Christmas through the years in Lyndon Johnson's Texas home

Gather the family and come out to Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park to celebrate the holiday season at “Christmas Through the Years in LBJ Country” on Saturday, December 10, in Johnson City, Texas. This National Park Service centennial celebration will run from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

 

Sign designating the LBJ National Historical Park

The special event is free and open to the public. It takes place outdoors at 200 Elm Street in Johnson City on the city block where young Lyndon Johnson came of age. The president’s Boyhood Home will be open for lamplight tours. Next door is the Pedernales Electric Cooperative headquarters, where thousands of Christmas lights illuminate stately live oak trees.

Christmas was a special time for President and Mrs. Johnson and their family. This year the National Park Service carries on the Johnson family’s tradition by making the holiday season special for locals and “out-of-towners” alike.

Blanco County Courthouse in Johnson City, Texas
shines during Lights Spectacular.

If you haven’t been to Johnson City during the holidays, this is a great chance to visit. Christmas glows for the 23^rd year during the annual Lights Spectacular presentation, which runs from November 25. 2016 through January 1, 2017. More than 100,000 lights sparkle on the Blanco County Courthouse, centerpiece of the display, while Pedernales Electric Co-op’s Headquarters boasts a twinkling forest with over one million lights. Practically every inch of tree bark and limbs is covered with tiny white lights, and larger bulbs gleam through the branches. This local celebration will cap the National Park Service’s year-long centennial celebration.

A wonderland of festive lights at Pedernales Electri Co-op's
Headquarters in Johnson City, Texas

Activities showcasing Christmas traditions from the 1860s through the 1960s—from the time of the president’s grandparents to the years of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency—will include the following:

• Traditional country music and Christmas carols with Brian Black from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
• An 1860s chuck wagon cooking demonstration with cowboy stories
• Hands-on Christmas crafts for children
• Display of President Johnson’s historic 1915 American LaFrance fire truck
• Lamplight tours through Lyndon Johnson’s Boyhood Home
• An exhibit and presentation on young Congressman Lyndon Johnson making Lights Spectacular a future reality with the creation of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative
• Screening of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on an outdoor movie screen
• Brian Black of Bandera, Texas, a music artist who has opened for and played with a number of renowned musical artists, will perform.

LBJ's boyhood home will feature lamplight tours

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is open seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information visit www.nps.gov/lyjo  and www.facebook.com/LBJohnsonNPS

Information courtesy of Brian Vickers, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Top 3 photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier. LBJ home from free source.

Read more about Johnson City's Lights Spectacular here: http://www.goingonadventures.com/2010/12/lights-spectacular-display-shines.html#.WDi0nCYzWmQ
 

 

LBJ Ranch celebrates park service centennial with bbq and music

The National Park Service and Friends of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park will host a special barbecue and dance at the LBJ Ranch from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm on Saturday, May 7, that will feature the Fort Griffin “Fandangle Sampler.”

 

President Johnson signed more national park legislation than any other chief executive in history—47 new park units were established and 23 were expanded. For that reason, it is very appropriate that Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is the setting for numerous special events throughout the centennial year.

 

Aroma from The Salt Lick BBQ’s rotisserie will fill the oak grove on May 7 and the music of Jake Penrod and his Million Dollar Cowboys will keep guests dancing well into the evening. The night of entertainment and delicious barbecue will also be a celebration of the National Park Service’s centennial year.

Park guests will be able to experience a Fort Griffin Fandangle show very similar to the program that President and Mrs. Johnson first presented at their ranch in 1967 for ambassadors from Central and South American countries. The event on May 7 will be the fourth time a “Fandangle Sampler” has been staged at the LBJ Ranch—previous events were held in 1967, 1976, and 2008.

Each summer for more than seven decades the citizens of Albany, Texas have presented the Fandangle, the oldest outdoor musical program in Texas. It is theatrical history that is written, directed, and performed by hundreds of members of the Albany community. Through singing, dancing, and story-telling the Fandangle recaptures the history, folklore, and legend of the Old West.

