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Contact: Gus Sanchez, 830-868-7128 ext 235
Stonewall, Texas—Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park will celebrate the 102nd anniversary of President Johnson’s birth on Friday, August 27. This free celebration begins at 10:00 a.m. with the laying of a wreath on his gravesite in the Johnson family cemetery on the LBJ Ranch. The wreath will be placed by representatives from Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, followed by remarks by Colonel Richard Murphy, Commander, 12th Flying Training Wing. After the ceremony at the cemetery, the activities continue at the LBJ Ranch Airplane Hangar, where new exhibits and a new road will be dedicated. The new Davis Road is named in honor of long time LBJ Ranch employee James Davis. This road allows the area around the Texas White House complex to be completely a pedestrian area, a great enhancement to visitor safety and the visitor experience. Mr. Davis will be present to make a few remarks at the dedication. Two exciting new exhibits will also be dedicated. LBJ’s Presidential Lockheed Jet Star, restored to its 1960s glory will be dedicated as a new exhibit. This smaller version of Air Force One allowed President Johnson to fly directly to the LBJ Ranch from Washington. General James Cross, LBJ’s Air Force One pilot, will be on hand to dedicate the historic aircraft. A new "Circle of Life" exhibit in the LBJ Ranch Hangar will be unveiled that communicates the significance of the LBJ Ranch as the site of the first fully functional remote white house operation in U. S. history. A special treat will be the appearance of actor Michael Stuart, portraying President Johnson as he reads excerpts from Johnson’s speeches from the 1960s at the press conference area at the LBJ Ranch Hangar. Finally, the "Texas White House," President and Mrs. Johnson’s home on the ranch, is now open for touring five downstairs rooms, the presidential office, the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the den. Tours begin in the airplane hangar/visitor contact station and cost $2.00, which will be waived on August 27th to commemorate President Johnson’s birthday. Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site, the national historical park’s partner since the 1970s, will honor the late president with free refreshments and offer traditional children’s games and amusements at the Sauer-Beckmann Farm. The state park visitor center, just off U.S. Highway 290, 14 miles west of Johnson City or one mile east of Stonewall, is where visitors to either park can pick up a free vehicle permit, map and CD in order to tour the LBJ Ranch in their own private vehicles. For more information on this and other park events, view www.nps.gov or call (830) 868-7128, ext. 231 or 244. |
Last updated: February 24, 2015