MHS Alumni At The Inauguration

Our nations attention was focused on Washington D.C.January 20 as Barack Obama was sworn in as our countrys 44thpresident. The historic inauguration of our countrys first African-American President attracted as many as 1.5 million people who came to watch the festivities in person. With a crowd that huge, its not surprising that there might be a few MHS grads in attendance. But what is surprising is the number of our alumni who attended or were actually part of the ceremony.

  More than a week before the big day, Bill Steinhour ‘79 was busy getting ready for Inauguration Day as part of his job working for the Senate Recording Studio in the U.S. Capitol.  Bill was in charge of placing cameras in strategic areas to record the event. Steinhour has lived in DC since 1982, while he was in the Navy, and has worked for several government agencies before taking his current position last May.  Bill did remark to a friend that he was sure sore after laying out all those cables!

  Senator Ben Nelson ’59 had an amazing view that morning as he was invited to sit on the platform where the swearing-in ceremony was held.  Ben can be clearly seen at the top of page 20 in Newsweek magazine’s commemorative inaugural edition as he watched Chief Justice Roberts administer the oath of office.  Navy Petty Officer Ted Chancellor ’05 was very close to the President in the parade that followed as he marched with the Navy Band.

  The population of Washington DC swelled that week as citizens from all across the nation descended on our Capitol to be part of history.  McCook city council member, Aaron Kircher ’00, went with a friend to Washington so he could be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Although they didn’t make it in time to see the swearing-in ceremony, they did have a good view of the parade.  Aaron was very enthusiastic about the trip and said it was an interesting time to be in D.C.  However, the heavy traffic and crowds made him appreciate living in McCook!

  Mary Jo Stephens Weigand ’65 and her husband Dru made a cross-country journey from California to attend the Inauguration.  She reports that security was tight so they chose to walk from their hotel, an 8 ½ mile round trip that was very cold!  Mary Jo said the hike was well worth it and everyone they saw was electrified with excitement.  In spite of the crowds, they found the people to be polite and courteous.  Mary Jo pointed out that her mother, Alma Willis ’30 and Obama’s grandmother both died the day before the election and yet both had voted absentee for him.

  Living in Washington D.C. didn’t necessarily make it any easier to get a good seat at the ceremony.  Just ask Brian Symington ’98!  Brian decided to take time out from studying for the bar exam to watch the Inauguration in person.  He and his wife Casey had tickets to the ceremony and hoped to get close enough to see the President.  Unfortunately, after waiting in the cold for about 3 ½  hours, with an endless sea of people still in front of them trying to get through the security lines, and the inauguration ceremonies beginning, they decided to leave and were able to catch the President’s speech on TV in a nearby restaurant.  Brian told us “While the morning was very cold and many other ticket holders also did not get to attend the ceremonies, it seemed that everyone we encountered was just thrilled to be experiencing, firsthand, such a momentous event in our nation’s history.  Certainly we were disappointed that we were not able to see the actual swearing-in ceremony, but there were many people all around us that had traveled thousands of miles and had gone without much sleep for many days just to get the chance to see President Obama take the oath of office. So, we weren’t able to feel sorry for ourselves for long.”

  Probably one of the most exciting experiences at the Inauguration belonged to Mike Ford ’68 and his son Harrison Ford ’05.  Harrison worked as a field organizer for the campaign in Omaha and was given two tickets to attend the ceremony and an official ball.  Mike reported that they walked the mile from the place they were staying to the Capitol grounds where they were able to listen to Obama’s speech.  Ford said that the crowd was well behaved; there was no pushing, shoving, or swearing going on.  The significance of being there didn’t really soak in until the next day, Mike said, and then both of them realized what an incredible spectacle they’d witnessed and the historic significance of the day.

  The highpoint for Harrison had to be the “Obama for America Ball” which was held on Wednesday night and was just for campaign staff and their guests.  Before the President and his wife showed up, one of the senior staff members was relating the wonderful accomplishments of the campaign and one of the significant items mentioned was how one of the electoral votes in Nebraska went to Obama.  This was due in large part to the hard work of Harrison and the other field workers in the second district of Nebraska.  A tired, but enthusiastic President came to the ball and announced that it was the last official ball of the Inauguration, but that it was the one he had been looking forward to the most.

  I’m sure that there are other MHS grads that were present on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C.  We know of one other recent graduate who was there, but his story can’t be shared until our next newsletter.  If you were in the Capitol and witnessed the inauguration, please let me know so we can mention it in our next newsletter.