The LBJ Museum of San Marcos is turning 20 this year, and what better way to celebrate than to kick off the Spring Lecture with the story of how it all began.
“This is going to be our 20th anniversary, which is kind of hard to believe for a small museum, because sustaining museums is not easy,” LBJ Museum Board President Wayne Kraemer said. “So for us to last 20 years is a testament to some of the work that some of the people in this room have done, especially Ed.”
Ed S. Mihalkanin, PhD, is an LBJ Museum founding board member, longtime board president, Texas State political science professor and former San Marcos City Council member. He walked attendees through the early days of the museum at its Spring Lecture on Thursday, March 12.
The museum was started in 1997 with a $50 budget, according to Mihalkanin. Key milestones in the creation of the museum included securing a 30-year lease for $1 a year from Hays County, raising $525,000 for renovations and receiving significant donations from organizations like the Tanger Corporation, The Texas Pioneer Foundation and the Hobby Foundation.
“This building started as a hardware store, but it had been altered to be a movie theater,” Mihalkanin said of the museum, located on the San Marcos square at 131 N. Guadalupe St. “It actually showed silent movies in the late 1920s.”
Renovations were done from 1998-2006 as funds became available The museum was ready to open in 2006.
Many of the exhibits at the museum have come from the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin.
“Anytime a person contacts the library and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got something,’ the library has been wonderful to say, ‘We’ve had three of them, but there’s this museum dedicated to Johnson in San Marcos,’” Mihalkanin said. “That is how we have gotten so much of our material.”
Mihalkanin emphasized the value of the museum’s programming and pointed to a lot of big names who have come to the museum as guest speakers over the years, including H.W. Brands, a well-known historian; Oliver del Cid, former Belizean Ambassador to Mexico; and George W.S. Abbey, former director of the Johnson Space Center.
Although he said that it is expensive and not possible for the museum at the moment, Mihalkanin hopes that, in the future, they will have the funding to show more exhibits from other museums connected to Johnson. He also hopes for an increase in visitors to the museum and its events.
Kraemer added that the museum needs to replace its HVAC units, so donations are welcome. Learn more about how to donate at lbjmuseum. com/get-involved/ give.
