 As honorary chairman of the American Landmark Celebration Committee these two tokens which I should like to ask my wife to present in person a proclamation welcoming her the first in more than half a century, the first in more than 250 years to dedicate a museum. And with it to give her a key to 99 and 44 one hundred percent of our people who purely love her as the wife of the president. Centation to Mrs. Johnson by Ms. Mandy Murphy representing the Mobile Housing Board. Ms. Murphy dedicating a fire station today which has over 125 years of history. We feel that it is most appropriate that our fire chief honor Mrs. Johnson by making her an honorary chief of the Mobile Fire Department. Chief Sam. Senator John Spockman who has done so much for Mobile and for Alabama. Thank you Joe Langan, ladies and gentlemen. I'm delighted to be with you today on this historic occasion that my good friend Barry Kingdom to be courteous to you. It's my great pleasure to be with you today. It's been my pleasure to ride the Lady Bird Special over from Pensacola to Mobile. It has been a great run that this special has made all the way from Washington through all of the states down here to Mobile from where it goes on into Mississippi and Louisiana. Of course the lady who is in charge of that special is the wife of the president of the United States. That she is the president of all of us regardless, she's the wife of the president of all of us regardless of what party we may belong to. But you know she has another special appeal to us in Alabama in that her father and her mother both came from Alabama. They moved to Texas shortly before she was born and she was born in Texas, just was. But she used to come back to Alabama and spend her summers and she spent a great part of her youth in the state of Alabama. She attended school at the University of Alabama. Of this Alabama lady and of the Alabama heritage that she has, she is chairman of the National Landmarks Foundation, so national chairman, so no one is better prepared to speak on this occasion than she is and I am delighted to have the privilege of presenting to you this great and gracious Southern Alabama lady, Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. I'm proud to be here in the state that sent our great senators, Lister Hill and John Sparkman, to serve the immobile. By coming just a few blocks from the station, I've already been impressed by the happy results obtained when modern ingenuity and pride in preservation work hand in hand. It is exciting to find that the respect for tradition has been harnessed to do justice to mobiles, history key to your city and your proclamation. I want to tell you that a ceremony such as this to dedicate the historic walk through this museum and be inspired and valor of our volunteer family of the early days. It does us all good to be reminded of how hard it was then to meet the emergencies of everyday life. A politician, I have known many smoke filled rooms but I'm happy to report that we've never had to call out the fire department yet. Many of you know how to be in the state where my mother and father were born and raised and being immobile is part of a sentimental journey for me. I used to visit here with my University of Alabama roommate, Hurley and Rose, Dr. Rose's daughter and I'm glad to say that on the train one of the nice things about it on the train her sister Ruth Rowe joined me and we had a chance to visit coming in and I'm mighty glad to be in that part of the country quail although you might not like and as we started driving to the streets I'd clap but didn't see two more and we stopped and brought them in with us as we are departing. I can speak of what the new South means to the nation. I can talk about the warmth and the courtesy of the South of my youth which will never change and about the new South that I saw at Hanksville where man and the new South eight million dollars. The increase in export increase is only eight percent and the administration's tax cut will create 24,000 new jobs. You young people and we still have a big task ahead of us 39 for sovereignty line this must be changed for the good of us all. The land may as a challenge to build the landmarks of the future. President of your Mobile Historic Commission who said there is no merit in recalling the past at all unless it helps us to a greater faith in a greater effort toward a richer future. So today Mr. Mayor you have tended me a homecoming as well as an honor so close to the people of the state speak of what is in my heart. Ten months ago on a dreadful day that shook our country my husband became our president since then he has tried his in him to keep our country on a steady course of economic prosperity to face the world with firm strength and to seek practical ways to help those Americans still in need. It is our privilege to choose our leader in doing so we make a constant choice in shaping our personal destiny. Thomas Jefferson said let the people know the facts and they will decide wisely history has proven him right leave in your right to choose and end your wisdom to do so wisely without saying how much this means to me that all of you would want to come out and greet me it's a colorful beautiful picture I will carry away in my heart always and all you pretty little girls all y'all look so lovely in those costumes that they are the sale of trail ladies this is a free country and I respect your right to your opinion now will you give me just one minute to finish this our station built in 1859 relocated from with 154 south franklin street the city of mobile this historic restoration right behind us and now we're going to have the dedication and I thank you one and all Johnson on behalf of the people of mobile I want to thank you for coming to mobile to dedicate the phoenix fire station and to participate in our national fire prevention week we are indeed grateful to you and we appreciate from the bottom of our hearts your being in the city of mobile for this american landmark celebration we also want to thank you and your husband and his administration for so much that he has done for mobile he has brought to us a new post office a new federal building two new tunnels 26 million dollars with a ship building wake the deep new of our harbor the water street urban renewal project of 26 million the development of alabama kusa waterway the development of the tennessee tom bigby waterway the largest u.s. engineer district in the entire united states and our brookley air force base administration it has done this is the beginning of the united states of america thanks for the celebration Mr. Dewey Crowder to accept the dedication from mrs johnson mr. Crowder mrs. johnson at the opening of our american landmark celebration you summed up a very basic characteristic of the american people and we mobilion certainly include ourselves in this latter category you said it's the nature of americans to want to preserve the things that mean the most to them and that is the very heart of our american landmark celebrations only a few short months ago this little building which speaks of over a hundred years of selfless service on the part of those who rest life and limb to preserve and protect the lives and properties of others was in danger of being bulldozed under but mobilians who cared came to the rescue mobile has been fortunate in so many ways yes in having a housing board an urban renewal agency and historic development commission a city commission a museum board a citizenry who cared enough to do something about our heritage we're fortunate in having city departments contractors artists and craftsmen who labored day and night to complete this restoration you see before you in time for this this afternoon we're fortunate in having the first lady of our land to care enough to stop in a busy schedule to help us remember our heritage and to dedicate this little building as a significant american landmark we're fortunate mrs. johnson yes and we're very grateful this day that we're our mobilians alabamians and americans thank you ladies and gentlemen i would be most happy and proud to present the most lovely most gracious and the most popular teenager in the entire united states miss lucy b johnson who will make a presentation pleasure to bring a very historic peace of the uss concrete pleasure to bring a very historic piece of the uss constellation the first united states neighborhood which sought duty in the 18th century to mr. henry alridge the chairman of the battleship commission of the state of alabama we give it to you with the hope that all who visit the uss alabama will treasure it miss lucy mrs. johnson