Palm Beach Postmaster Dianna Dobson is holding the newspaper article promoting the museum's anniversary and special event cachets. Photo: JoAnn Goodrich Saturday was a family affair.
The Postal Service joined the family of Henry M. Flagler (and the Palm Beach community) in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Flagler Museum.
A history lesson ... Back in the late 19th Century, from St. Augustine to Miami, Flagler built a series of luxury hotels that quickly established tourism as a mainstay of Florida's economy. His Florida East Coast Railway not only connected his hotels, but opened the state to growth of all kinds. Through his Model Land Company, Flagler encouraged the agricultural development of millions of acres, thus establishing agriculture as another mainstay of the state's economy. He also accomplished the most ambitious engineering feat ever attempted by a private citizen, the building of the Over-Sea Railroad, covering more than 155 miles from Miami to Key West.
Now fast forward to Saturday, February 6 ...
Palm Beach Postmaster Dianna Dobson gave a presentation on the history of the museum and promoted a commemorative special event postcard with a stamp honoring Jean Flagler Matthews, the Museum's founder and Henry Flagler's granddaughter. Museum President George G. Matthews, the great-grandson of Henry Flagler, signed each postcard which included a Centennial Coin struck in 2002 to recognize the 100th anniversary of Whitehall.
When it was completed in 1902, Whitehall, Henry Flagler's Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was hailed by the New York Herald as "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world." Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, featuring guided tours, changing exhibits, and special programs.
The Postal Service generated $1027.58 during the two-hour event: 1 book of Forever Stamps = $8.80; 9 sheets of Lunar Stamps $4.40 each = $39.60; Stamps purchased via stamps.com by The Flagler Museum for 50th Anniversary = $979.18.
Special thanks to Customer Relations Coordinator JoAnn Goodrich for assisting the museum in planning its anniversary celebration and to Sonya Owens, Sales & Service Associate at the West Palm Beach Main Office, for hand-canceling the postcards to commemorate this special occasion.
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