Omaha's stockyards and large packing houses were in South Omaha. The packing plants were staffed by large numbers of immigrants, especially Czechs and Italians and they made my work day interesting with their requests for airmail stamps and money orders. Seems that few of them had bank accounts and they paid many of their bills with postal money orders and sent money back to the homeland using foreign money orders. Come November they also descended on the post office with huge packages to be mailed to foreign destinations in time for Christmas. </p><p><br /></p><p>South Omaha was my favorite station. Today, the packing houses are all gone and nobody collects plate blocks anymore, and the window clerks probably don't have current commemoratives in stock anyway. I would guess that working there is not as interesting as it used to be. </p><p><br /></p><p>DonSellos[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonSellos, post: 1619484, member: 1797"]Hi Hochstrasse: I have been tempted for years to take up collecting, first, the state quarters, then the national parks and/or what ever came next. So, far I have resisted the urge. Just too difficult and expensive to store or mount coins. That was the main reason I switched to stamps from coins many years ago. Coins are still attractive to me, though. Back in the early 1960s, when I worked for the Post Office in Omaha, my last assignment was as a substitute window clerk. That is, I would go to the outlaying stations and work one of the windows whenever one of the regular clerks would take some time off. That was my favorite task in my short-lived post office career, mostly because of the different requests the people would make, among which was a request for plate blocks. Most of the clerks were mildly irked by stamp collectors and were reluctant to break up a new pane of 50 stamps for just the plate block. I was never sympathetic with those clerks' attitude. This was before I collected stamps, but I was a coin collector and I used to go to small town banks and buy 20 to 30 dollars worth of pennies, nickels, dimes, etc to go through at home looking for the good dates and mint marks of those I did not have. I guess I was just more empathetic with the plate block collectors. I remember one collector particularly that frequented the South Omaha station. It was a larger station and there were always two window clerks on duty. My partner who worked the window next to me wouldn't sell just a plate block and would warn me when this one collector came in the door. I always sold him what blocks I had until my stock was depleted, except for the Special Deliveries. The guy even bought those which amazed me as I don't remember every selling more than two or three Special Delivery stamps at one time. Omaha's stockyards and large packing houses were in South Omaha. The packing plants were staffed by large numbers of immigrants, especially Czechs and Italians and they made my work day interesting with their requests for airmail stamps and money orders. Seems that few of them had bank accounts and they paid many of their bills with postal money orders and sent money back to the homeland using foreign money orders. Come November they also descended on the post office with huge packages to be mailed to foreign destinations in time for Christmas. South Omaha was my favorite station. Today, the packing houses are all gone and nobody collects plate blocks anymore, and the window clerks probably don't have current commemoratives in stock anyway. I would guess that working there is not as interesting as it used to be. DonSellos[/QUOTE]
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