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The Seabiscuit Stamp:
How It Came To Beby
Maggie Van Ostrand | |
| On
May 11th, a 44-cent rate-change stamp featuring the great thoroughbred racehorse,
Seabiscuit, will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service. This stamp is significant
for one huge reason: We the people did it! It took us eight long years,
but we did it. People think we don’t have power in Washington but, when there
are enough of us, we can do anything.
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| In
2001, when Laura Hillenbrand's best seller, “Seabiscuit: An American Legend,”
was published, millions of readers were inspired by the true story of “an undersized,
crooked-legged racehorse named Seabiscuit,” who beat all odds and became a pop-culture
phenomenon. Back in the Thirties, as many spectators attended his races as today
attend the Super Bowl. Those who couldn’t squeeze into the track hung off lampposts,
stood atop their cars, and climbed onto roofs just to catch a glimpse of him.
When President Obama appeared on the Tonight Show March 19, ratings rose higher
than they’d been in years with 20 million viewers; when Seabiscuit raced, 40 million
people listened on their radios. |
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| The
stamp shows Seabiscuit, “the people’s horse,” beating the magnificent Triple-Crown
Winner, War Admiral, in their famous match race, still regarded as the greatest
horse race in history. | |
Impassioned by the
book, I took a guided tour of the Biscuit’s home, Ridgewood Ranch, in Northern
California and, at the showing of an old 8mm movie of his greatest races and life
at the Ranch, I spoke with another tourist, a man from New Orleans. Over time
and telephone, we became friends and he suggested we try to get Seabiscuit on
a California coin. That idea evolved into the possibility of attempting to get
the horse, an American cultural icon, on a U.S. stamp.
Fat chance, right?
We had no money, no lobbyists, and no Washington connections. We had only passion,
and a belief that the word “No” really meant, “Try harder.”
We
learned about the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, whose primary goal is to
select subjects of “broad national interest for recommendation to the Postmaster
General that are both interesting and educational.” To give you an idea of the
odds we were up against, merely 25 subjects are selected each year out of many
thousands of submissions. Only one other horse in history (Secretariat) had ever
been so honored, and he had big financial backing and Washington lobbyists. |
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Undaunted, we started a grassroots movement, beginning with local book clubs,
then book clubs nationwide. Their members not only signed our petition to the
Committee, they circulated it to all their friends, who sent it to everyone they
knew. We put the petition on the Internet to be printed and mailed by anyone interested.
We trolled the streets for signatures; promoted the idea on sports news TV; haunted
Santa Anita for signatures; and returned to Ridgewood Ranch for the premiere of
the movie, “Seabiscuit,” getting signatures from attendees. We did everything
we could think of and then some. Thousands of people pitched in, like an Arkansas
soybean farmer, a Louisiana pharmacist, a Kentucky woman who cans hams for Hormel,
a Massachusetts landscape designer; racetrack people; book lovers everywhere;
and folks from all walks of life. |
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Despite
times of discouragement, disillusionment, and distress, we never gave up. If Seabiscuit
himself never gave up when faced with insurmountable odds, how could we? If his
fierce determination to win got him to the finish line to inspire Americans in
the throes of the Great Depression, we intended to match his persistence.
We may not be able to see the Biscuit run again, but we can all share in his heritage
of beating the odds to achieve a goal.
Give yourselves a round of applause
and, when you hold the Seabiscuit stamp in your hand, remember that together,
we the people can do anything.
Copyright Maggie
Van Ostrand
"A Balloon In Cactus" March
23 , 2009 column
Related Topics: Animals
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