Kelley (Texas)
New member
Saturday morning started as normal, did a few chores around the house, but then I started getting bored. I did a few things to tease Debbie, but she was not in the mood and sorta got a little mean...I decided that this was a path to destruction, my destruction, and time to cut her some slack and save my hide at the same time. I decided to go for a bike ride, maybe ride up to Johnston City, Texas and eat some lunch, hopefully some fried catfish. I really had no other plans, just ride up there, eat lunch and come back home.
I put gas in the bike, put the thermos of coffee and the camera in the saddle bags and headed for the open roads...freedom, and hopefully fried catfish for lunch as a bonus. Goodness, the traffic was heavy, more so than normal...Farm Road 3009 looked like an interstate highway, but I was alert and doing just fine riding with the flow of traffic. I turned north on Highway 281, Johnson City now just forty-five miles away.
When I arrived in Johnson City, I was shocked to find all the cafe's parking lots packed to the gill. My favorite cafe was packed full with a wait of almost an hour before being seated...this was nonsense as far as I was concerned. Well, I decided that I was not going to be eating catfish and walked out to my bike, trying to decide what to do next.
After a few moments, I decided to ride west on Highway 290 towards Fredericksburg, Texas...I remembered an old post office with an old wooden Indian on the front porch. I figured it would make a good picture to share with my friends on the Forum. This post office was located at Hye, Texas which is about ten miles west of Johnson City.
I arrived at Hye, Texas and saw the old post office. I was disappointed in the photo that I took, it was sorta on the dark side and it is difficult to see the wooden Indian on the porch. This post office is also a general store and was built in 1904...it is still in operation today. I was delighted to discover that this post office gained national attention in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson used the front porch of the post office as the setting for his appointment of Lawrence F. O'Brien as the United States Postmaster General. Also, President Johnson mailed his first letter from this post office when he was four or five years old. I felt strange walking on the same porch that President Johnson had walked on in 1965.
This is the photo of the Hye Post Office and General Store.
[attachment 88160 HyePostOfficeandGeneralStore4-19-08.jpg]
Realizing that I was near the old Johnson Ranch, I decided to drive over in that direction to see if I could find some good sites to photograph. Not too far away, maybe five or six miles, I spotted this beautiful old church. While I was taking the picture, I was approached by the Pastor of the church...he wanted to know what I was doing. I told him that I was taking a picture of the church and the surrounding area. He told me that President Johnson had attended services at this church on occasion.
[attachment 88159 Hyechurch4-19-08_3.jpg]
When I was getting ready to leave the church, the Pastor told me that the Texas White House was just a few miles up the road. near Stonewall, Texas, on the north side of the Pedernales River. He said that the complete ranch house would be difficult to see because of the trees, but to look for the flags and a large Oak Tree. The Oak Tree was over four hundred years old and President Johnson served barbecue to world dignitaries under this tree. This house has always been closed to the public, but now that Lady Bird Johnson has passed away, it will be opened to the public for the first time in the near future. I finally found the ranch house, but could not get a very good picture of it...I had to use the telephoto lens and most of the house was indeed hidden by the trees. Not shown in the picture is the Pedernales River which was between me and the ranch house...sorry, I did not think at the time about taking a picture of the river, which I will explain later in this story. I was surprised to find a few folks fishing in the river, but I do not know if they had caught any fish.
This is the photo of the Texas White House. Please note the large old Oak Tree behind the ranch house.
[attachment 88162 TexasWhiteHouse4-19-08.jpg]
Folks, at this time, I was getting a little light headed from lack of eating lunch and it appeared my sugar count was starting to act up. That is one reason that I did not think of taking a photo of the Pedernales River. I pulled over at a rest stop and drank the coke that I had brought with me for just this type of situation. I did not stay at that rest stop very long because the tree worms were everywhere...I flicked one off my bike and then stepped on it...time to get away from here. These are nasty worms and they eat the leaves on trees. I did notice lots of birds at this rest stop, just another reason to leave as quickly as possible before one of the birds used my bike as a restroom. I headed back to San Antonio, stopped to rest a couple of times, and arrived home safely. I really enjoyed myself, especially knowing that I walked on some of the same ground that President Johnson had walked on. This was where he was born, grew up, and attended college nearby in San Marcos, Texas. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
I put gas in the bike, put the thermos of coffee and the camera in the saddle bags and headed for the open roads...freedom, and hopefully fried catfish for lunch as a bonus. Goodness, the traffic was heavy, more so than normal...Farm Road 3009 looked like an interstate highway, but I was alert and doing just fine riding with the flow of traffic. I turned north on Highway 281, Johnson City now just forty-five miles away.
