A wetter winter would mean more wildflowers.
Last month, the American-Statesman sewed up its Lady Bird’s Legacy campaign. Over the course of five years, the newspaper collected more than $150,000 for wildflower seeds in memory of the late first lady.
Still, $150,000 buys a lot of wildflower seeds. About 6 million by my rough calculation.
You might not have seen many of the flowers yet. The campaign, which began soon after Lady Bird Johnson’s death on July 11, 2007 and ended on her 100th birthday, Dec. 22, 2012, coincided with a devastating drought.
One can plant seeds on roadsides, in parks and at schools, but without water, nobody will see the horsemints, winecups, coneflowers firewheels, Indian paintbrushes and other native species.
Directing the campaign in its early years were newspaper stalwarts Retta Kelley Van Auken and, especially, reporter Janet Wilson who carefully chronicled the last decades of the first lady’s life as well as the city and nation’s farewell to Mrs. Johnson. The longtime employees eventually retired from the American-Statesman, which is where second stringers like myself came into the picture.
Writing dozens of stories allowed me the enormous luxury of getting to know more fascinating Central Texans. First, of course, came the family of Lady Bird and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Leading the way were their daughters Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, who’ve taken up the family business of civic influence.
Among the seven grandchildren, I was privileged to spend the most time with Catherine Robb, Nicole Nugent Covert and Jennifer Robb. All three reminded me of their parents and grandparents in telling ways.
Among the first lady’s friends and former helpers, I am deeply grateful to Shirley James, Elizabeth Christian, Tom Johnson, Tillie Hahn and Russ Whitlock. Known admiringly in our circles as “Ranger Russ,” Whitlock is the superintendent of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
It was an immense pleasure getting better acquainted with the folks at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, one of the region’s true treasures. I was expertly educated by Saralee Tiede, Barbara Rodriguez, Susan K. Rieff and extremely patient botanist Damon Waitt.
As reporting on the Johnson family grew and shifted, the staff at the LBJ Presidential Library became almost daily correspondents. Chief among those I’d like to thank are Mark Updegrove, Anne Wheeler and Margaret Harmon.
Several distinguished historians — Lewis Gould, Michael Gillette, Douglas Brinkley among them — shared their time and knowledge.
Over at the Texas Department of Transportation, Dennis Markwardt, Anne Cook, Barrie Cogburn and Buddy Hudson treated me kindly and steered me around the vast agency.
Several donors to the campaign were not only generous with their checkbooks, but also with their stories about family members who were honored by the donations.
Thanks particularly to Laura Bohls, John Kuhl and Frank Stiles whose memories of loved ones lent this campaign emotional and narrative power.
It is my fervent wish that they will wake one spring morning to discover miles and miles of flowers dedicated to Everett Bohls, John Kinkead Stiles, and Ruth and Ivan Kuhl.
And, of course, always in memory of the great Lady Bird Johnson.