SYD KRONISH | Stamps 'Greetings' panes feature scenes from every state

As people travel throughout the United States on vacation or business, they like to send picture postcards to family and friends.
This practice has prompted the U.S. Postal Service this year to issue a colorful "Greetings from America" pane of stamps. It is the first pane of 50 stamps by the USPS in a decade.
These delightful stamps pay tribute to each of the 50 states with illustrations of well-known points of interest and landmarks familiar to the citizens of the individual states presented.
Text on the back of each stamp lists the state's official bird, flower, tree, capital and date of entry into the Union.
The designs depict colorful and recognizable attractions of the various states. To mention a few: Florida -- sandy beaches; Kentucky -- the Kentucky Derby; Texas -- the Alamo; California -- the Golden Gate Bridge; Pennsylvania -- the Liberty Bell; North Carolina -- the Wright Brothers' first plane; Louisiana -- the Mardi Gras; New York -- the Statue of Liberty in front of other attractions; Tennessee -- Grand Ole Opry; New Jersey -- industry and beaches; Arizona -- the Grand Canyon.
Lonnie Busch, the artist who designed the colorful stamps, is no stranger to creating artwork for U.S. stamps. He illustrated the 1987 stamp commemorating the Pan-American Games, the 1991 Basketball Centennial stamp, a 1994 Love stamp, plus stamps for the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994.
The 2002 pane of 50 stamps can be obtained from U.S. Stamp Fulfillment Services (800) STAMP-24. Or www.usps.com.
Pets
"Bright Eyes, Best Friends" was the theme of the 1998 set of stamps by the U.S. Postal Service, a tribute to our lovable house pets. The set consists of five colorful commemoratives featuring dogs, cats, goldfish, hamsters and house birds.
According to the Postal Service, 58.2 million American households own pets and spend some $120 billion annually on them.
Many know a great deal about our pet dogs and cats, but few are knowledgeable about the more than 100 varieties of goldfish, most of which are not gold at all. How many know about hamsters, loved especially by children? Or who can tell us about house birds such as canaries, parakeets or parrots? Pet owners who missed getting this set in 1998 can obtain the stamps from their local dealers or call the Stamp Fulfillment Services at (800) STAMP-24.