ShareThisWillie Mae Irving, of Collierville, Tenn., is the granddaughter of slaves. At 102, her hearing is not so good, but her eyes and mind remain sharp. And she made it to Washington to see Obama reach a pinnacle of political power she could hardly imagine.
Irving, who worked in domestic service for 30 years, and after that as a cook, came to the inauguration with her daughter, a retired school teacher, and her granddaughter, a major in the U.S. Army.
She said she would like Obama to know she's here. She'd like to shake his hand. And she has some advice for him.
"I would tell him that I'm proud of him," Irving said, "and I want him to do a good job. Give the poor people help with their medicine and all, doctor bills, them that's not able, and ain't got nowhere to stay."
-- Bartholomew Sullivan, Scripps Howard News Service
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Bruce Lightner was still in high school when he sneaked out of his Raleigh, N.C. home before dawn the morning of Aug. 28, 1963.
He hitched a ride for hundreds of miles up U.S. 1, carrying a peanut butter sandwich and a thermos of Kool-Aid.
When he made it to Washington, he climbed a tree on the National Mall and watched as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told tens of thousands of listeners about his dream of racial conciliation.
Tuesday, Lightner returned to what he calls "that hallowed ground" as the organizer of several buses carrying hundreds of North Carolina residents -- many of whom lived through the Jim Crow era that King fought to overcome. Along with more than a million others, they intended to crowd onto a nearly 2-mile grassy stretch of land steeped in history.
"I think everything's coming full circle," Lightner said.
-- Barbara Barrett, the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer
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The determination of so many older Americans to witness history being made on Inauguration Day in Washington created some unusual circumstances for medics and police -- lots of cases of hypothermia and breathing problems in the cold.
And reports of elders going missing in the crowd outnumbered reports of kids gone missing by a substantial margin. Among the middle aged, there were quite a few problems with people who ignored medical advice and drank alcohol to try and stay warm. As of early afternoon, police reported no arrests.
-- Lee Bowman, Scripps Howard News Service
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One of the seniors who tried to brave the elements was Joe Idlette, 75,a former Florida school board member who was involved in the integration of the public schools. He , called the inauguration of a black president the "culmination of a lot of sacrifices."
Unfortunately for Idlette, of Naples, Fla., the sub-freezing temperatures and icy wind Tuesday proved too much for him, and he was forced to retreat to his hotel in Virginia's Washington suburbs hours before Obama was sworn in. He said he's set off at 4 a.m., without breakfast, to wait in line.
Nonetheless he made it back to his hotel room to see the whole thing, albeit on TV.
"It was a very emotional moment," he said. "Uncontrolled tears ran down your eyes. A dream come true, but one I never expected to see."
-- Bartholomew Sullivan, Scripps Howard News Service
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Couples sweated up a storm on the dance floor Monday night at the Texas State Society's Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball.
Let stuffier dancers perspire or exhibit a healthy glow at the official balls. At the Texas State Society's Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball, couples sweated up a storm on the dance floor Monday night.
The quadrennial affair -- always one of the most sought after tickets of the inauguration week -- this year featured Bob Wills' Texas Playboys, plying the 12,000-strong crowd with Western swing music.
"There'll be dancing until 9 o'clock in the morning," the band's lead singer said.
That night, everyone was a Texan, whether they really were or not. Women wore glamorous gowns and cowboy boots. Men wore tuxedos, cowboy hats and boots.
Harrison Clark, now of Alexandria, Va., but at some time of Midland, Texas, sported a plaid dress jacket with his formal black tie, as well as a sizable black cowboy hat.
Clark bent forward, his hat bopping someone in the forehead.
"Oops, sorry," said the member of the Texas State Society. "The hat bumps into people."
-- Trish Choate, Scripps Howard News Service
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
