“Lady Bird Johnson changed the face of America — literally,” said U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Thurgood Marshall, Jr. “She believed we had a responsibility to our environment to restore what had been damaged — and to remember what had been neglected. That's why she led campaigns to clean up our cities and urged more Americans to visit national parks. One of her proudest achievements was the Highway Beautification Act. She was so vocal in her support for the legislation that it became known as ‘Lady Bird's Bill.'”
Forty-seven years ago today, the “Lady Bird Bill” was signed into law to begin the process of beautifying America's highways. This and other achievements of former First Lady Bird Johnson will be celebrated Nov. 30 in Austin, TX, when the Postal Service dedicates the Lady Bird Johnson souvenir Forever stamps sheet.
“The Postal Service is proud to issue this historic Forever stamp honoring a beloved First Lady who worked tirelessly to make the United States a more beautiful place,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “Lady Bird Johnson's legacy lives on along our nation's roadsides, and urban parks and trails, which she so diligently worked to preserve and beautify, and now on a U.S. postage stamp to commemorate her contributions for forever.”
The Lady Bird Johnson souvenir sheet features six stamps, a quote from the First Lady reflecting her belief that the environment is our common ground, and a black-and-white image of the First Lady taken from a family photograph shot in 1963 by Yoichi Okamoto. Text on the back of the stamp sheet highlights a few of Lady Bird Johnson's many successes. The single stamp on the right side of the sheet features her official White House portrait, an oil painting by Elizabeth Shoumatoff showing the seated First Lady wearing an empire-waist gown of buttercup yellow.