Our History

As far as we know, the official Burlington Stamp Club was formed in 1979. Our research indicates that there may have been a previous smaller club for a few years, but there does not seem to be much recollection or archives on this. (Anybody possessing any information or documents about that older club is truly welcome to share this with us, for publication on this website; it would be appreciated.) 

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In our archives, we have the minutes of the founding meeting which happened on October 17, 1979, at the house of a stamp collector, with six people in attendance, among them two stamp dealers. By the way, the secretary for that early meeting was one of the stamp dealers, and he is still a member of our club today (Rick Day - Medallion Stamps).

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From the beginning, the club held two regular meetings a month for stamp collectors, on the first and third Wednesdays of every month, with only one meeting a month in July and August. For a few years, the meetings were held in the basement of the Union Gas Building on Brant Street. Then, in 1981, the club was able to rent the main auditorium in the Central Arena on Drury Lane. In 2005, the City of Burlington needed the main auditorium for other activities on Wednesday evenings, so our club's meetings were moved and are still to this day held at the Burlington Seniors' Centre.

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On Saturday, February 6, 1982, the club organized its first annual show, Burlpex. For that show, open to the public, the club had struck a deal with the Appleby Mall in Burlington, to set up its tables and the stamp dealers’ stands in the middle of the aisles of the mall, for the whole day. Occasionally, it felt a bit strange to talk about and look at stamps in the middle of the shopping crowd, but it was a great way to recruit new members.

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After twenty one years at the Appleby Mall, we were no longer able to rent its aisles for our show. That is when we turned to the City of Burlington. In 2004, the show was held in the Central Arena, for just one year, until our meeting room was moved to the Burlington Seniors' Centre, where we now also organize our annual  show in a large and well-lit auditorium.

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Our next annual show will happen on Saturday, April 5, 2025. There will be about ten stamp dealers for stamps and supplies. It is open to the public. More on that in the "Annual Show" section.

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