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Episode Three: The Lady Bird Years
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Transcript
[Narrator]: Hello everyone, welcome to the third installment of The Texas White House: Past, Present, and Future. My name is Chloe Fields, and I'm the Community Volunteer Ambassador here at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. In this video, we're going to explore how the home evolved over the years after President Johnson passed away, and what role Mrs. Johnson played in sharing her home with the general public. What did this look like? Let's find out. As a child growing up in East Texas, Claudia Alta Taylor found the most enjoyable moments for her were spent out exploring nature. Throughout the decades of her life, she carried that love with her to the White House in Washington, D.C., and here to her home on the LBJ Ranch, which showcased the natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country. Lady Bird and Lyndon Baines Johnson spent many of their 34 years together here at the ranch. In 1972, they agreed to donate this home and several acres of the LBJ Ranch to the National Park Service, though they would retain lifetime rights to the home for the remainder of their lives. When President Johnson passed away on January 22, 1973, Mrs. Johnson found herself the sole occupant of this historical home that was filled with memories. Soon after, with her support, the National Park Service started driving busloads of visitors through the iconic LBJ Ranch. However, the stops were limited to the area of the Reconstructed Birthplace, the Johnson Family Cemetery, and the Show Barn. The most anticipated part of the tour was a drive through the east gate, past the Secret Service guard shack, and up to the front of the Texas White House. Since the former First Lady was still living in the home under U.S. Secret Service protection, no one was allowed to exit the bus. Only members of the Johnson family, invited friends and guests, and the U.S. Secret Service had authorized pedestrian access to the home and the grounds. However, when she was home, Mrs. Johnson would always stop what she was doing and give some lucky visitors a big wave and a smile as they drove by. Let's hear from Ranger Cynthia about some of her memories of seeing Mrs. Johnson around the home during these years.
[Ranger Cynthia]: “If you were lucky, on a weekend—quite often when Mrs. Johnson was there—if the weather was nice, she liked sitting out on the west porch outside the house. We’d spend a moment there so folks could look out the window to take pictures. And, like I said, if they were lucky and Mrs. Johnson was there, they could see her waving to them from the bus, you know, from the front porch. She actually seemed to quite enjoy knowing that folks were coming to the ranch. One summer, I can remember where, for whatever reason, she hadn’t noticed the buses driving past the house, and I actually had someone call over to the state park just to find out if the buses were running and if everything was okay.”
[Narrator]: During the many decades after leaving the White House, Lady Bird remained dedicated to beautifying the Texas Hill Country. In 1969, she founded the Texas Highway Beautification Awards and hosted annual award ceremonies. The winners of these ceremonies would receive a personal check directly from Mrs. Johnson. Just like during the years of the Johnson Presidency, many distinguished guests were invited to the LBJ Ranch to meet with the former First Lady. One of the most notable guests to visit during these years was Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They both continued to be dedicated to their husbands' legacies. As the years progressed, Lady Bird began to slow down and enjoy time with her family at the ranch, which was not always possible during her busy life with Lyndon. Her days were often filled with visits from her daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who called her "Nini." After a long, loving life, Mrs. Johnson passed away peacefully on July 11, 2007, at the age of 94. She was buried next to her husband in the Johnson Family Cemetery here at the LBJ Ranch. The inscription on her tombstone speaks to her lifelong love and dedication to conservation efforts: "A gentle heroine to nature and mankind." Lady Bird’s legacy continues to live on through the commitment of the National Park Service in maintaining and preserving the LBJ Ranch so that it always reflects what she would call her heart’s home. On the next installment of this series, find out what happened when the National Park Service opened the home for the first time to the public.
Description
Episode Three highlights the years after the president's passing. Lady Bird spent those years continuing his legacy and building her own.
Duration
7 minutes, 19 seconds
Date Created
08/23/2022
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