Brownfield Ag News Livestock Market Reporter Jerry Passer shares some memories of presidential inaugurations:
I was probably in the 4th grade in January 1953 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States. I remember it well because we didn’t have a TV at home, but the school thought it was an important enough event to put TV sets on the stage of the High School Auditorium so students could witness the swearing in. The screens were small and the picture wasn’t very good but they piped the sound through the school speaker system so we could hear every word.
I have watched on TV every inauguration since 1953, except one and that stands out the most in mind as I was there. That was Lyndon Johnson’s as I was stationed in the Washington, DC area serving in the Navy and got to see the parade in person.
Monday was also a day I will not forget because 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous speech during the march on Washington and I was there. No, I wasn’t in the middle of the crowd but was close enough to hear what was being said and I will remember that speech and that day forever.
It really doesn’t matter what your political preferences are, as Americans we are privileged to be able to watch democracy in action, and to witness history in the making.
Jerry Passer
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