Stamps Honor Lady Bird Johnson's Environmental Legacy
On Nov. 30 the US Postal Service honored the environmental achievements of former first lady Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson with the dedication of souvenir Forever stamps.
“[Lady Bird Johnson] believed we had a responsibility to our environment to restore what had been damaged — and to remember what had been neglected,” said U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Thurgood Marshall, Jr. in the USPS press release. “That’s why she led campaigns to clean up our cities and urged more Americans to visit national parks.”
The souvenir sheet includes six stamps, an image of the First Lady from a 1963 family photograph and one of First Lady Johnson’s famous quotes:
“For the environment after all is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is one thing that all of us share. If is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.”
The single stamp on the right side of the sheet is Johnson’s official White House portrait, an oil painting by Elizabeth Shoumatoff. The five stamps on the left feature drawings of the legacy of her accomplishments, such as one of daffodils along the Potamac River that says “Plant for more beautiful parks.”
On the back of the sheet is information about Johnson’s accomplishments, which included increased media attention on national parks and working with the American Association of Nurserymen to protect wildflowers and plant them along highways. She also served on The National Park System Advisory Board.