Advocates for
Duke stamp vow
not to give up

The wave of support has
not wiped out for a stamp
honoring Kahanamoku

By Lori Tighe
Star-Bulletin

It's a bummer, said Duke Kahanamoku fans.

But just because the postmaster general refuses to honor Kahanamoku with a stamp, it doesn't mean the wave of support has wiped out.

"It doesn't change anything. We've worked on this for 20 years. We're not going to give up," said Don Gallagher, with the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an international group that fights for clean water and public access to beaches.

Gallagher, called yesterday at his New Jersey parents' home, said he had grown frustrated with the stamp selection process. His repeated calls and letters to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to find out if Kahanamoku made it onto a stamp have gone unanswered, he said.

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner were honored instead with stamps for the year 2000. So were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, writer Thomas Wolfe, astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble and Sen. Claude Pepper.

Kahanamoku made the first cut but failed the final cut under Postmaster General William Henderson, who selected 30 people, places and events to be featured on commemorative stamps next year.

"He's a hero in everybody's mind except in the eyes of the postmaster general. Hawaii got the short end of the stick as far as cultural recognition," said Darryl Hatheway, chairman of the Washington, D.C., Surfrider chapter. "It's a bummer."

Kahanamoku was voted Surfer of the Century in July by Surfer Magazine.

"It doesn't take anything away from Duke. There are higher ways to recognize someone other than a postage stamp," Hatheway said. "If we have a chance, we'll do it all over again. They haven't heard the last from us."

The Hawaii chapter of the Surfrider Foundation said it will continue its lobbying effort to get Kahanamoku on a stamp.

A Postal Service official says he believes Kahanamoku's name will have to be resubmitted for consideration next year.