German-Texan Heritage Society Newsletter, Volume 9, Number 3, Fall 1987 Page: 211
[73] p. : ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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a dangerous provision for the peaceful civil status of
the citizenship as a whole." .
The anti-German feeling died down in the years
after the close of World War I; it is to the credit of
such people as the Johnsons that they had always ac-
cepted their German-American neighbors and friends
for the staunch and loyal Americans-and Texans
-they really were.
Now visitors cone by the thousands to view the
birthplace that has been re-constructed just as it was
in the days when the Johnson family lived there. and
a little boy walked the half-mile trail from his home
to the schoolhouse on the hill in 1912-13. The school
still stands today overlooking the peaceful country-
side.
When Lyndon was four years old, he was a pre-
cocious youngster who could already spell simple
words. could recite Mother Goose rhymes and Bible
verses, and was so anxious to learn that he often ran
away from home to the nearby schoolhouse.
Since he had to walk near the river to get there.
his mother feared for his safety, so she asked the
teacher if he could attend with the other children.
Miss Kate Deadrich. the teacher. gave her consent.
and, as she recalled when invited to attend President
Johnson's inauguration. he often sat in her lap while
he recited his lessons.
Mrs. Johnson loved to read to young Lyndon, so
he had a good foundation for starting to school at
such an early age. and he was able to keep up with
the other pupils through the eleven years he attended
school in Gillespie and adjoining Blanco Counties.
The number of pupils in the first school he attend-
ed varied, but there were often as many as 30. The
one-room building was typical of the rural schools
which dotted the county. and one teacher usually
taught all the students in grades one through seven.
Many of the children of German parentage were
to learn their first English at the school; however.
there was never any lack of communication between
Lyndon and his classmates. While they were having
their English polished up. he was learning German
from them.
That he retained some of the German he learned
to speak as a youth was shown recently. After at-
tending church services June 16. 1968 in Trinity
Lutheran Church across the river from the LBJ
Ranch. he pointed out the building nearby in which
classes had been held when he was a boy. saying that
was where he had learned some of this German.
Helen Thomas. of United Press International and
a member of the White House press corps. asked
him whether he could still speak German. and would
he say something for her. He complied readily. with
a smile: "Wo wollen Sic hingehen?" This brought
more smiles. as the press corps is always "goingsomewhere" when "covering" the President!
As he grew tlder. and when he was not in school.
Lyndon had chores on the farm. just as other boys
did in those days. When his father was serving in the
Texas legislature he assigned certain chores to his
oldest son, telling him he would be "the man of the
house."
By this time there were other children in the John-
son family. There were three girls: Rebekah, who be-
came Mrs. Oscar Bobbitt: Lucia. who married Birge
Alexander: and Josefa. who was married to Jim
Moss at the t tie of her death: and there was a broth-
er. Sam Hotion Johnson.
Taking hi- father's word literally, that he was
"in charge." l.yndon assigned certain chores it) his
sisters and brother. including feeding the chickens and
gathering eggs. chopping wood for the kitchen range
and heating stoves, taking care of the livestock.
Though some of them protested when father returned
home. Mr. Johnson tiok Lyndon to task only if his
daughters had been worked too hard.The Pedernales Kiver. on whose banks President
Johnson was to welcome heads of foreign states and
American dignitaries. was the source of fun and re-
laxation. too. for the Johnson children. Here they
could go fishing with cane poles. and there were
many delightful swimming holes in the pools among
the white rocks from which the river cot its name.
School for youne Lyndon. as he crew older. con-
tinued at Stonewall. While he could walk to the
Junction School. he rode a donke\ the two miles it)
Stonewall. Later he went to Albert. and rode a horse
to eet there. because that was f-irther from home. He
liked to recall that his father named all his horses
after United States presidents: the good ones were
named for Democrats and the others after Repub-
licans! The one he rode to Albert was a "nag." he
recalled. named after a Republican president.
The Johnson family moved back and forth. too.
between their home in Stonewall and their house in
Johnson City. about fifteen miles east.
While he was attending high school in Johnson
City, young Lyndon entered the University Inter-
scholastic League debate. His mother had taught "ex-
pression" in Fredericksburg before her marriage. and
so she encouraged her son to enter debate and speech
events.
In his senior year he and his partner. John Brooks
Casparis. won the debate competition in the county
meet. The issue revolved around the question of
whether United States Marines should be stationed in
Nicaragua. Historians may someday compare the
similar situation that exists today when there is con-
stant debate over whether the United States should
he in Vietnam.
But Lyndon had fun. too. and liked sports. Playing
first base on the baseball team. forward on the bas-
ketball team and throwing the discus were sonic of
his favorite activities.
He finished the first phase of his schooling in
Johnson City' when at the age of 15. he was grad-
uated from high school. Superintendent Edward Bow-
man awarded the diplomas to the six graduates. Lyn-
don Baines Johnson. John Dollahite. Margaret John-
son. Georgia Cammack. Louise Casparis and Kitty
Clyde Ross.
