AUSTIN (KXAN) - When the Texas State Preservation Board needs a couch cleaned, K.C. O'Hanlon gets a call.

O'Hanlon owns Austin Specialty Cleaners and he's tackled lots of dirty furniture for the board, pieces from the Governor's Mansion and the governor's office in the State Capitol. Word gets around in government circles, so when the National Park Service needed some furniture cleaning, O'Hanlon's company was invited to put in a bid.

When he won, couches, chairs and all manner of other items started coming in waves to his North Austin cleaning plant. The stuff came from former President Lyndon Johnson's ranch at Stonewall, Texas, near Johnson City.

"This is LBJ's favorite recliner," O'Hanlon said as he reached down and opened up an almost four decade old chair. "You can just see the big man."

The recliner still works perfectly, but the seat cushion is in need of some serious work. The foam core is hard and bits of it are crumbling inside the cover.

"We're actually going to have to replace this," said O'Hanlon. "We're going to cut a new core for it before we can do any of the cleaning. We can't do any of the cleaning because the inside is just lined with dead foam."

On a rack above the recliner are two brown rocking chair cushions and a couple of arm pads. They once offered padded comfort to President John Kennedy during a visit to the ranch.

"He only actually made one visit there that I'm aware of," said O'Hanlon. "They were scheduled to visit the ranch for a few days on Nov. 23, '63, the day after he was assassinated."

Nearby, an employee in the shop unleashes a steam cleaner on some of the pieces. The results are immediate and obvious. A filter will be needed when the work moves on to one of Lady Bird Johnson's favorite chairs. That's because the fabric is beginning to wear severely and the direct steam treatment would be more than the material could handle.

"Lady Bird loved to have wool embroidery over top of either linen or a heavy cotton," said O'Hanlon, holding a matching arm cover from the chair."

As the work progresses, surprises sometimes emerge.

"The last batch that came in included the couch from the family room," said O'Hanlon. "One of the first things we do is remove everything and get into the nooks and crannies. We found the remote control for the TV in the family room."

O'Hanlon's biggest thrill in all of this, however, is the rare peak he is getting into the life and environment of one of the country's most fascinating leaders on his own turf, in our own back yard.

"I tell you, the tour we did of the ranch when we went to do this bid, it's a privilege, it's an honor, but it's just absolutely fascinating because it is literally, they shut it down," he said. "His bedroom is exactly the way it was; the clothes are still there; everything that's on the walls, the pictures. It's just fascinating work."

So far, the National Park Service has opened President Johnson's office, the living room and the dining room for public tours in the house. The rest of the home will be included as individual rooms become ready.