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Let's Met
Jurgen Peter Esders take a look at a way in which you can met other space stamp collectors on the continent as well as America.
Maybe you travel abroad, maybe you go to the continent, maybe you just want to stick your nose in those things that happen there or you just want to communicate with collectors elsewhere. The Astro Space Stamp Society is not the only club on the world, and you might meet friendly and interesting people, new stamps and covers, interesting information when meeting stamp collectors there. Don’t worry about your knowledge of language, which was once perfect when you attended school, but since communicate in it.
Here we go:
Belgium:
First stop when you go to the continent and take the ferry to Oostend is a big town forty minutes further down south: Ghent. Twice a month - the second and fourth Sunday of each month except August - a good twenty fellow collectors meet in the centre flanders. Chatting, swapping, listening to speeches, presenting collections, watching Space Videos really makes B.F.V. Cosmos a family event. A small country, the Dutch speaking part of it only and yet this club has more than one hundred members.
Many space stamp exhibitions show the outstanding collections of many of the club members, and Georges Lauwers and his wife Jacqueline Bekaert, who form the heart and motor of the club, have definitely one of the finest collections on space that won many medals on International Exhibitions. Every eight weeks a bulletin named "Cosmos Expres Blad" is printed in Flemish language informing about basic events in the spaceflight scene.
Contact:
B.F.V. Cosmos, Georges Lauwers, Belgielaan 87, B 9120 Destelbergen, Belgium, Tel. 091—28 68 66
Meeting: 2nd and 4th Sunday every month except August, 10—12.30 hrs:
Brasserie La Bourse, W. Wilsonplein 8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Netherlands:
When you arrive at Rotterdam, Amsterdam or spend your holidays on the North Sea Coast, it is definitely worth to meet the Dutch friends of "Ruimtevaart Filatelie Club Nederland" at Noordwijk. This town in the south of the Netherlands, collectors who know about European Spaceflight already know that it is the site of one of European Space Agencies main institutions: ESTEC, The European Space Research and Technology Center, hosts many space scientists and Wubbo Ockels, first Dutch astronaut. The collectors there are basically oriented to collect printed covers, they produce their own on American and European spaceflight and hold meetings various times a year. A show pavilion on European spaceflight is in the making.
Contact:
RFC Nederland, Arie Olckers, Helmstraat 41, NL 2211 PE Noordwijkerhout.
West Germany:
Going further down south you have to pass by Munich. The capital of Bavaria hosts maybe Europe’s biggest club of astrophilatelists: "Weltraum Philatelie e. V." has more than 250 members all over Germany and in Europe. Peter Wilhelm, working for MBB, one of Europe’s biggest aerospace firms, Dieter Wengenmayr, Munich policeman and Railway employee Helmut Schlauch are connected with Astrophilately for decades and run the club actually. Once a month, second Friday of every month, the club members living in Bavaria, meet near in a restaurant near Munich Central Station. Just have a look in to the albums they put on the table there: there are some treasures in it and the collectors are always ready to swap and sell to very fair conditions.
Eight times a year bulletins, edited by Peter Wilhelm, give background information on everything a space collector needs to know and a monthly information bulletin edited by Jurgen Peter Esders. He’s a West German journalist, Weltraum Phulatelie member and now residing at Brussels, gives the brand new information on launch dates, cover addresses, new postmarks and anything else an engaged collector needs.
Contact:
Weltraum Philatelie e. V.,
a) Peter Wilhelm (Chairman and Editor of WP Bulletin), Postfach 1211, D 8011 Hohenkirchen, Tel. 089— 60004849 (office) or 6377539 (home).
b) Helmut Schlauch (Treasure and Secretary): Postfach 1345, D 8013 Haar, Tel. 089—46 44 75
Austria:
Going down even further south, the small Austrian town Gmund in Lower Austria, near the Austria—Czech border, hosts one of the oldest philatelic clubs existing: Gmunder Weltraumfreunde already organized exhibitions and special postmark’s in the sixties. Usually once a year, a fine exhibition welcomes visitors from all over Europe. Fine printed stationary envelopes, Aerogramme and commemorative covers are a must for that club. Our Austrian friends publish a bulletin two or three times a year.
Contact:
Gmunder Weltraumfreunde, Postfach 59, A 3950 Gmund/NO. Franz Voith chairs the club. Alois Vogimayr (Buchenstr. 11, A 4470 Enns,) edits the bulletin.
Switzerland:
The Swiss astrophilatelists association "Gesellschaft der Weltall Philatelisten" is just like the country: very fine, very serious, very discrete, very high level. The chairman, Dr. Theo Dahinden, is one of Europe’s most honorable philatelists, specialised in Air Mail and Aviation besides his space interest. Once a year a bulletin — Space Phil News — is published in German language. Centre of the Swiss space stamp activities is Zurich, meetings take place 1st Monday of the month in Restaurant Krone Unterstrass, Schaffhauserstr. 1, CH 8006 Zurich.
Contact:
Gesellschaft der Weltall—Philatelisten, Dr. Th. Dahinden, Seefeldstr. 7, CH 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
USA:
And when you cross the ocean, the Space Unit is definitely a must to meet. The nation wide club, world’s largest space philatelic club, hosts some 3000 members and was founded in November 1957, almost immediately after the first satellite in space, already. Astrophile, the bi—monthly bulletin (in English language, of course, or should I say, in American?) informs about background events, news and collectors’ topics and is an irreplaceable source for any collector who is interested in American spaceflight. Space Unit has various regional chapters that usually organize meetings on the occasion of stamp shows. An auction for members permits to purchase covers for very moderate prices. Collectors may present their most beautiful cover in a monthly column.
Contact:
Space Unit,
a) President: Reuben A. Ramkissoon, M.D., 3011 White Oak Lane, Oak Brook, XL 60521.
b) Secretary Carmine Torrisi, P.O. Box 241, Maspeth, N.Y. 11378.
c) Astrophile Editor, David Chudwin M.D., 1407 Country Lane, Deerfield, IL 60015.
Besides this, there are of course other "networks" in many of these countries. Many aerospace firms have a stamp club; well known collectors live in almost any part of the northern European countries. Why not take the time to write to the chairmen of the respective clubs, asking for information and — in case you go somewhere — addresses of fellow collectors? Why not join one of these clubs to receive one more interesting bulletin in case you understand the language of that country — keeps you brushing up your language knowledge as well. Do not forget to include a international response coupon to get an answer -all these people are spending their private money to keep stamp collectors organized. I wish you fun and pleasure!
By Jurgen Peter Esders
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