Possibly the most famous of them all is Bryan Adams. Born in 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Adams was the son of a diplomat and lived in Europe and the Middle East as a child. When he was 13 the family returned to Canada where they settled in British Columbia.
 
Some of his most famous songs include “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Straight from the Heart”, “Summer of ‘69″, and “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”.

Adams played an important role in fostering the Canadian music industry and as such was honored with his own stamp.

Our next Canadian musician was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1944. Robert Charlebois has played an important role in French language music and composed many songs using the dialect common among Montreal’s working class. One of his specialties was the use of “play on words” which allowed for funny, double meanings. In fact he even used this talent in regular speech. For example, Charlebois commented “I have been stamped as a zany singer all my life, but now, finally, I am globally acknowledged as a man of letters” when hearing about the postage series carrying his image.

In our next post, we will discuss the other two Canadian musicians that we part of this series.

Butler is famous for bringing the Acadian and Micmac music traditions to the public. With her national appearances on CBC Television’s Singalong Jubilee, she soon became quite popular and is now regarded as the world’s best-known Acadian singer.

As a child Butler had collected stamps and appreciated their historical value. Now that she is on a stamp she feels deeply moved by the Canada Post tribute.

The fourth member of the series is Stompin’ Tom Connors. He was born in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1936. He was raised by an adoptive family on Prince Edward Island and at the age of 13 began trekking and playing music across Canada until he had his first big break in Timmins, Ontario.  His nickname “Stompin’” is due to his habit of stamping his foot while playing guitar.

Connors’ deep love for Canada comes across in many of his numerous songs.

Edward Hopper was likely the best known American artist of his time.  He knew from childhood that he wanted to be an artist and eventually studied art in America and then Europe.  He is known for painting harsh New England landscapes, deserted streets at night, lighthouses, hotels, trains, highways, public and semi-public places, restaurants, theaters, and offices.  The theme of “loneliness” was often the focus of many of his paintings.  Edward Hopper died in 1967 and like with so many other artists, his work is only now being fully appreciated.

The Vancouver Aquarium opened its doors in 1956 and has since seen over 30 million visitors.  The aquarium is considered to be a leading expert in Beluga whales and their mascot is “Bee Bop Beluga”.  The 51 cent commemorative postage stamps that were issued in 2006 by Canada feature pictures of these beautiful Beluga whales.

Stamp Center has two beautiful Vancouver Aquarium postage stamps in stock and ready to ship out to you. One booklet is of the Beluga whale and one is of a child viewing the Beluga whale from the giant underwater picture window at the aquarium.  Both would make a wonderful addition to any stamp collection.  If you would like to add these to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.

The mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Canada is “to provide a safe, supportive place where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships and develop confidence and skills for life.”  The Boys and Girls Club is known for helping children with career development, education, and cultural understanding issues.  In June of 2000, Canada Post issued commemorative postage stamp to honor the 100th Anniversary of the Boys & Girls Club of Canada.

If you would like to add the Boys and Girls Club of Canada postage stamp to your stamp collection, please contact Stamp Center today.  We offer free shipping to our US customers and $4.50 flat rate shipping to our international customers.

The theme of the 2010 Winter Olympics was “Sea to Sky”.  The concept linked the Whistler’s snow capped ski slopes with a scenic coastal city of Canada.  The use of the winter mascots: Miga, Quatchi and Sumi, all received some criticism because some people thought that they looked like they were “too Japanese” or even called them “space creatures”.  Instead, these mascots were chosen because it was believed that they would appeal to both children and adults. Miga is a sea bear, Quatchi is a sasquatch, and Sumi is an animal guardian spirit, all mythological characters.

Each postage stamp has the 2010 Winter Olympic Games emblem on it as well. The “Inukshuk” is constructed of rocks and serves as a trail marker in Canada. The 2010 version is called an Ilanaaq, which means “friend”.

Fittingly, the stamp release ceremony was held at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Monterey, California.  All of the plant and sea life depicted in the stamp pane can be found off the California coast near Monterey.  An interesting thing about the release ceremony is that divers unveiled an enlargement of the gorgeous stamp pane while they were underwater themselves!

If you would like to add the 44 cent self adhesive Nature of America:  Kelp Forest postage stamps to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.  We have a huge selection of US and international postage stamps to choose from.  Please consider Stamp Center for all of your philatelic needs.

Anna Julia Cooper was honored by the United States Postal Service with a commemorative postage stamp on June 11, 2009.  This 44 cent postage stamp makes Anna Julia Cooper the 32nd person to be added into the popular “Black Heritage” series by the USPS.

If you would like to add the Anna Julia Cooper postage stamp to your collection, please contact Stamp Center today. We offer free shipping to our US customers and $4.50 flat rate shipping to our international customers.

In 1962, Cesar Chavez left the CSO and founded the National Farm workers Association which is now called the United Farm Workers of America.  In such he was able to secure fair wages, medical coverage, pension benefits, humane living conditions, and many other previously unattainable rights for the hundreds of thousands of farm workers in America.  He did not hesitate to use non-violent ways to communicate his organizations needs by fasting, strikes, and boycotts.

Interestingly enough, despite his notoriety, Cesar Chavez never earned more than $6,000 in a single year, nor did he ever own his own home.  Since his death, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in America.  There have also been many schools, parks, streets and libraries named in his honor.  The legacy that he left behind is that all American’s should be treated with the same respect, dignity and equality, regardless of social standing.

In April of 2003, the United States Postal Service issued a 37 cent commemorative postage stamp to honor this great American.  If you would like to add the Cesar Chavez postage stamp sheetlet to your collection, contact Stamp Center today.  We offer free shipping to our US customers and $4.50 flat rate shipping to our international customers.

Born in a farming community in Arizona on March 31, 1927, Cesar Chavez recognized from an early age just how hard migrant farm workers suffered as they worked in America.  During the Great Depression, at the young age of 10, Chavez and his family became migrant farm workers themselves after their family lost their home.  The family worked together in various vineyards and fields, enduring terrible injustices, as they traveled across the southwest.

Despite the fact that Chavez was quite good in school, his constant travels as a migrant farm worker was difficult on his studies.  He attended more than 30 different elementary and middle schools before he eventually had to stop attending to work in the fields on a full time basis.  Chavez never lost his love for learning though and continued to educate himself throughout his entire lifetime.

After World War II, Chavez decided to join the United States Navy in 1946.  He eventually married Helen Fabela, another California vineyard migrant worker, and they had eight children together.  In 1952 Cesar Chavez joined a Latino civil rights group called the Community Service Organization (CSO).  After helping organize voter registration drives and running various campaigns against discrimination, Chavez was promoted to the position of National Director.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion.