Dickinson, Gary (2014). Seasons of the Maple on First Day Covers.

In his latest BNAPS handbook, Seasons of the Maple on First Day Covers, Gary Dickinson describes how the Maple Leaf, Canada’s other national symbol along with the Beaver, has appeared on Canadian postage stamps. The first use was as a decorative element in the design of the Diamond Jubilee issue of 1897, followed shortly by the Queen Victoria Maple Leaf and subsequent issues well into the 20th Century. With the adoption of the new Canadian flag in 1965 the Maple Leaf began to appear more frequently as a major element on stamps because of its central presence on the flag, and continues to do so right up until the present. With the release of the “Maple Leaves in Season” series in 1971, the Canada Post Office (CPO) also entered into full scale production of First Day Covers. The main part of this volume focuses on the great variety in CPO’s products and those of competitors.Dr. Gary Dickinson worked in British Columbia secondary schools, colleges, and universities for 35 years until he retired in 2001. The last 20 years were at Okanagan College and Okanagan University College where he served as South Okanagan Regional Director for five years and Dean of the Faculty of Adult and Continuing Education for 15 years. He was also Acting Vice-President, Academic for the year and a half prior to his retirement. Gary has continued his association with Okanagan College by chairing its Central Okanagan Advisory Committee and serving on the Research Ethics Board. He was co-founder of the BNAPS FDC Study Group and is editor of its newsletter, First Impressions. Gary and his wife Barbara have six grown children and were foster parents for 20 years.