07/10/2026
https://www.linns.com/news/ohios-rattlesnake-island-local-post-to-debut-four-stamps-aug-27
Jul 9, 2026
By Dennis Sadowski
Four stamps will be released by Ohio’s Rattlesnake Island Local Post (RILP) Aug. 27 to mark the private mail service’s 60th anniversary as well as the centennial of the production of the first Ford Tri-Motor airplane.
Dave Gill, RILP postmaster general, revealed the stamp designs May 27 during ceremonies at the Boston 2026 World Expo.
“It is kind of awesome to be continuing the history of Rattlesnake Island Local Post,” Gill said.
The triangular stamps will be issued in denominations of 50¢, 75¢, $1 and $2. Traditionally, three stamps have been issued. Every 20 years a fourth stamp, valued at $2, has been issued to mark milestone anniversaries of the mail service, Gill said.
The three lower values will provide service for postcards, first-class letters and parcels, respectively. The $2 denomination will mark the 100th anniversary of the Ford Tri-Motor plane, known as the “Tin Goose,” which served the islands in the western basin of Lake Erie off Ohio’s north coast.
All mail from the island also must be franked with first-class postage, per United States Postal Service regulations. The local post stamps pay for the delivery service to the island provided by Griffing Flying Service, based in Port Clinton, Ohio.
Artist Beth Lynn Gregerson of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, designed this year’s stamps. It is her eighth set of designs overall: four since Gill reestablished the local post in 2022 and earlier from 2007 to 2010.
This year’s designs are inspired by the first RILP stamps in 1966. Gregerson updated the images so that they appear in a more traditional engraved style, although they were printed by offset.
Gregerson’s history in designing the local post’s stamps began 19 years ago when she worked with James Frackelton, a Cleveland surgeon, one-time owner of a stamp and coin shop, and one of the owners of the private 85-acre island. Frackelton died in 2012 at age 85, leading the service to be suspended until Gill reinitiated it four years ago.
The stamps are printed in different colors with text printed in black around the triangular borders. Keeping with tradition, the stamps will be issued in perforated and imperforated varieties, Gill said.
The 50¢ stamp, with a green vignette, shows the island with a rattlesnake imposed over it. An old-style compass appears above the island. Starting from the left, the text reads: “NATIVES’ LEGEND/LOCAL POST 2026/RATTLESNAKE ISLAND.”
The golden vignette of the 75¢ stamp depicts the diamond-shaped route planes flew to South Bass, Middle Bass, North Bass and Rattlesnake islands to deliver mail, supplies and, during the school year, students to school in Put-in-Bay on South Bass.
The text reads from the top: “RATTLESNAKE ISLAND/LOCAL POST 2026/DIAMOND AIR ROUTE.”
The $1 stamp, with a blue vignette, shows a wooden cabin cruiser in the island’s marina with cabins in the background. Gill said the boat is representative of the cruisers produced by Matthews Boat Works in nearby Port Clinton on the mainland.
The text reads from left: “MATTHEWS BOAT/LOCAL POST 2026/RATTLESNAKE ISLAND.”
The $2 stamp is printed in two colors. The Tin Goose, shown in blue within a red frame, appears flying above Lake Erie. The text reads from left “TIN GOOSE CENTENNIAL/LOCAL POST 2026/RATTLESNAKE ISLAND.”
Gill is planning special ceremonies for the release of the stamps both on Rattlesnake Island the morning of Aug. 27 and at 2 p.m. at the Liberty Aviation Museum, 3515 E. State Road, Port Clinton. A pictorial postmark also will be available that day to mark the event.
More information on Rattlesnake Island Local Post is at www.rilp.org.
