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Blackout Sign Honors 36th President With LBJ Museum Sign

Entry statement includes reclaimed parts from Johnson family ranch

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Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th U.S. President, has one of the most complicated legacies of anyone who’s ever sat in the Oval Office. He’s been saddled with much blame for the Vietnam Conflict’s escalation, but his administration accomplished numerous domestic innovations, from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the advent of PBS to the introduction of health warnings on cigarette packs.

The prism of history allows a more even-handed tone than the fiery speeches and condemning newspaper headlines of the era. Supporters and detractors alike acknowledge that his strong personality fueled his success. Fellow pols spoke of “The Johnson Treatment”, where the President would use his size and powers of persuasion to tower over opponents and fence-sitters and coerce them to support his agenda.

This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act’s passage and the first full year of Johnson’s presidency, provided an auspicious occasion to remember his accomplishments. In January, city leaders in San Marcos, TX, a city of approximately 50,000 near Austin, commemorated President Johnson’s legacy with the opening of the LBJ Museum. He attended college in the city at what is now Texas State Univ. – San Marcos.

Leadership San Marcos, a civic- and business-development group, spearheaded the sign project, and enlisted numerous community businesses to subsidize its cost. At their suggestion, the city’s planning department hired San Marcos-based Blackout Signs to build the backlit-neon sign. However, for a sign of such historical significance, ordinary metal wouldn’t suffice. After having received permission from the park’s superintendent, Blackout owner Jay Gordon and Ed Mihalkanin, the Museum’s president, visited the grounds the LBJ Historic National Park (formerly the Johnson family ranch) in Stonewall to acquire pieces of metal to TIG-weld into the sign’s formation. Kirk Tunningsley, owner of Big Dog Neon (Lockhard, TX), bent and installed the neon tubing.

Other found pieces include rebar, farm-implement parts, and hardware from a radio tower that supported the satellite that kept the President in communication while on the ranch, which were integrated into the sign’s foundation, Also, a reclaimed T post from the ranch frames the bottom portion of the sign. Inside the sign, Gordon’s team installed JT LED color-changing modules provide illumination.

Gordon flipped the switch to turn on the sign at a public ceremony attended by hundreds of local residents.
“I was honored to be part of making a sign with so much local historical significance,” Gordon said. “It was an amazing experience. I was blown away by the ranch’s history, and came away with a renewed sense of patriotism.”
 

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