 

Information and reservations are available at www.FriendsofLBJNationalPark.org . Reservations are $50 for adults, $15 for children 12 years and under. 

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is open seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For a complete calendar of events go to http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

Information courtesy of Dave Schafer, LBJ National Historical Park

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier

Spring Break at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Whether you’re a fan of former President Lyndon Johnson’s politics or not, a visit to his Texas ranch is an easy and painless way to learn a little history of an era you might not be familiar with. LyndonB. Johnson National Historical Park hopes to attract families—yes, your children will enjoy the mostly-outdoors space, too—during Spring Break week.

Texas White House at LBJ National Historical Park

Additional programming will be offered to visitors from March 5-20 at the LBJ Ranch unit, about an hour’s drive from Austin.  During Spring Break at the LBJ Ranch 2016, visitors will have multiple opportunities to explore and discover the park’s historic resources and learn more about the 36^th  President and his beloved ranch.

Park rangers will hold programs detailing the important role aviation and the U.S. Secret Service played at the ranch. Spring break is a great time to bring the family for a visit. Children and parents alike can become familiar with Johnson’s environmental and education legacy, explore natural features of the park, and celebrate the centennial year of the National Park Service.

View of Pedernales River from the LBJ ranch.

Free programs will be offered at locations throughout the LBJ Ranch including at the Junction School, Reconstructed Birthplace, Show Barn, historic Hangar building, and around the Texas White House complex. Programs will run 15-25 minutes long and will be scheduled at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. each day during the special March event. Find a complete schedule of available programs at www.nps.gov/lyjo

Park Spokesperson David Graveline noted that more than 600 visitors attended similar programs during spring break in 2015. “We are very excited to bring this unique opportunity back and have it be a bigger success than last year,” Graveline said.

While there, take a regular tour of the Texas White House. These are offered each day between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for a $3 fee per adult. Children 17 and under are free.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This facility is near but separate from the LBJ Museum in Johnson City.

Information courtesy of Mike Ryan, LBJ National Historical Park

Photos by Beverly Burmeier

Celebrate Christmas past at LBJ National Historical Park in central Texas

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City, Texas, will host "Timeless Christmas at the LBJ Boyhood Home and the Johnson Settlement" on Saturday, November 27. In conjunction with Johnson City’s 21st annual “Lights Spectacular,” park rangers will provide an open house from 6-9 pm at these historic sites, whick will be all decked out for Christmas celebrations reminiscent of the 1920s and the 1860s.


The LBJ Boyhood Home will be lamp lit, giving visitors an opportunity to experience family life at the Johnson's house as it was more than ninety years ago. National park rangers and volunteers will team up to portray a 1920s Christmas, complete with a cedar tree in the parlor adorned with handmade ornaments and a toy display beneath. Authentic decorations and seasonal goodies will be displayed throughout the home on December 4, 11, and 18, also.

Visitors can walk the short lighted trail from the front of the visitor center or board the shuttle bus at the back gate of the LBJ Boyhood Home for a five-minute ride to the Johnson Settlement, where they’ll be guided by lantern light even further back in time to a late 1860s Christmas in frontier Texas.

Decorations in Johnson City

Further up the path is the original Sam Johnson cabin, where Lyndon Johnson's grandparents first homesteaded in 1869. Here the lighting will be provided by candles, oil lamps, and two fireplaces. Decorations are much simpler, but there are also a tree and toys. Just as strangers were welcomed in the past, visitors may partake of refreshments before they strike out again on the trail home.

The Exhibit Center will be open for visitors wanting to know about life on cattle drives of long ago or learn what life was like for Lyndon Johnson's ancestors and other families who came after them and farmed this settlement land.


The LBJ NHP Visitor Center, located at 100 Ladybird Lane, will be open with lighted parking for visitors. The park store will offer a 15% discount on all purchases Saturday evening, November 27.



