GIBSON “GIBBER” STEPHENS
1922 – 2012
REMEMBERING GIB - 11 THINGS GIB OFTEN SAID ABOUT HIS LOVE OF STAMP COLLECTING
1. Stamps represent more than just the currency of mail delivery
2. To those who pay attention, the history of the world can be found on the tiny squares and related components
3. Hundreds of those people who make it their hobby to pay attention the annual Oxford Philatelic Society Stamp Show is at the John Knox Christian School this Saturday.
4. The idea of stamp collecting is to teach people about history and education, and then it gives them a hobby especially when people are in their senior years. It’s a good hobby because there is always something different.
5. Stamp collecting changes and no one person will ever know everything about stamp collecting because of the changes that are going on every year.
6. That’s the thing about stamp collecting, you learn. I had to look for all these stamps and research them all as I was going along. I’ve learned fascinating things through collecting.
7. Some barbers became so well known that in one case, a postcard addressed simply, “Gib the barber, Woodstock, Canada” reached its correct destination.
8. That’s the fun thing. You get hooked on finding that particular stamp or cover that you are looking for. I think the search is what drives a collector. It’s really a multifaceted hobby.
9. The first thing you have to do when you get into collecting is pick something you are interested in – something that you want to spend your time researching and searching for.
10. It has to be something you are really interested in because you might spend five or six years searching out the material you want. Patience is the key.
11. And this says it all about Gib: “BASICALLY, I LOVE SHARING INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.”
