The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flintabbatey Flonatin will soon be showing up in mailboxes around the world. Starting tomorrow, letters sent from Flin Flon will be canceled using a rubber stamp bearing the fictitious professor's likeness. "Hopefully it will help promote Flin Flon," said Gord Fox, superintendent at the local Canada Post office. The Flinty cancellation stamp will be used upon customer request, and collectors may stop by to have letters and postcards marked with the stamp. "We don't plan on using it for everyday cancellations," said Fox. This is one of many special cancellation stamps that post offices across Canada use and have used for years. "We just thought it would be nice to kind of follow that idea," said Fox, adding that the idea for the Flinty stamp came from his retail area staff. Taking this initiative from the idea phase to reality required some legwork. Canada Post first had to secure permission to use Flinty's likeness from his trademark holder, the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce. "We talked to the Chamber about using it, and they were happy to give it to us," noted Fox. Once that happened, the idea went to Canada Post's head office for authorization. See 'Unique' P.# Con't from P.# The unique cancellation stamp will be used for the first time tomorrow, with the first 50 customers at the post office to receive a free Flinty postcard canceled with the stamp. Only a few people have seen the cancellation stamp so far, and Fox said they are fond of it. This is another feather in Flinty's cap in what has been an eventful year for the oddly-named prospector. A Flinty costume has been spotted at different events since its arrival in January, and Mr. Flonatin also appears on $3 coins issued last month.