When I arrived in Johnson City, I was shocked to find all the cafe's parking lots packed to the gill. My favorite cafe was packed full with a wait of almost an hour before being seated...this was nonsense as far as I was concerned. Well, I decided that I was not going to be eating catfish and walked out to my bike, trying to decide what to do next.
After a few moments, I decided to ride west on Highway 290 towards Fredericksburg, Texas...I remembered an old post office with an old wooden Indian on the front porch. I figured it would make a good picture to share with my friends on the Forum. This post office was located at Hye, Texas which is about ten miles west of Johnson City.
I arrived at Hye, Texas and saw the old post office. I was disappointed in the photo that I took, it was sorta on the dark side and it is difficult to see the wooden Indian on the porch. This post office is also a general store and was built in 1904...it is still in operation today. I was delighted to discover that this post office gained national attention in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson used the front porch of the post office as the setting for his appointment of Lawrence F. O'Brien as the United States Postmaster General. Also, President Johnson mailed his first letter from this post office when he was four or five years old. I felt strange walking on the same porch that President Johnson had walked on in 1965.
This is the photo of the Hye Post Office and General Store.
[attachment 88160 HyePostOfficeandGeneralStore4-19-08.jpg]
Realizing that I was near the old Johnson Ranch, I decided to drive over in that direction to see if I could find some good sites to photograph. Not too far away, maybe five or six miles, I spotted this beautiful old church. While I was taking the picture, I was approached by the Pastor of the church...he wanted to know what I was doing. I told him that I was taking a picture of the church and the surrounding area. He told me that President Johnson had attended services at this church on occasion.
[attachment 88159 Hyechurch4-19-08_3.jpg]
When I was getting ready to leave the church, the Pastor told me that the Texas White House was just a few miles up the road. near Stonewall, Texas, on the north side of the Pedernales River. He said that the complete ranch house would be difficult to see because of the trees, but to look for the flags and a large Oak Tree. The Oak Tree was over four hundred years old and President Johnson served barbecue to world dignitaries under this tree. This house has always been closed to the public, but now that Lady Bird Johnson has passed away, it will be opened to the public for the first time in the near future. I finally found the ranch house, but could not get a very good picture of it...I had to use the telephoto lens and most of the house was indeed hidden by the trees. Not shown in the picture is the Pedernales River which was between me and the ranch house...sorry, I did not think at the time about taking a picture of the river, which I will explain later in this story. I was surprised to find a few folks fishing in the river, but I do not know if they had caught any fish.
This is the photo of the Texas White House. Please note the large old Oak Tree behind the ranch house.
[attachment 88162 TexasWhiteHouse4-19-08.jpg]
Folks, at this time, I was getting a little light headed from lack of eating lunch and it appeared my sugar count was starting to act up. That is one reason that I did not think of taking a photo of the Pedernales River. I pulled over at a rest stop and drank the coke that I had brought with me for just this type of situation. I did not stay at that rest stop very long because the tree worms were everywhere...I flicked one off my bike and then stepped on it...time to get away from here. These are nasty worms and they eat the leaves on trees. I did notice lots of birds at this rest stop, just another reason to leave as quickly as possible before one of the birds used my bike as a restroom. I headed back to San Antonio, stopped to rest a couple of times, and arrived home safely. I really enjoyed myself, especially knowing that I walked on some of the same ground that President Johnson had walked on. This was where he was born, grew up, and attended college nearby in San Marcos, Texas. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
And then the best part.......LBJ's stomping grounds ! Would that ever be neat to picnic under that oak tree. Truly fascinating stuff Fred.......you've got some great history in your neck of the woods. 
