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 would carry 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. If you were lucky, on a weekend, when quite often when Mrs. Johnson was there,
if the weather was nice, she she likes sitting out on the west porch outside the house;
but you know 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 from the front porch.
And 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.
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 these years was from 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.