For those who remember Lady Bird Johnson – while diminutive – she was every inch the southern belle with a very distinctive Texas drawl. She was also a woman who had the fire and steel to rally interest and support to projects about which she was passionate. The preservation of the natural beauty and resources of the nation was such a cause.

Clean air and water as well as safe waste disposal, clean roadsides with screened junkyards and regulated billboards, and the preservation of parks, wilderness areas and national landmarks resulted in The Beautification Act of 1965. The bill was referred to as “Lady Bird’s Bill” because of her vision for it and vigorous support of it. Lady Bird’s Bill accounts for so many beautiful wildflowers that adorn the nation’s highways.   

While Mrs. Johnson was championing The Beautification Act of 1965, she was also working hard in her own backyard; Washington, D.C. At the urging of Mary Lasker, a prominent philanthropist, Lady Bird founded the Society for a More Beautiful National Capital. She enlisted leaders from the National Park Service, the office of the Secretary of State and leaders among Democratic leaders as well as many others to aid in the cause.

The Nation’s Capital was definitely in need of beautification and Lady Bird addressed that need one neighborhood at a time. With the assistance of volunteers from Howard University, high school students and philanthropists, Mrs. Johnson planted flowers, removed junk and debris, built parks and recreational sites in neighborhoods off the well-traveled path.

Lady Bird played key roles in White House initiatives to stimulate beauty and conservation around the country and was directly responsible for sparking similar efforts on the local level throughout the nation. Mrs. Johnson was particularly concerned with litter along the highways. She believed that when people saw litter already existing along the roads and highways they were more prone to litter themselves. The only solution was to eliminate litter altogether.

Lady Bird employed her “Bully Pulpit” to call attention to the conservation of National Parks and Landmarks. She visited nine sites with government leaders in tow and a host of newsmen and cameras documenting their every move. In this way she communicated to the American people and garnered their support.

Beginning in 1969 Lady Bird invested 20 years in programs to beautify Texas. Austin, the state Capital benefited with a 10 mile nature walk around the downtown Town Lake area. The state began the most aggressive anti-littering and roadside wildflower planting program in the nation.

Mrs. Johnson received many tributes in her lifetime. To name a few: Columbia Island was renamed Lady Bird Johnson Park and the name of the University of Texas’s National Wildflower Research Center was changed to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.