Evening star., 1954-01-17

more inventories and repairs,
which Mrs. johnson is in the
midst of right now.
"We can't afford to leave the
house standing empty for six
months" said the Senator's
wife. MY idea Of being really
rich is to just walk out and lock
the door, maybe for months. ]
hope ] can do that some day."
OF their three establishments,
the Johnsons' "real home." says
Lady Bird, is their 245-acre
ranch on the Pedernales River
outside Johnson. It is SIS miles
from Austin and Mrs. johnson
made the trip back and forth
each day that she went to the
radio station.
The property, which the SEN
ator bought a few years ago from
his 83-year-old aunt, was
wrested from the Indians by his
grandfather. The Senator was
born about a mile from their
present ranch home. which they
renovated extensively before
moving in year and a half ago.
Bots and q Ghost
when I first saw it it reminded
me of one of those haunted
houses in Charles Addams car
toon. All we needed was a
couple of bats and ghost"
The old part of the house is
OF native stone, with walls l0
inches thick. The new addition
is of white clapboard. Lady
Bird, who says interior deco
rating is my hobby. second only
to taking moving pictures of the
family and campaign trips" has
furnished it mostly with Early
American pieces, and is trying to
collect as many historical Texas
items as possible, "since Lyndon's
family was so closely associated
with the history of Texas"
She also has scattered rs
pounds of bluebonnet seed (the
Texas State f1ower) on the lawn
between the house and the river
and also on the stretch across
the river. If all goes well she
hopes to some day look out of her
front window and see a solid
carpet of blue.
The Johnsons have a way with
lawns. The one around their
Austin duplex has become a leg
end among their family and
friends.
They moved in in July, 1943,
and the Senator wanted the
lawn sodded right away so that
he could give a big barbecue
party. But we don't sod lawns
in Texas in July" the nursery
man informed him. Its too hot
The grass would burn to a crisp
You have TO wait until Novem-
ber."
The Senator, insisted, as is his
wont. Three days later the sod
was down. and was being hap
PLY trampled on by a gay group
OF barbecuers. I'VE poured gal
Ions and gallons of water on
that lawn, to keep It alive,
Bird recalls. "Then God came to
our rescue. and Texas had one
of the wettest Augusts in many
years. The lawn did beautifully. "
The Senator likes to recall
that story, when he is trying to
persuade, some one to do the
seemingly impossible.
Lyndon and Lady Bird met in
the fall of 1884, a few months
after she graduated. from the
University of Texas. He was 2e
and secretary to Texas Con-
gresham. She was 81. The
courtship was a typical Lyndon
johnson performance. a rea.
tour de force.
1t was by similar tactics that
he won the Democratic Senate
leadership last year at age A
the youngest Senator ever tt
hold such a post. He used the
method again last fall, in 9
marathon transforming trir
around Texas, in an effort tc
freeze out all primary opposition
before the Texas Democratic
primary next July "a.
They were introduced that
autumn afternoon by a mutua
friend. They had a date thai
evening, and the next day he
proposed. II was so surprised
I didn't believe it," says Lady
Bird. II thought it was some