Since I was a child, the pomp, circumstance, and power of the presidency have awed me.
This is rooted in my love of history and interest in the Founding Fathers.
This past Christmas, I took a trip I had been dreaming about for years. I visited three presidential libraries in Texas. My friend and fellow history nerd Eric Moffett picked me up at the DFW airport and we set off on a road trip.
We first went to Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated. Unfortunately, the Sixth Floor Museum is closed on Mondays, but we enjoyed looking around. It was interesting to visit a place that has captured so much attention, led to many conspiracies, and is often seen as hallowed ground today.
The first library on our list was the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University. The library was impressive and did a masterful job telling the story of W’s presidency, especially September 11 and the following days, months, and years. The library building was also impressive. It blends into the environment. It is landscaped with native plants that don't tax the local environment, just like Bush Crawford Ranch. It was easy to forget that we were in the middle of Dallas. We found some Texas BBQ after we visited the George W. Bush Library. Eric had done his research and found Terry Blacks BBQ. The brisket was some of the best I have ever eaten. Before this trip my experiences with Dallas were minimal. When my son Trae (now 17) turned 10, I took him to Dallas for a couple of days. We stayed at a high-rise hotel and visited the aquarium and the Perot Museum. A couple of years later, I attended the annual conference of the Southern Historical Association in Dallas.
After lunch, we began our drive to College Station. Along the way, I saw parts of Texas I had never seen. Texas is such a varied state geographically, and it always amazes me.
The next stop on our nerd trip was the George H W Bush Library, located on the Texas A and M campus in College Station. This library has a special meaning since George H. W. Bush is my favorite president. I spent hours reading every plague and taking it all in. Bush Seniors commitment to family, focus on doing the right thing, and desire to leave the world a better place than he found it inspired me as a high school student and still does to this day.
The third stop on this presidential trifecta was the LBJ Library in Austin. LBJ isn’t and never has been my favorite former president. I was less than enthused about this stop. The library is housed on the University of Texas campus. The building is a monument to 1960s brutalist architecture and, in many ways, is devoid of any real personality. What I discovered inside shocked me. I left Austin with a deeper understanding of LBJ, the turbulent times he served in, and new historical information.
This was my first visit to Austin. I have long heard the “Keep Austin Weird” tagline and was unsure what to expect. I found Austin exciting. After visiting the LBJ Library, we walked around the University of Texas campus, which I found to be excellent both for the sheer size of the campus and the beautiful architecture. We visited a gallery on campus that houses an original Guttenberg Bible. The campus is located downtown and is simply amazing. We also visited the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. Bob Bulluck was a longtime Texas politician who served as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Texas under Governor Ann Richards and George W. Bush. He was a longtime champion of building the Texas History Museum, and his hard work and dedication paid off. This was one of the best museums I have ever visited and the best state historical museum ever. Arkansas has an incredible network of museums administered by the Arkansas Department of Heritage as part of the Parks, Heritage, and Tourism division. Still, those sites are different from the Texas History Museum. I have long thought the old Little Rock train station would make an excellent Arkansas History Museum. We need a leader like Bullock who would make this his or her dream and push state leaders to fund such a museum. Such a facility would be a draw and complement the state’s other museums, such as the Old State House, the Arkansas Historical Museum, the Mosaic Templars Museum, the new ART Center, and the Clinton Presidential Library.
These presidential libraries give Americans a glimpse of the lives and characters of the men and, someday, the women who lead our nation. If you have yet to visit any of the nation’s fifteen presidential libraries, I urge you to do so soon. You can start right here in Arkansas with the Clinton Library.