Grand Terrace to Celebrate Date-Meets-ZIP

Grand Terrace on Monday, Sept. 23, will get to make history as the city will experience the first date-meets-zip in its history; the numerical 9-23-13 date will match the city’s 92313 postal ZIP code. “This is unique. Not all cities have [the date-meets-stamp]. It only happens once a century,” said Eugene Walker, a worker at the post office plant located in Redlands who is also an avid stamp collector. He wanted to create a commemorative postmark and then have the postmark advertised in the Postal Bulletin, a weekly newsletter featuring postal-centric news, procedures, policies and other information to alert other stamp collectors and any others interested of the event. He also helped create the Grand Terrace date-meets-ZIP postmark, which depicts Mr. ZIP next to the city’s name and the date spelled out in full: September 23, 2013. There are a few requirements for acceptable postmarks for “special cancellations,” as Postal workers call it—when the Post Office runs a postmark or stamp, their equipment “cancels” out the postmark or stamp to let them know it was paid for; these requirements are that the City, the State, the ZIP code and the date of the postmark are included, and the word “station” is also in the postmark, either spelled out in full or abbreviated. The rest of the design is up to its creator(s), explained Walker. Walker also noted how other California communities, such as Carlsbad and Campo, made large events out of the date-meets-ZIP events in their cities, inviting their respective mayors and city council members to address the public. “This is a unique opportunity for Grand Terrace,” Walker said. “It’s also good for the post office,” because it presents the opportunity for community members to patronize their local post offices by purchasing stamps, postcards and other items, he noted. Beginning at 9 a.m., residents are invited to bring their own postcards or purchase items from the Post Office in Grand Terrace on Monday, Sept. 23, and have it stamped with the commemorative postmark to mark the occasion, shared Terri Castruita, Postmaster at the Colton Post Office. “I would definitely encourage people to come out and have something postmarked,” she said. “This is a community event, not just a postal event. Grand Terrace is such a tight community, and this is something that will only come around once.” She noted that the Johnny Cash stamp will also be out at this time, and residents may consider taking the opportunity to have a Ray Charles stamp cancelled with the commemorative postmark to make the event doubly historic. The U.S. Postal Office in Grand Terrace is located at 22310 Barton Road.