Blanco County Courthouse glows during the holidays

 These free park events are complemented by the stunning lighting display at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, across the street from the LBJ Boyhood Home. Majestic live oaks are resplendent in hundreds of thousands of tiny white lights. Don’t miss the Blanco County Courthouse, centerpiece of the town's seasonal "Lights Spectacular" celebration.

For directions or additional information, call (830) 868-7128, extension 244.

Information courtesy of Liz Lindig, National Park Service liz_lindig@nps.gov

Photos by Larry Burmeier

Read more of Beverly's articles at http://www.stripedpot.com/ and http://tinyurl.com/bevtrvl

Learn History on LBJ Ranch Bike Tour guided by Luci Johnson

Luci Baines Johnson surveys the expansive two-story house on the Johnson Ranch near Stonewall and says, “My daddy loved this place. He used to say two days here did him more good than most people got from two weeks in the Caribbean.” That’s easy to understand when strolling the grounds. Serene views of the Pedernales River are just a short walk away or a glance out the window.

You can ride with Luci around the ranch LBJ loved on Saturday, March 27 when Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park hosts the third annual LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour. Luci Baines Johnson, younger daughter of Lyndon and “Lady Bird”, officially starts the 32, 45, and 62-mile (100 kilometer) rides at 9:00 a.m. from the historic ranch airstrip adjacent to the Texas White House.

At 2:00 p.m. she will lead an easy seven-mile ride around the ranch. This special ride includes reminiscences and stories about her parents and life on the ranch in the 1960s and includes several stops at various historic locations. Surrounded by magnificent live oak trees, the house harbors years of vivid memories for Luci, whose parents bought it from her widowed aunt when she was just five years old. “I don’t remember not coming here,” she says.

Luci speaks from her heart, sharing stories about her family that only friends will hear. For three hours on a chilly Saturday in 2008, my husband Larry and I were counted among her many friends as we rode with Johnson on the LBJ Ranch Bike Tour, held as a fundraiser by Friends of LBJ National Historical Park.

That day more than 100 participants gathered at the parking lot of the LBJ State Park and Historic Site Visitor Center (there is both a state park and a national park). Riders of all ages came from as far away as South Dakota and Minnesota. Bikers rode on skinny tires and fat ones, pulling baby carts, and tending young children riding on their own wheels. One couple had a bicycle built for two, and another couple leaned back in their easy-riding recumbent bikes.

President and Mrs. Johnson donated their ranch to the National Park Service prior to his death in 1972. Because Mrs. Johnson continued living there, public access to the property was limited to guided bus tours. After her death in July 2007, the national park service began expanding public access to the home, and several areas are now open for viewing.

On our tour we rode to Park Road 1, which parallels the Pedernales River. With little car traffic, riders spread out peddling past a herd of buffalo, the Trinity Lutheran Church, and rest area with picnic tables. We turned left and followed our guide across the river on a bridge.

On a paved road we head toward the one-room Junction School, where Lyndon Johnson’s formal education began at age four. Our next stop was LBJs birthplace, just down the road. Despite his worldly travels and international career, her father was born and buried within a mile’s radius, Luci explains.

Across the road is the Johnson Family Cemetery, with LBJ’s headstone marked by the Presidential seal and Lady Bird’s final resting place designated with a bouquet of flowers. “Daddy used to walk here after dinner,” Luci said. “It wasn’t a sad place but a place of peace and serenity.” Branches from huge oak trees hover like angels guarding memories of her loved ones.

We rode to the ranch house, also known as the Texas White House. Luci, who now lives 60 miles away in Austin, acknowledged how much the home meant to her family; her children and grandchildren had come all their lives, and she was married there with a reception in the hangar.

She enjoyed hearing personal stories from riders of ways her daddy had touched their lives. She feels a mission to share this historic spot and hopes events like the bike tour, billed as “A Ride to Preserve History,” will encourage more people to experience the park in novel ways.

Our ride was fun and informative, the best way to learn history, and I encourage readers to consider this event.  Contact Sherry Justus, 830-868-7128, ext. 245 or Liz_Lindig@nps.gov

Photos by Beverly and Larry Burmeier