Someone in the crew comes up with the idea of creating a post office and postmarking our letters with a North Pole cancellation stamp. Some of us write our girlfriends, parents, wives and children every day, but have to wait until we arrive at a port to mail them back home.
This means that there is always a pile of letters to be postmarked and delivered. With a North Pole cancellation stamp we all fantasize that one-day these envelopes will become a collector's item and a wonderful souvenir for the recipient of the letter.
John Krawzyak has the logo made in two separate pieces so that no one can make the connection to our trying the trans-polar trip.
Here is scan of the envelope I sent to my son, Larry. One of the originals is is located in the National Postal Museum, a part of the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.
Here is a picture of the actual rubber stamp
Back in the engine room, Frank Holland (on the left) hand carves a cancellation stamp from a piece of soft rubber we have laying around. He carves in the date, time and North Pole location and along with John Krawczyk, pushes the rubber cancellation stamp into an ink pad and cancels 1,528 envelopes.
The big question then becomes, "Will this cancellation stamp be accepted and the letters forwarded without an additional cancellation on top of it?"
Upon our return to the States some weeks later the Captain turns over the sack of canceled letters and post cards to President Eisenhower, who in turn gives them to the Post Master General and tells him to forward them through the system "As Is".
Off they go, no problem! Did these envelopes ever become collector's items? I have no idea because I've never tried to sell mine.