Article from the October 2007 "Machine Cancel Forum", reminding members to encourage youth to get involved in collecting stamps and postal history. As is the case with many collecting interests, the membership is rapidly aging. Young people should be encouraged to learn about and enjoy collecting. Not only is it a fun hobby, but it is highly educational.

1. OCTOBER 2007 MACHINE CANCEL FORUM 222
A REMINDER TO SHARE YOUR STAMP COLLECTING AND MACHINE
CANCEL INTERESTS WITH YOUTH
By the Editor
Although my son has moved from Boy Scouts to the Marine Reserves, I have stayed back and assisted both
in cub scouting, and his Boy Scout Troop. The cubs get their regular dips into loose stamp bins for their
collection, and the Boy Scouts are eligible for Stamp Collecting Merit Badge counseling. The older boys in
the Troop plan the meetings, and once a year the area stamp club gets invited to demonstrate for the Troop
as a whole.
Boy Scouts in chairs; cubs on the floor listen to the presentation by Ben and Laura Lutz. Covers,
stamps, and enlargements help deliver the message. The boys will eagerly search through loose
stamps and covers. All they need is an opportunity.
Fancy postmarks attract their eye.
Here Noah (a cub scout) finds
SHREK plastered on a stamp, and
the boys dive into the stamp boxes
looking for SHREK & DONKEY.
As collectors, the heavy SHREK
cancel is unsightly, but for the boys
they are a bonus.
They will see things that you will
not. Boy Scouts working on their
Stamp Collecting Merit badge must
save covers for a month, an
opportunity to teach them postal
markings.
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