Oklee Post Office to offer special pictorial postmark

On November 30th, the Oklee, MN Post Office, 202 2nd Ave, will offer a special pictorial postmark celebrating the 50th anniversary of the holiday classic TV show “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The collectible postmark will be available 8 am to 2:30 pm at the Post Office.

“Commemorative postmarks are a great, inexpensive way to remember the important people, places and events in our lives,” says Oklee PTF Madchen Mero “’A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is an annual holiday classic, and I encourage anyone with fond memories of this iconic program to stop in and see us on November 30th.

This special postmark is a must-have. Can’t make it to the Oklee Post Office on November 30th? The postmark is also available for 30 days after by mail. To request by mail, affix First-Class postage to an envelope or postcard of your choice, using any stamps that were issued before October 1st , Place in a larger envelope (along with a large self-addressed stamped envelope for the return trip) and send to:

POSTMASTER

A CHARLIE 

BROWN CHRISTMAS

202 2nd Ave 

Oklee, MN 56742-9998

A Christmas Classic

The U.S. Postal Service kicked off the holiday season by dedicating the Charlie Brown Christmas Forever Stamps Oct. 1. The booklet of 20 stamps features 10 still frames from the classic ode to the holiday season, which now airs annually on ABC. The 50th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 9 p.m. ET.

Work began on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in the spring of 1965, when Schulz met with producer Lee Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez. Instead of hiring adult actors, the group decided to take the then-unusual step of having children provide voices for most of the characters. 

Schulz insisted that the program should not have a laugh track, which he considered cynical and unnecessary. “Let the people at home enjoy the show at their own speed,” he said, “in their own way.” Composer Vince Guaraldi contributed a memorable jazz score. “Linus and Lucy,” a lively piano tune that plays in the film, is still synonymous with Peanuts. 

Schulz’s script focuses on Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas. All around him, his friends are enjoying themselves, but he is bothered by the season’s commercialism. 

At Lucy’s request, Charlie Brown agrees to direct their school’s Christmas play. The production is temporarily derailed when the other children laugh at him for choosing a small sapling — not a shiny aluminum replica — as a Christmas tree. After an exasperated Charlie Brown wonders if there’s anyone who knows what Christmas is all about, Linus says that he does, and proceeds to recite a stirring rendition of the biblical Nativity story. When he’s finished, he picks up his blanket and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” 

Encouraged, Charlie Brown rushes home to decorate his small tree, only to be disappointed again when it collapses under the weight of one ornament. His pals, however, come to the rescue, turning the sapling into a glimmering masterpiece. 

Watched in more than 15 million American homes, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a smash hit. It won the George Foster Peabody Award and an Emmy Award.