Barney Fife and Ernest T. Bass come to Fremont Post Office

Visit highlights Early TV Memories stamp dedication event

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Early TV Memories stamp

FREMONT, NC—The U.S. Postal Service and Fremont Post Office welcome Barney Fife, Ernest T. Bass, and the Mayberry Squad Car, those legendary characters from the Andy Griffith Show, in a special ceremony celebrating the issuance of the Early TV Memories commemorative stamps. The event will be held at Fremont Post Office, 115 E. Main Street at 2 pm on Tuesday, August 11, 2009, the first day the stamps are available nationwide.

With these stamps, the U.S. Postal Service commemorates 20 great shows from TV’s golden age of the 1950s. For more than half a century, Americans have turned to television for entertainment and information. To those watching in its early days, TV offered the additional excitement of the new. Whether laughing at the first situation comedies, tingling at crime dramas, or identifying with ordinary people who had their day in the spotlight on game shows, audiences were charmed by the novelty of the young medium. Today, memories from television’s “childhood”—often especially vivid—are a pure pleasure.

The stamps recognize The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Dinah Shore Show; Dragnet; Ed Sullivan Show; George Burns & Gracie Allen Show; Hopalong Cassidy; The Honeymooners; Howdy Doody; I Love Lucy; Kukla, Fran and Ollie; Lassie; The Lone Ranger; Perry Mason; Phil Silvers Show; The Red Skelton Show; Texaco Star Theater; The Tonight Show; Twilight Zone; and You Bet Your Life.

While the visiting characters originated in 1960, Fife’s and Bass’ appearance will also highlight “Old Fashioned Day” in the town of Fremont. Special commemorative cachets will be available, as will light refreshments. This event is free and open to the public; for information, contact Postmaster Myra Lynn, (919) 242-5817.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.