In the fall of 2015, someone in Ohio contacted me. He had a very large accumulation of mint panes of stamps. We met in Pittsburgh to review what he had. His initial appraisal in face value was wrong. That was the catalog value of what he had. I explained that he probably had around $10,000 of face value instead. It was a very cordial meeting and he wanted to think about the stamps further with his siblings.

One thing that I will always remember about that meeting is his sweet mother, Mildred Kinney. She was 93 at the time. A little on the frail side, but she had all her faculties about her. She was the retired postmaster from Richmond, OH. President Lyndon Johnson appointed her. These mint panes of stamps were largely from her saving a mint pane of each issue that she handled in her many years with the USPS.

My short hair intrigued her. I have had a buzz cut for many years. She asked, “May I touch your hair?” I smiled and said, “Sure.” I bent down to meet her. I am over 6 feet tall and she was sitting in a chair. I did not want to make her stand. Even standing, I am not sure she could reach the top of my head. It was one of the most unusual requests I ever had, but it came from a very sweet lady. I will never forget her. God bless her!

Sadly, she passed away on Aug 20, 2016 at the age of 94. Rest in peace Mildred.