Her love affair with nature is legendary.
Born Claudia Taylor, her nickname stuck after a nursemaid pronounced her as pretty "as a lady bird." She got to know plants as a child. After her mother, Minnie, died in a fall at age 50, 5-year-old Lady Bird found refuge in the woods.
As first lady, she used her clout to launch a national campaign for highway beautification, going head to head with the powerful billboard lobby. On her 70th birthday in 1982, she established the wildflower center, donating 60 acres (24 hectares) endowing the nonprofit organization.
Today, this genteel Texan, who until six months ago swam 32 laps a day at the LBJ ranch, says she feels "every one of my 88, almost 89, years." She's been rendered legally blind by macular degeneration, and severe arthritis prevents her from doing more than standing in the pool.
Copyright 2001 Kentucky.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader
Lady Bird Johnson is a Trustee Emeritus of the National Geographic Society.
