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Now 150: Lewisville celebrates with stamp
Journal Photo by Jennifer Rotenizer
Lewisville has a one-day cancellation stamp for the anniversary.
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Published: October 11, 2009
Lewisville's 150th anniversary celebration is coming with a stamp of approval.
The U.S. Postal Service has approved a request to issue a special one-day cancellation stamp that will be placed on first-class postage during the town's celebration Oct. 17 in Shallowford Square.
The stamp is in the shape of a wagon wheel, and has a large 150 in the middle.
Lewisville postmaster Michael Boone said he filed the paperwork for the special stamp after a suggestion by town officials. He said it's the first time Lewisville has had a special cancellation stamp.
"I thought people will enjoy having something like this to remember the date," Boone said.
A booth will be set up during the town's celebration where people can get the stamp on first-class letters or postcards. It is then up to the individual to decide whether to mail them or to keep them as souvenirs, he said.
Carl Walton, a spokesman for the postal service's regional office in Greensboro, said two to three of the special stamps are issued in the Winston-Salem area each year. They are sometimes issued to celebrate festivals or releases of new postage stamps.
"It becomes a very collectible keepsake," Walton said. "It's something they can walk away with the date on."
The date is permanently engraved on the stamp, and therefore it cannot be used for anything mailed after Oct. 17. Typically when the event is over, the stamp is either stored or destroyed.
But it will be held for 30 days to give anyone with a claim a chance to request to have it, Walton said.
Barbara Moser of the Lewisville Historical Society, said the group will likely make such a request.
Moser is a member of the steering committee that has been organizing the sesquicentennial celebration.
Lewisville is named for Lewis Laugenour.
Laugenour grew up in the Friedland area of southern Forsyth County in the middle of the 19th century.
He and his brothers left the area in a wagon made by Nissen Wagon Works, intending on setting up shop in Missouri, but along the way heard about the gold rush and headed to California instead, Moser said.
He amassed enough of a fortune to return in 1857 and buy 750 acres along what is now Shallowford Road. The house he started building in 1859 is still standing just north of Shallowford Square.
The celebration will begin with a parade at 11 a.m. and last until 4 p.m. and include music, crafts and food.
pgarber@wsjournal.com
727-7327
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