Disappointed in the Christmas Wreath and Candles issued in 1962, the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee-2 vowed, “to produce a fine art work so that the ridicule that was leveled at the Post Office Department and the Committee for the 1962 design would not develop again.” Norman Todhunter, in contact with hundreds of commercial artists, offered to find talent to, “help in solving the problem of design.”

For the first time, CSAC-2 developed an art policy. “Stamp design should reflect the American spirit, which is progressive, bold, and open…It should proclaim an essential message of what it is about…There should be a dominating motif and a single type style and each design should be unique, different from any other.” Balancing novel with tradition was a tough assignment. 

The Committee discarded an early effort for a second holiday stamp: 

Then James Kelleher blindsided CSAC.   

Up-and-coming artist, Lily Spandorf, arrived in the United States in 1959 via a sponsorship by the Italian Institute of Culture. Within two years she exhibited in Washington, D.C., and New York City. In 1960, she caught a break, literally in her wrist. At Georgetown Hospital, doctors set the bone. Resting in a nearby room, Jacqueline Kennedy recuperated after giving birth to John Junior. When the president’s son was baptized in the hospital chapel, where photographers were not allowed, Spandorf, on site, sketched the scene. Newspapers raced to publish her artwork of the historic event.   

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“When I paint on the spot, it comes from heart,” Spandorf said. In 1961, she braved a blizzard to draw at inauguration parties. When JFK lit America’s Christmas tree in 1962, Spandorf nearly froze to death as she sketched the scene. She turned the site work into a painting, The Pageant of Peace. It was an idyllic vision of a tree towering over awestruck children, pointing to its height. Inspired by Kennedy and hope for America, the artist contemplated how to give it to her adopted country as a gift.   

Spandorf contacted J. Edward Day’s office and suggested that her depiction of the National Christmas Tree and White House become holiday postage. James Kelleher, familiar with Spandorf’s work, invited her to visit him at headquarters. 

“What did you think of last year’s Christmas stamp?” Kelleher asked.

“It was attractive and gay but to me it didn’t symbolize tradition.”

“What does?” 

Spandorf showed Kelleher her painting. “I think this scene of the tree lightning is the symbol of Christmas in America.”

Kelleher, likely envisioning a catchy public relations story in the making, said “yes” to the design. But then asked, “Lily, can you do one more sketch?”

 Kelleher passed Spandorf’s final illustration to the Bureau of Engraving, who tweaked it for printing properly on the Giorgi press. CSAC-2 saw the design at their February meeting:

They did not like it. In the eyes of artists, they found it lacking. Unlike other stamps that were nitpicked for the slightest things, like a street incorrectly paved with cobblestones or a different stamen in a cactus, the Committee provided no concrete details for shunning Spandorf’s creation. Instead, they remained vague. The image was intricate. It would be difficult for the Bureau to print it properly with overlapping colors and press limitations. 

Norman Todhunter was assigned to fix it. 

In March, CSAC-2 suggested more revisions. The tree needed to be as dark as possible and depict a night scene, with a light in a White House window. Todhunter removed the children. He eliminated the fence and all the bold ornament shapes. Contemporary touches and the word “Christmas” were obliterated. Small trees were added, the White House was pushed back by 1,000 feet, and the surrounding vegetation omitted. Todhunter erased the whimsy of Spandorf’s art: 

(Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Library)

Catherine Drinker Bowen, the first female CSAC member, did vote “yes” to have the word Christmas restored on the 1963 issue. Postmaster General Day instructed the Bureau to have sufficient supplies to print 2 billion stamps of a design not yet finalized. 

(Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Library)

In June, Day told reporters there would be Christmas postage but provided no further details. The latest dilemma was the dominant color of blue. Stamps were canceled in temperamental facing machines. The electric eye struggled to recognize dark colors in the Christmas design’s lowest portion. To fix the problem, the text of “United States” and the denomination were changed to a red font. 

Engravings, proofs, and production could consume three months. After Stanley Fryczynski supplanted Franklin Bruns on CSAC-2, Bruns gossiped in his stamp column. “Unofficial opinions are that it will prove a disappointment so drastically modified by Norman Todhunter only the concept remains.” Leaning toward elegant and distinguished, perhaps fate intervened in the image aesthetics.    

The least of J. Edward Day’s worries was a Christmas stamp. His $25,000 postmaster general salary did not support his lifestyle. Day refinanced his mortgage, borrowed against life insurance policies, and while he loved his job, he chose to resign. “I’d stay as a janitor to work for President Kennedy if I could afford it.”

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In a rare and brief private moment with JFK on June 14, 1963, J. Edward Day quit. By July 19th, with no announcement of his departure or a successor named, he sent Kennedy a second resignation letter. Knowing his boss’s priorities were global rather than domestic, Day called a Senator friend to prod the president to announce his exit. Finally, the government issued a press release and Day joined a D.C. law firm. 

