1978 Morris Township Schoolhouse

Here in North Carolina, a variation of school has been going on all summer. I know this acutely because our house backs up to an elementary school playground and we can hear children laughing, screaming and playing. It's a sound I cherish because we hardly heard it at all last year while school was closed. To me it is the sound of everything being right in the world! This summer school is in session through Friday, so these are my last days of that merry noise until school starts again. I had to honor that by sharing this stamp with you.

Morris Township Schoolhouse is a part of the Americana Series. From 1975-1981, USPS issued 35 stamps of the same size and same basic design, each capturing a piece of American culture or history. While they are a celebration of America and were issued during the Bicentennial, they are not officially Bicentennial stamps. With a couple of exceptions, they were themed in groups of four, with each group being printed on the same paper and having text that lines up to make a frame. This particular stamp is part of the Pioneer quadruplet (pictured below).

However, as thoughtful, fun and downright cool this series is, not everyone loved it. Arago, the Smithsonian Philatelic site, says "Surprisingly, the series was not popular with the public and was the shortest-lived definitive series of the twentieth century."

The Morris Township Schoolhouse, depicted on this stamp, hosted students in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, from 1894-1960 and still serves as a town hall today.

Find these stamps here.