National Postmark Museum > Work Week
More About the Museum:
• PMCC Museum History• A Visual Tour: Museum Collections
Contact Curator Kelvin Kindahl:
Work week attendees, Oct. 2009
Our next Work Week will occur Oct. 12—18, 2024. (Note: The 12th and 18th serve primarily as travel days for most volunteers.)
All work at the PMCC Museum, including the sorting of items for input in the museum's collections, is conducted by enthusiastic volunteers. Twice a year groups (largely comprised of PMCC members) gather at the PMCC Museum to process material for the museum's various collections, including the full-cover, 2x4, and photo holdings.
About two dozen people volunteer at the National Postmark Museum each Work Week. Those who've attended work weeks will tell you it's a worthwhile experience, and you need not be a philatelic expert to participate and enjoy yourself. There's great company, interesting postmarks, and (sometimes) home-made cookies fresh from Missouri!
With about two million philatelic items and donations improving the Museum's holdings all the time, it's critical that the PMCC not let a backlog of great philatelic material get out of hand. Witness:
The above is one of two boxes filled with full-cover items postmarked within New York State. Two volunteers have fully alphabetized the items; now they are analyzing the cancels for inclusion into the PMCC Museum's Primary Collection. (Fortunately this is the only state with such a large backlog of material at the moment.)
The work is not always easy but it is necessary to maintain the PMCC's gem of a museum. Fortunately, no one is alone in this endeavor. During Work Week the Museum bustles with great, knowledgeable, and friendly people. Carpools set out twice daily as volunteers enjoy Bellevue's nearby culinary offerings, including classic diners and pizza buffets.
Where should I stay?
By volunteers' experiences, decent low-cost lodging can be had at: Bellevue Hotel & Suites, in Bellevue; or the Motel 6 or Super 8 in Milan, off I-80.
Volunteers who spend at least four full volunteering days at the Museum Work Week may receive a free night's lodging [up to $50]. Contact the Curator (see sidebar, top-right) for more details.