As one of his final official acts on August 9, 1963, J. Edward Day unveiled the design of his second Christmas stamp. His other accomplishments were a postal rate increase to reduce the deficit and the launch of America’s zip code system. With his departure, per protocol, everyone on the Citizen’s Committee resigned. Bowen claimed the honor of being the first female CSAC member but only attended a single meeting and was out before she really got in. 

Rumors flew that Kennedy desired to appoint a woman or African-American as postmaster general. Either selection would have been a historic first. The choice by JFK of John Gronouski, a tax commissioner from Wisconsin, did mark some firsts. He was assumed to be the first cabinet member with a PhD (Economics), the first of Polish descent, and the first to never go anywhere without his curved pipe. 

In contrast to his well-dressed predecessors, Summerfield and Day, Gronouski appeared rumpled. His relaxed demeanor hid an intense leader who labored twelve to sixteen hours a day and expected his staff to do likewise. Though Gronouski was a staunch Democrat, even some Republicans liked him. “He’s a surprisingly good administrator, and you just can’t stay mad at the guy.” 

Quick witted Gronouski was a press favorite for quotes like, “All I know of postal operations I learned licking stamps in Kennedy’s presidential campaign.” A savvy politician, supporters at his swearing-in included past and present Wisconsin governors, and Congressman Melvin Laird. After taking the oath in the White House Cabinet Room, Gronouski moved into his palatial office. 

Gronouski hit the ground running. Letters from philatelists poured in to his office. He also received a memo from President Kennedy. With Virginia Brizendine’s help, the new PmG fulfilled JFK’s request that he provide a list of postage honoring American Indians. On November 1, 1963, Gronouski traveled to Santa Claus, Indiana, for first-day pageantry. He met Lily Spandorf, who sold her Pageant of Peace painting for a collectible cachet that she autographed:

While Spanddorf was introduced as the stamp’s designer, Norman Todhunter also alleged credit. He once told a reporter, “The initial run for my 1963 Christmas stamp was 2.3 billion.” Gronouski returned to D.C., while Spandorf, always lugging her three-legged stool, stayed a bit longer, drawing the covered bridges of the Indiana countryside. Once she returned to the nation’s capital, perhaps she looked forward to the president inspiring her again when he lit the National Christmas Tree. 

With six days until Thanksgiving, employees at the Post Office Department headquarters likely scurried to finish tasks before celebrating the holiday. President Kennedy had flown to Texas for a campaign trip. It was November 22, 1963 and Jamison “Jamie” Cain, an assistant postmaster general, sat at his desk. A department photographer burst in.

“The president has been shot!”

Cain chastised him, “Don’t kid around about such a thing.”

The photographer countered, “Turn on the TV.”

After seeing the truth, Cain walked quietly to Gronouski’s office, opened the door, and approached the postmaster general at his desk. 

“General, the president’s been shot.”

Gronouski got up from behind his desk and closed the door.

“Jamie, the president is dead.”

That evening, Gronouski and the other cabinet members were driven to Andrews Air Force Base. In shock, they waited for their fallen leader’s return from Dallas, Texas. The next day, a shaken President Lyndon Johnson convened the first meeting of his administration at 3:00 p.m. 

In a solemn, short gathering, he asked all of Kennedy’s team to remain in their posts. Simultaneously, Victor McCloskey spent his Saturday at his Bureau art table, commemorating the fallen president. As he drew, his co-worker, Roger Miller, suggested an eternal flame with JFK’s portrait. Robert Jones remembered an inauguration quote, “and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.” On Tuesday, November 26th, eight designs were handed off to Reuben Barrick as the Bureau pushed a memorial stamp underway. 

While the Post Office and Bureau distracted themselves with the tribute, Americans tried to do Christmas. When the 30-day national mourning period ended, Johnson grieved publicly at the Lincoln Memorial during a service for Kennedy. After returning to the White House that evening, LBJ stood on the stage near the eastern Ellipse with daughter Luci, and his wife, Lady Bird. There, the Johnson family lit the 1963 National Christmas Tree. But it was John F. Kennedy’s 1962 tree that crisscrossed the country, pasted on envelopes.       

 As for the 1964 Christmas issue, Kennedy had given Postmaster Day his blessing for an annual Christmas stamp. But with JFK’s assassination, everything felt different. 

Everything had changed. 

Jody Pritzl is the author of six books — four nominated for awards by the Colorado Authors League, with a gold medal honor in 2019 for “Immigrants, Ornaments and Legacies-A Story of American-Made Glass Christmas Ornaments. An 80’s transplant from Wisconsin, Pritzl exited a 30-year corporate gig in Denver, Colorado, to become a writer. She earned a communications degree from Metropolitan State University and a master’s degree from Regis University. Supplementing her books with 33 videos, Pritzl’s YouTube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/@jodypritzl8250.