Janice Newman has been collecting stamps from all over the world since the age of 10.
“Stamps are all about history,” she said. “It’s about every little event that’s happened.”
Fifty-five years and about 50,000 stamps later she’s almost filled eight massive albums.
A member of Saskatoon’s stamp club since 2008, Newman continues to keep up with her hobby.
She recently got her hands on a series issued by Canada Post in April.
Called Sweet Canada, it tells the story of five desserts in the country with iconic reputations and how they intertwine with Canadian history.
Representing the Prairies is Saskatoon berry pie.
“These are the most unique — I’ve never seen anything that specializes on desserts,” Newman said.
“On the back, it tells you about the fact that Saskatoon was named after the Saskatoon berry pie.”
The souvenir sheet is also designed after a recipe card.
“It never looks like this,” she said.
The only other featured city that shares its namesake with a dessert is the Nanaimo bar.
The butter tart, sugar pie and blueberry grunt also made the cut.
“The idea came from a lot of research we are doing and people writing into us over the years,” Canada Post stamp services director Jim Phillips said.
“We really wanted some that had a story behind them like the Saskatoon berry pie and we wanted Canada coverage.”
Recently, Canada Post formally presented Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark with a framed stamp. It proudly hangs in his office.
He says it’s great to recognize what he thinks is a big part of Saskatchewan culture.
“A berry with a lot of history and story,” Clark said. “It connects to the indigenous community in Saskatoon — because it was the indigenous name for the berry.”
“What’s great about it is people are now going to be putting Saskatoon berry pie stamps right across the country.”
It’s not the first time the beloved berry landed on a stamp. It was featured back in the 1990s.
The Broadway Bridge and the University of Saskatchewan also made it into circulation over the years.
According to Canada Post, the newest series of sweet stamps are going quickly.
“We had 200,000 booklets or two million stamps and right now we are into the thousands,” Phillips explained.
“People really seem to resonate with this particular stamp issue.”
Like many others in recent years, the stamps are marked with a ‘P’, meaning you can use it anytime, no matter the postage price.
“Once we print them we don’t print again, so they become highly collectable,” Phillips added.
The dessert stamps have become a treasure in Newman’s collection — so much so she said unless she gets used ones, she’ll keep hers intact.
As for the classic Saskatoon dessert — it officially put its stamp on the entire country.
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