Presidential Barbecue (1963)

Duration: 0:07:50

Year Published: 1963

Format: 16mm

Sound: silent

Description: December 29, 1963 - Shortly after assuming the position of president, Lyndon Baines Johnson welcomed West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard for an official state visit. Rather than hosting a formal State Dinner in Washington, D.C., however, the new president invited the chancellor and his entourage to Stonewall for a barbecue—the first presidential barbecue in history. While the president originally intended to hold the dinner at the LBJ Ranch, inclement weather forced his staff to move the dinner to the Stonewall High School gymnasium. Despite the change of scenery, workers created an outdoorsy feel by decorating the room with bales of hay, red-checkered tablecloths, saddles, and lassos. Broadcast personality and Austinite Cactus Pryor served as master of ceremony, while pianist Van Cliburn, also a Texas native, played classical music. The food, catered by Walter Jetton and served buffet style on paper plates, inlcuded pinto beans, spare ribs, cole slaw, and fried apricot pies. After the meal, Johnson and Erhard exchanged gifts. Erhard gave the president a bottle of white wine; Johnson, on the other hand, presented Erhard and his delegation with Stetson hats.