Mrs. Johnson was now to receive the first disap-
pointment in her eldest child. Lyndon decided he did
not want to go to college. but wanted to get out in
the world and be on his own. His mother placed great
value tin higher education, having attended college;
herself. so she tried to persuade him to do likewise.
As it turned out, the experience was perhaps one
of the best things that happened to him. Perhaps that
was why later as President. he, too. was to value
higher education so much that he did all he could
it) make sure that a college education was availableto everyone who wanted one.
"Being on his own" meant a trip to California with
five of his friends. Instead of finding fame and for-
tune there. they had many disappointing experiences.
Young Lyndon hitch-hiked back to Texas, and start-
ed to work with a road construction company. He
helped build the highway that led to what would
one day be known as the LBJ Ranch.
Back in Texas. and after a hard winter spent work-
ing tin the road. he realized that there must be a
better way to earn a living.' How overjoyed was his
mother when he informed her he was ready to quit
his job and go to college.
Without hesitation she arranged to register him at
Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now known
as Southwest Texas State College) in San Marcos. In
February. 1927 Lyndon B. Johnson started his college
work. and three and half scars later. in August. 1930.
received his Bachelor of Science degree. When his
finances were low during his college years. he took
time olf to teach school so that he could finish his
education. Seeing him graduate from college was one
of the many proud moments his mother was to have.Many years later, in 1960, when he was a United
States Senator from Texas. Lyndon B. Johnson had
this advice to give. He wrote this statement for a
young friend who had written to him.
When I finished high school my mother wanted
me to enter college. I decided to go my own way.
Against her wishes I set out for California to make
my fortune. I soon knew that I had made a mis-
take. In a few months I had enough of the nomad's
life. I went back to Texas and followed my moth-
er's advice to enroll in college. It was the most
important decision I ever made-it turned me in
the right direction. It also taught me two lessons I
have never forgotten.
First I learned to listen to my mother. I realized
how much more she knew than I had given her
credit for knowing. She was right in the first place.
of course. From then on I listened to her with a
willing heart. When I listened I learned. And I
grew.
I learned something else from that experience.
I learned that youth is life's soil. Whatever we are
and do tomorrow depends on what we are and do
today. The big question is. What kind of soil is
my youth? We can choke it with weeds of careless
living and thoughtless deeds, or we can enrich it
by hard %ork. clear thinking, and honest living.
Sometime ago a famous preacher wrote a book
and called it A Great Tine To Be Alive. He was
right. These are wonderful years to live, to serve,
to sacrifice for some great cause.
But I would add another chapter to that book.
I would call it. "A Great Time to Be Young."
Surely it is. A thousand opportunities rise to chal-
lenge imaginative and willing young people. There
is. of course, no one formula for success. But I
personally believe that you will never be far from
the right way if you find today's task and do it
well-as well as you can. Tomorrow grows out of
today.
(signed) Lyndon B. Johnson
Though his adult years took him far away from
the Pedernales River and his German-American
friends and neighbors. Lyndon B. Johnson could
never forget them.
In 1951 he and Mrs. Johnson bought from his
aunt the land that is now known as the LBJ Ranch.
The old rock house that forms part of the Texas
White House was built by the Meier family and the
Johnsons very carefully preserved as much of it as
they could. adding more rooms as they were needed.
It was here that the Johnsons were to entertain
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer on April 16. 1960. and
Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on December 28-29.
1963.
Among the Fredericksburg and Stonewall peoplewho helped with local arrangements for the visits by
both German Chancellors were classmates or children
of some of Johnson's classmates from whom he had
learned his first German. As the Texans chatted with
the German statesmen and journalists who accom-
panied both Chancellors. bonds of friendship and
mutual respect were formed. Many of the Germans
at first registered surprise, and then marveled at the
considerable amount of German that is still spoken in
Fredericksburg and Stonewall-not just by the older
residents but also by the young people.
Chancellors Adenauer and Erhard were not the
first distinguished German statesmen brought to
Fredericksburg by Mr. Johnson. A group of dis-
tinguished Germans visited there on March 18. 1954,
upon the invitation of Senator Johnson. They were
Dr. Carlo Schmid, professor of political science at
Frankfurt University and ranking vice president of
the German Bundestag; Fritz Erler, deputy chair-
man of the Bundestag's security committee; Willy
Brandt, then the Berlin representative in the Bundes-
tag, as well as Gunter Klein, the alternate represen
tative from Berlin.Copyright 1987 German-Texan Heritage Society
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German-Texan Heritage Society. German-Texan Heritage Society Newsletter, Volume 9, Number 3, Fall 1987, periodical, Autumn 1987; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1507402/m1/73/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting German-Texan Heritage Society.