When was the last time you licked a postage stamp? Well, they are peel-and-stick now anyway.
When out on a back roads adventure there is often a stop in the smaller communities to seek out a postcard.
They are increasingly hard to find.
In Wawa, for example, I like to mail The Wawa Goose available at Young’s General Store. One of the original goose tourism icons is featured there in the parking area. Some of the vintage postcards of the goose are fetching a good return on eBay.
New stamp
Listening to Tom Power (scroll down to LISTEN) on the CBC there was a request from the famed Canadian actor Donald Sutherland to send him a postcard. A commemorative stamp had just been issued to honour his lifetime of achievements.
Sutherland said on the podcast: “When they (Canada Post) showed me this stamp, I felt that everything had come together. I really wished that [my mother] could have seen me. You know, when you're 88 years old — very nearly 89 — it means a lot, a stamp, because we grew up writing letters…. The stamp for me is everything, just everything!"
After his interview with Power, the Canadian actor followed up by inviting the CBC audience to send him a postcard using his stamp. “If they could send me a postcard with my Canadian stamp on it.”
That got me thinking.
The actor
Donald Sutherland is a household name – a Canadian actor whose film career spans more than five decades. He has established himself as one of the most respected, prolific and versatile actors to come from Canada
One of Sutherland's defining qualities is his rich and distinctive voice, which has become instantly recognizable to audiences worldwide. In the dystopian thriller The Hunger Games, Sutherland lent his voice to President Snow.
The prolific performer has appeared in nearly 200 feature films and television programs over seven decades.
From the Canada Post media release some background.
“Born on July 17, 1935, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Sutherland studied engineering and drama at the University of Toronto before moving to England to pursue his passion for acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
He appeared in stage productions and television shows, making his feature film debut in 1963 as Tall Man in Nightclub in The World Ten Times Over. In 1967, Sutherland starred in his breakthrough role as killer Vernon Pinkley in the classic Second World War film, The Dirty Dozen.
His first lead role in a major motion picture came in 1970 when he played Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in the bitingly dark comedy, M*A*S*H. The role transformed him into a Hollywood A-lister and one of the biggest movie stars in the world. It also earned him his first of nine Golden Globe nominations.
Sutherland’s incredible talents and eclectic tastes led him to take on a broad range of roles over the course of his seven-decade career. He is known for memorable performances in a variety of films, including Klute (1971), Ordinary People (1980) Backdraft (1991), Disclosure (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), Fallen (1998), Pride & Prejudice (2005), and The Hunger Games franchise (2012-2015).
With his international success, Sutherland has remained a proud Canadian and starred in many Canadian productions, including the TV movie Bethune (1977) and the 1990 feature film Bethune: The Making of a Hero, playing legendary Canadian Dr. Norman Bethune in both.
His work in nearly 200 films and television productions has garnered him many awards, including a Genie (1983), an Emmy (1995), two Golden Globes (1995 and 2002), the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (2000), and an Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2017).
He has also received stars on Canada’s Walk of Fame (2000) and the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2011) and been named a Companion of the Order of Canada (2019) and a Commandeur of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2012).”
The movie-poster-inspired stamp features an image of the actor’s profile, with several of his movie titles in English and French.
Canada Post
Contact was made with Canada Post through Phil Legault, Media Relations.
He said, “We printed 200,000 booklets of 10 stamps for Donald Sutherland’s stamp and they have been well-received.
“The CBC interview had an impact.
“While we don’t disclose sales of individual stamp issues, I can tell you anecdotally that I had the same challenges you did in buying Mr. Sutherland’s stamps.” (I visited two post offices and then I ordered online.)
Mr. Goulet went on to say, “The first post office I went to was sold out. The clerk mentioned they were selling well, but then sold out quickly after his CBC Radio Q interview. I was able to buy three booklets at a second post office, as they had ordered more.”
Did they know how many postcards he received? “We do not know how many letters and postcards Mr. Sutherland received following his interview. We had planned on checking with him in the new year if he would share that information.”
(Mail to email, people are not using stamps like they used to but sending/receiving a letter is still special. Younger people can find out “how to” in this short video. Very cute.)
You’ve got mail
Canada Post was going to contact Mr. Sutherland post-Christmas and they got back to me this week to say he has received more than 1,000 postcards.
If you want to send him a postcard, with his stamp, here’s his address: Donald Sutherland, General Delivery, Georgeville, QC J0B 1T0.
So I sent him a Christmas greeting postcard, a Back Roads Bill original where annually I place Santa somewhere special, outside. See the photos that include the farm sleigh, winter canoe and on the trail. I had a book of ten so three postcards were mailed.
Two favourite movies of his: Kelly’s Heroes where he played Oddball and Eye of the Needle – a spy thriller.
Sometimes a birthday card, postcard, or letter in physical form is still the best way to say something, a little more personal.
Oh yes, what one question did I ask the actor? “In your years of adventures, what are some of your favourite back roads?" Now I am checking the mailbox daily for a reply hoping it is buried with the shopping flyers.
You can send me a postcard anytime: Back Roads Bill Steer, 1868 McKeown Ave., North Bay, ON P1B 7N4, any peel-and-stick stamp will do or use up the Donald Sutherland ones. Tell me about your favourite back roads and why. Stand by, I will probably update, with the numbers, at the end of the 2024, Village Media end-of-year-review story.