One of our volunteers, Helen Anne Sweeney, shared a touching story about why she and her siblings dedicated the Lady Bird Johnson rose to her father. We are pleased to share it.

In February of 2000, my father who was battling Alzheimer’s disease, entered a memory unit at the local nursing home as his care became overwhelming for my mother. He was a kind, unassuming man. His
hobbies included walking, following the Cincinnati Reds, saying his daily prayers, and reading newspapers. Since he enjoyed strolling through the Park of Roses when he visited me in Columbus, my brother, sister, and I decided to dedicate a rose bed to him.

Nancy Walsh (who is in charge of dedications) was very helpful to us in explaining the process and providing us with a list of available rose beds. On that list was the Lady Bird Johnson rose. This was a perfect fit for us. My family had a special memory of Mrs. Johnson’s courage and poise that she exhibited in allaying the fears of fellow Southerners over the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In the summer of 1964 after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, Mrs. Johnson undertook a 1,628 mile train trip on the Lady Bird Special over a four-day period through eight Southern states. Due to the turmoil, the trip was deemed as unsafe for President Johnson. Raised in the South, Mrs. Johnson hoped to quell her fellow Southerners’ fears about segregation and explain how this legislation would help improve the economic condition of the South.

My father, upon hearing about the proposed trip, decided that my siblings and I would trace her trip over the four days on a map laid across our dining room table. I was nine years old that summer and was fascinated with the idea of following her journey. In the mornings, we read the newspapers and watched Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News to garner information as to where Mrs. Johnson had been that day and planned to go next. At the end of her journey, we as a family collectively breathed a sigh of relief that she had not been harmed.

After we had dedicated the rose bed to my father, I decided to write a letter to Mrs. Johnson about our summer project and about the dedication of this rose to my father. At the most, I thought that I would receive an acknowledgement that the First Lady had received my letter. But to my amazement, Mrs. Johnson sent me a letter about her experience over the four-day period. I read the letter to my father but am not sure how much he understood about its contents.

My father died in 2002, and Mrs. Johnson died five years later in 2007. The Lady Bird Johnson rose bed is still dedicated to my father. As I periodically walk by and look at this rose bed, I always think of my father helping us plot out Mrs. Johnson’s arduous trek to promote the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Written by Helen Ann Sweeney