Source: by Vince Patton as published on Oregon Public Broadcasting
The nationwide children’s lobby marshaled to stop the capture of wild horses for slaughter.
The BLM now uses helicopter contractors to chase, harass and capture wild horses and burros that they should be protecting.
In 1971, Joan Bolsinger wanted her fourth graders to write better, so she asked them to compose letters. Her assignment took on a life of its own.
The students at Roseburg’s Eastwood Elementary School became foot soldiers in what was then dubbed “The Pencil War.” Schoolchildren across the nation joined an effort spearheaded by Velma Johnston of Nevada, also known as “Wild Horse Annie,” writing to lawmakers urging them to protect wild horses.
Bolsinger’s star pupil, Lynn Williams, remembers his class touring the Capitol in Salem and urging lawmakers to protect wild horses in Oregon.
They’d already decided if Oregon lawmakers didn’t act, they’d go federal. “We’d gotten pretty full of ourselves at that point,” says Williams.
Go federal, they did.
On April 17, 1971, Williams found himself seated at a table staring at a committee of Congress asking to hear what he thought should be done for the horses. Bolsinger sat at his side.
“It was funny,” says Williams. “They asked us about things like running water and Indians. Joan and I joked they thought we’d come there in a wagon.”
Their efforts impressed The Wall Street Journal enough to put them on the front page, which reported, “Lobbyist Lynn Williams is putting the heat on Congress to pass a law. And he’s pretty confident about the outcome.”
The nationwide children’s lobby marshaled to stop the capture of wild horses for slaughter. In that time, horsemeat was a common ingredient in dog food and was consumed by humans in other countries.
Equally common was a practice called mustanging. Ranchers would chase horses with trucks across the open range to lasso the fleeing mustang. The lasso was often tied to a heavy weight like a truck tire. The horse would run, dragging itself into exhaustion.
“Horses should not be treated like that,” says Bolsinger.
“That’s what they were doing,” adds Williams. “We did a lot of things different in 1971 than we do in 2013. Thank God.”
Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195) as the children had wanted.
Wiliams, now teaching in California, always makes a point of visiting Bolsinger, his former teacher, when he heads home to Roseburg.
“Oh, he’s my boy,” says Bolsinger. “I don’t have youngsters of my own, but he fills a pretty good hole.”
Williams says, “We’re part teacher and student and part mom and son.”
Her lesson has lasted a lifetime, he adds. “One person, a small group of people can still affect real change. You know you can make a difference.”
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
So, HasThis former Student Turned Teacher Taken Up The Cause Too Support The Bill That He And His Classmates Took On So Many Years Ago? I’m Sure His Teacher Was Proud And Velma Johnson Must Surely Be Proud Although Right Now She’s Probably Rolling In Her Grave. At Any Rate, something Needs To Be Done And Fast. The Lands Should Go Back To The Horses And Things Restored to Their Original State.
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Like they say history has a way of repeating itself. All the people who fought so hard for the wild horses and burros probably thought it was taken care of with federal legislation only to find after years scum bags reappear to try and wipe them out again. Politics is so corrupt these days no one knows who to trust. It seems as if the blm is operating on its own using our tax dollars. I thought horse slaughter was on its way out only to see it surface again. Welfare ranchers and the like need to go. We must also stop the sale and purchase of our natural resources to companies here and abroad. I would say that the majority of Americans have no idea what has been going on in the wetern part of our country. Its a real shame that laws are passed for protection only to be resended and amended for the benefit of a few. We must push for a total dismantiling of the blm because there is no accountability there. They are total violators of humane laws and the use of out tax dollars. The gravy train needs to end and when it does I will no pain for them. They will get what they deserve!
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The teacher and the children were brave to take on this project and like Williams said, “One person, a small group of people can still affect real change. You know you can make a difference.”
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this needs to happen again with the school children from all states, with Declan and the others from Children 4 Horses, leading the way. It isnt just our future but it is theirs and their children’s future that is at stake. if we cant get the round ups to stop, within a few yrs time there will no longer be any free roaming horses and burros left for anyone to see and enjoy in their nature habitats
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I had a teacher like that. We need to get back to smaller schools and smaller class sizes so that teachers CAN know each of their students.
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