Senate committee hears resolution urging USPS to issue Snowshoe Thompson commemorative stamp

At a hearing of the Nevada Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections in Carson City, lawmakers and members of historical organizations testified in support of Senate Joint Resolution 9, which urges the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee and the postmaster general of the United States Postal Service to approve a commemorative postage stamp honoring John “Snowshoe” Thompson.

Sen. Dr. Robin Titus, who represents Senate District 17 and introduced the measure, told the committee the resolution is timed to seek consideration well in advance of Thompson’s 200th birthday on April 30, 2027. Titus described Thompson as the 19th‑century mail carrier who crossed the Sierra Nevada on skis and made winter deliveries between Placerville, California, and Genoa, Nevada. “Quite simply, this resolution urges the citizen stamp advisory committee and the postmaster general of the United States Postal Service to create a postage stamp recognizing and commemorating the contributions of John Snowshoe Thompson,” Titus said.

The measure draws on details Titus and witnesses supplied about Thompson’s service: born in Norway in 1827, Thompson made his first Sierra crossing in 1856 using hand‑made skis, reportedly traveled the route at least twice each winter for about 20 years, sometimes hauling packs “weighing up to a hundred pounds,” and often passed through snow reportedly as deep as 20 to 50 feet. Titus told the committee that federal stamp rules now require a honoree be deceased at least three years and said the 2027 bicentennial makes this an appropriate time to request a stamp.

Members of the historical organization E Clampus Vitus and related local groups testified in support. Steven James, a member of E Clampus Vitus chapter 18‑27, invoked the group's motto: “Facta non verba — deeds not words,” and described local volunteer work and historical markers tied to Thompson. Beau Alexander Valerie, former chapter president, and Bryce Ryan Lister, chapter historian, described plaque projects, museum collaboration and local tours that mark Thompson’s burial site in the Genoa Cemetery.

Committee members asked procedural questions about the stamp request. Sen. Krasner asked whether a private citizen may submit a proposal to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee or whether the request must be routed through a legislator. Titus responded that “Every every citizen has a right, to send,” and said the committee’s filing would signal state support but that individuals may independently apply. Titus also described the administrative requirement that the request be mailed in a stamped envelope to the agency and noted a 2018 change to USPS rules requiring honorees to have been deceased at least three years.

No formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing. The committee chair closed the hearing on Senate Joint Resolution 9 after testimony and questions and opened public comment; no public callers registered on the phone line during the committee’s public comment period.