Love Deeper Than a River by Lila Banks Cockrell

Author:Lila Banks Cockrell [Cockrell, Lila Banks]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781595348876
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Published: 2018-01-15T07:00:00+00:00

Lady Bird Johnson, the First Lady (center), visited San Antonio in 1966 to celebrate our Cleanest City award.

After several rounds of telephone calls and correspondence, the schedule was approved, arrangements were made, and the event took place on the evening of April 1, 1966. I had invited Gov. John and Nellie Connally to join us for the event. The governor could not attend, but his wife, our Texas first lady, came from Austin, along with the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Ben Barnes, and his wife, Martha. The lighting ceremony took place close to the Arneson River Theatre. After the First Lady greeted and spoke to the crowd, she turned on the switch, illuminating the river in a spectacular wash of lights.

We boarded three barges to continue the adventure. On the first barge Lady Bird Johnson, Nellie Connally, Mayor McAllister, and I, along with several others, led the way, enchanted by the new lights. The second barge held the press corps from Washington and Texas and other accredited media, and the third barge was occupied by the rest of the city council, other invited guests, and John Watson, the lighting designer. As we cruised down the river, with several stops along the way, musical groups positioned on bridges or the adjacent sidewalk serenaded the First Lady. The evening concluded with a beautiful dinner and reception. I remember the experience as truly magical and still feel that magic whenever I am near the San Antonio River.

Building on Lady Bird Johnson’s visit, with city council approval, I organized Beautify San Antonio: Invitation to Action at the convention center. The conference offered a variety of workshops and opportunities for further improvements and actions; more than three hundred people participated. The city, the Urban Renewal Agency, the San Antonio River Authority, and other public sector groups worked alongside private sector business and civic organizations, including the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and Beautify San Antonio. The conference received national recognition, and the official publication of the National League of Cities featured a photograph of the San Antonio River near the restaurant Casa Rio, with the headline “Beauty in the City—San Antonio Still Sets the Pace.” The article reported on Lady Bird Johnson’s visit and the follow-up conference. I was especially gratified by the last two lines: “Beautification needs a woman’s touch. This extra ingredient has been supplied by San Antonio’s Councilwoman, Mrs. S. E. Cockrell Jr.”

Later that fall, with the river still very much on my mind, I helped launch the first barge in the city’s new fleet of river “party barges” by cracking a bottle of champagne over the side, wearing what was then a stylish straw hat and white gloves. The Paseo del Rio Association held a contest to name that first barge in the new fleet, and on September 19 the local newspapers announced that the barge would be named the Ms. Lila.

Patricia Anderson, who submitted the winning name in the contest, accompanied Sid and me on a dinner cruise along the lighted Paseo del Rio waterway.

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