Sources |
- [S11] Ancestors are Forever, A Ridenour Collection from 893 to 1997 AD, Melvin Otho "Mo" Ridenour, (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/e/i/James-A-Reitnauer/FILE/0001text.txt), 16 Sep 2001.
Rushie Williams obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 21 Jan 2009.
Sevierville student cold but thrilled to be at inauguration
BY ELLEN BROWN
ebrown@themountainpress.com
While millions of people around the world watched Tuesday's Inauguration on television, one Sevierville Middle School student saw it unfold in person.
Jared Baxter left for Washington on Saturday with his parents, Jerry and Deanna Baxter, and the organization People to People International to attend the festivities.
"It's very cold, and there are people as far as I can see," the Sevierville eighth-grader wrote in a text message to The Mountain Press shortly before Tuesday's ceremony. "You can feel the emotion and energy."
The trip was Jared's second as a delegate of PTPI, an organization that strives to enhance international understanding and friendship. He was nominated to be a delegate by one of his teachers and SMS principal Jayson Nave.
Jared and his fellow delegates left their hotel at around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday to find a spot for the festivities. They ended up between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. There were JumboTrons throughout the vicinity that allowed attendees a glimpse of the new president.
"Everyone was yelling and screaming, shouting for Obama," Jared wrote after the ceremony. "It just seemed to be normal, middle-class people who came out. It was shoulder-to-shoulder; there was no end (to the crowd)."
During his five-day trip to Washington, the student also visited Arlington National Cemetery, the Smithsonian American History Museum, presidential monuments, Ford's Theater and more historical landmarks. PTPI had its own inaugural ball Tuesday night, and a trip to the White House and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts were on the itinerary for Wednesday.
Jared said he enjoyed meeting fellow students during the trip, including a group from Europe.
"Everyone seems very excited and really happy."
ebrown@themountainpress.com
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