LBJ RANCH 3/9/11

On March 9th we set about touring what was once called "The Texas White House".  Ann and I spent 5 of our teenage years with Lyndon Baines Johnson as our president.  We thought we knew all about the man, so thought it would be interesting to tour his ranch.  Here is a statue he had placed across the river from his ranch.  He wanted it laced there to remind people, after he was gone, how specially he loved this ranch.  He wanted the inscription to read, "That's my home."
As we spent about 1 1/2 days touring the land and homes of his great-grandparents, grandparents, parents and himself; as we learned more of this man's life, values, stubbornness, love of Texas and family, his love of practical jokes, love of humanity, insatiable appetite for having things go "my way", his deep love of his wife and his love of his ranch; we grew to respect the man, not all his values and customs, but the power and big heart of the man.

 

Every ranch in Texas, it seems, has a rock or stone gateway to their ranch.  Some bigger and some smaller.  This is his.

 During all the time of his great-grandparents to the time LBJ became Vice President of the USA, there was no bridge from the road, across the river to the ranch and no locked gate.  Then when he became Vice President, they built a guard shack.

Until recently, they had to cross to the ranch, through the gate and then across the spillway of a cement dam.  During flood times, there were no crossings .

As we learned of this man and his life, we learned how much he loved this land.  As president, he spent 1/4th of his 5 years in office here.  He said he found peace and  settling of his emotions to where he could think clearly over the weighty matters of the country that he was in charge of.  We found that peace here too.

As we walked his land ......  

 

.....and toured his house, we were once again transported back in time.  We were on familiar territory.There were so many images from our minds that were planted there during newscasts watched and newspaper articles read.  It was like we had been here before.  This view with the dining room window in the center and the office on the right was one Wayne remembered from a time when Johnson was famous for pulling his beagles' ears.

The front of the house with the presidential bedroom to the right and the famous front porch where President Johnson entertained heads of state from other countries.

The very famous oak tree under which he and his generals and Dean Rusk and Robert MCNamara planned out military and government policy.  This spot is very etched in Wayne's memory as a place a "lazy president planned more ways to get our military killed off in a war in Viet Nam".  Age, time and experience tend to soften once harsh views.

President Johnson traveled back and forth from Washington in Air Force One. This smaller sized one for coming from Huston to the ranch he called "Air Force One-Half".

The school he attended at age 4. and in front of which he signed his first education bill.

It was an educational and peaceful visit to LBJ's ranch outside of Johnson City and near Stonewall, Texas.

Wayne did take his turn at the podium President Johnson used while making addresses from the hanger on his ranch.  Wayne is standing on his tiptoes to see over the massive podium that President Johnson's 6'3" frame leaned down to.  Wayne's first presidential speech was well received by the apt listeners near by.

His audience even stopped chewing a couple times to listen!!!

We left and drove to Boerne, Texas where we ate at a Taco Cabana.  It was
really good food and we were thus introduced to a new chain of restaurants
we had not heard of before.  Then we found the local Wal-Mart and set up
camp for the night.  It is a quiet place right next to a little creek.