Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/461140
photography by frank wolfe Splendor in the grass: President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson take in the wildflowers near their Stonewall ranch in 1968. On March 9, 1965, in a Washing ton, DC, park, Lady Bird Johnson pulled on prim yellow gloves to match her dress and coat, kneeled down, and stuck her hands into t he good earth. The first lady, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, planted gold and purple pansies as onlookers smiled at her passion to pitch in. But planting f lowers was far from all that she accomplished. Road t rips from Washing ton to Texas exposed Lady Bird to highway blight across the count r y, prompting her to actively lobby for the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 and, along the way, become an environmental pioneer. It's been 50 years since Lady Bird, shown here with the president in 1968 among the wildf lowers at their Stonewall ranch, first planted those pansies, but her efforts marked the beg inning of an environmental legacy matched by few others in US histor y. Today, largely because of Lady Bird's efforts, we are privileged to enjoy the blooming splendor of countless parks, roadsides awash in confetti-colored wildf lowers, and native-plant landscapes thriving in harsh weather. A conservation magazine once dubbed her the unofficial "Secretary of the Exterior." In Washington she planted trees and f lowers, and installed benches in tourist spots and trash cans in impoverished areas. "The instinct for beauty is an instinct deep in the hearts of everyone," she said. The post-White House years allowed Lady Bird to make contributions closer to home. In the 1970s, she helped create a 10 -mile scenic trail around Austin's downtown lake. She was as interested in botany as beauty, creat- ing the Lady Bird Johnson Wildf lower Center in Southwest Austin, which draws 100,000 visitors per year. Today, Austin honors the late first lady with its beloved Lady Bird Lake. The stunning new boardwalk allows travel over the water in spots that were once off-limits. Now, when you take a walk on the boardwalk, you'll be following the remarkable journey of a woman whose "f lower power" will once again blossom across America this spring. AW Field oF dreams a HaLF-CENTURY aGO, LADY BIRD JOHNSON PLaNTED THE SEEDS OF aN ENVIRONMENTaL MOVEMENT THaT WOULD HaVE a LaSTING IMPaCT ON HOW WE ENJOY THE GREaT OUTDOORS. BY DENISE GAMINO 4 AUSTINWAY.com FRONT RUNNER