Betty Ford Honored in Postal Stamp Dedication Ceremony
Betty Ford Honored in Postal Stamp Dedication Ceremony
Susan Ford Bales highlights her mother’s legacy in equal rights, breast cancer awareness and substance use disorder treatment.
Former First Lady Betty Ford was honored by the United States Postal Service Friday when it issued a commemorative stamp celebrating her life before a crowded auditorium on the campus of Eisenhower Health, adjacent to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
Betty Ford was the wife of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president, and widely admired for her support of women's rights and her bravery for publicly disclosing her breast cancer diagnosis while serving as first lady in 1974. And, not long after leaving the White House, she courageously announced to the public her substance use disorder and entered residential treatment to restore her health.
The stamp was dedicated by Amber McReynolds, vice chair of the Postal Service's Board of Governors. The ceremony, held in the Helene Galen Auditorium, located in the Annenberg Health Sciences Building at Eisenhower Health, included speakers Susan Ford Bales, Betty Ford's daughter; Marty Massiello, CEO of Eisenhower Health; Dr. Joseph Lee, president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation; and Tessa Voss, also of the foundation.
Eisenhower and the Betty Ford Center, co-founded by Mrs. Ford in 1982, have been neighbors and collaborators for more than four decades. An estimated 18 million U.S. postage stamps featuring a portrait of the former first lady will be released following Friday’s "first-day-of-issue" dedication ceremony.
"It is fitting for the Postal Service to honor Mrs. Ford this way, because she was an outspoken and enthusiastic supporter of women's rights and aspirations. Our organization has a proud record of providing opportunities for women throughout its history," said McReynolds. "The first female postmaster, Mary Katharine Goddard, took office in Baltimore all the way back in 1775, and today, more than half of all postmasters are women."
The ceremony comes a month after the stamp was initially unveiled in the East Room of the White House. Then, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden called Betty Ford’s story “a lesson in the beautiful and sometimes cruel unpredictability of life.” She also said Ford’s journey is a reminder that people are not defined by their worst moments, but by their ability to turn pain and struggle into purpose and salvation.
On Friday, Lee also praised Betty Ford for her fortitude during those adverse times.
"There are times when courageous people stand up and change the conversation for America. Betty Ford did that for both breast cancer and addiction—replacing shame and isolation with dignity, community and equitable care," Lee said. "Thanks to her, millions of people in this country felt seen for the very first time. And that is why Betty Ford is a national treasure, and why all of us feel inspired for a lifetime to carry her charge."
Mrs. Ford will join other first ladies who have appeared on U.S. stamps, including Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, and Nancy Reagan. President Gerald Ford was honored with a stamp of his own in 2007. The Postal Service has also issued stamps related to the prevention (in 1971 and 2020) and treatment (1981) of addiction, but never recovery.
While Mrs. Ford's legacy goes beyond her influential recovery advocacy, many will celebrate her stamp as the nation's first "recovery stamp," according to Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. The date is also meaningful, as it's in proximity to Mrs. Ford's April 7 sobriety anniversary and her birthday on April 8 as well as the 75th anniversary of Hazelden Betty Ford's first patient in Minnesota (April 21, 1949).
"With this magnificent stamp, the Postal Service and the American people pay tribute to a woman of extraordinary courage and candor, to a transformative first lady, and to a devoted wife," said Bales, who spoke with East Wing Magazine about her mother’s substance use disorder in January. "In so doing they honor a woman that, today and in my every tomorrow, I am so proud to call Mom."
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Ford underwent a mastectomy on Sept. 28, 1974. While the medical issues of previous first ladies weren't always disclosed, Ford chose to share the story of her operation for the once-taboo medical condition. The awareness she brought caused a spike of self-examinations leading to a rise in reported cases that became known as the "Betty Ford blip."
Four years later, Betty Ford took another stigma-shattering step when, in 1978, she shared with the public that she entered the Naval Regional Medical Hospital in Long Beach, California, for substance use disorder treatment. Ford had been taking prescription pain pills for a pinched nerve in her neck in 1964 and, over time, developed an addiction that involved misuse of her medication as well as alcohol.
In 1982, Ford and Leonard Firestone, a former ambassador and family friend, established the Betty Ford Center substance use disorder treatment center, which is now part of the nonprofit Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. She agreed to lend her name to the center, hoping to destigmatize substance use disorder treatment at a time when it wasn't spoken about openly—especially by women—and options for treatment were scarce. Ford served as chair of the board of directors and was frequently seen at the center.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using a detail from the official 1977 White House portrait by Felix de Cossio. The oil-on-canvas portrait, which is part of the White House collection, courtesy of The White House Historical Association, shows Mrs. Ford seated, wearing a pale blue chiffon dress. "Betty Ford" is written in white across the bottom of the stamp, with the word "Forever" positioned at the upper-left side.
The Betty Ford stamp is being issued in panes of 20 and is a Forever stamp, meaning it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1‑ounce price.