Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 104, Number 35, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 28 January 1981 — Page 10

Page 10

Nappanee Advance-News Wednesday. January -X. I fix I

Local couple attend inauguration festivities

By TONY BARKER Merle arid Judy Holden have some advice for anyone planning to attend a presidential inauguration. “Get used to standing in line and having to walk." they say. And perhaps another piece of advice would be: make certain you have a good car. But that's another story. (See related article.) The Holdens were the only Kosciusko County residents and one of the few northern Indiana residents to attend the inauguration last Tuesday of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United Satates. In addition to being present for the actual swearing-in, the Nappanee couple also attended a reception for Indiana officeholders and the largest of the 10 inaugural balls. The high point of the trip for the Holdens was the Indiana Ball on Sunday night. That event had particular significance because the Indiana delegation to the inaugural was second in size only to Reagan’s California due to the fact that Indiana was the first state in Reagan's victory ;eolumn on election night. All 11 Indiana House members were present as were both Senators Richard Lugar and Dan Quavle as well as Gov. Bob Orr and LT. Gov John Mutz. “We got to talk to John Hiler for 20 minutes on what he hopes to do in Washington." Merle said "He told us about moving in and driving to Washington from Indiana." In addition to enjoying an excellent dinner and entertainment from the Purdue Glee Club. the_Holdens enjoyed the event because it gave them and other guests an opportunity to meet Indiana officials and visit with them for a considerable length of time On Monday, the Holdens visited the offices of Senators I.ugar and Quavle and Congressmen Hiler and Floyd Fithian Merle noted that after buying two maps of Washington he received the best map of the city free from Fithian's office > "One thing that may surprise the average person is that Congressmen don't have plush offices." he said "they have old. fairly worn carpets and just painted or plastered walls Most offices in Nappanee are far better and my office here is bigger." The inaugural made a "mess" of things, according to Merle, as many streets were blocked off and some twoway streets were made one-way only for the occasion And. he added, there was absolutely no parking space anywhere Merle also noted "a ton" of limousines in the city and numerous very small cars, but nothing in between. Tuesday was the big day as the Holdens parked at the Pentagon and took the excellent subwav svstem into

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Washington. By 9:30 a m. the subway was packed solid. The Holdens had a ticket for the swearing-in ceremony but the only advantage in the ticket was that they got to stand closer to the platform. “No matter how far away you were you could see Nancy Reagan’s red outfit,” Judy said. “But even with tickets you couldn’t see anything else without binoculars.” An estimated 200,000 persons were present for the first ceremony held on the more spacious west side of the Capital building. “How they managed to do it before on the east side I don't know," Merle said. ‘Tve never seen so many people in one place in my life. There were just acres and acres of. people.” The Holdens did get to hear President Reagan's speech. They were impressed with the new president’s address, finding it emotional and moving and, by its actions, the crowd apparently agreed. "There was hardly any noise through the whole speech." Merle said. "The people were extremely orderly; a model of good behavior.” The inaugural parade was to follow at 2 p.m. but Merle explained that following the swearing-in ceremonies, the president and other dignitaries go to lunch and whenever they finish lunch is when the parade actually begins. For lunch, the Holdens attended a reception for Senators Lugar and Quavle in a Senate office building only a block away, There they found hundreds of.people who had been watching the inaugural on television "They may have been the smartest ones," Merle said. “But it was a thrill to be there and see it in person." It took nearly an hour just to get through the serving line in the large committee room. By that time the room and both sides of the hallways were full. The Holdens had to eat their lunch on the stairway with another couple. Then came time for the parade. The Holdens had tickets for a stand but had no idea where the stand was It turned out that the stand was 15 blocks away It was not an easy 15 blocks to walk. "We had to walk through people the entire 15 blocks. Merle said. "I thought we were going to die. We had been walking all day anyway but we both had fairly new shoes It was*3:ls p m. before any of the parade reached the Holdens' vantage point. Recalling the tragic assassination of John Kennedy. Merle was impressed with the elaborate security precautions Military and police officers lined the parade route every six to eight feet and SWAT teams were on top of each building. Secret Service agents were stationed b

throughout the crowd. ” “Every time the parade would pass a point, three 54-passenger school buses would collect Secret Service agents out of the crowd,” Merle said. The Holdens also found George Bush not showing the usual reserve exhibited by inaugural participants. The new vice president, they said, was “super excited, waving all over the place.” Following the parade, the Holdens returned to Alexandria to prepare for the inaugural ball, actually one of 10 separate balls held throughout the city. By 10 p.m., the ballroom was “wall to wall people” preventing any dancing although the Glen Miller orchestra, still going strong, was providing the music. The famed Osmond family was the featured entertainment. quarter to 11 they announced that a*‘special guest' was coming and asked to clear the middle in front of the stage,” Merle said. “We all knew it was Reagan. No one wanted to move and besides, we were all packed like sardines. There was no place to go.” The president and his wife arrived at 11:30. It was their seventh ball of the night and the only one at which they danced, just 25 feet away from the Holdens who hope to have some fine slides of that event as souvenirs. The ballroom was so bright, Merle said, that no flash was needed to take pictures. Reagan, his voice just beginning to fail after the long day, received an enthusiastic reception for his brief address in which he described the Americans returning from Iran as "prisoners of war," refusing to refer to them as hostages "The hostages were on everybody's mind." Merle said "People in Nappanee probably knew more about it than we did. We just caught bits and pieces," The Holdens did see the national Christmas tree lit for the first time since the hostages were taken, and saw yellow ribbons in honor of the hostages removed from trees on the White House grounds 1 Merle had supported Reagan since the former California governor's bid for the 1976 presidential nomination. Through his boss' wife, who is mayor of Carmel, he urole-tt> the Republican State Central Committee for tickets. The committee figured an average Cost of $1,200 a couple just to attend the inauguration festivities. The Indiana Ball, for example, cost SIOO a couple with dinner The Tuesday inaugural ball cost SIOO apiece with no dinner Hotels were charging $l2O a day with a four-day minimum "It was .worth it. " Merle said of the trip "I don't know if we ll go back four years trom now I'm tempted to say we will: If Reagan comes back we definitely w ill The second time we’ll be smarter and do things different."

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At inaugural

Merle and Judy Holden of Nappanee are shown with their invitation to attend the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as toth president of the United States. The Holdens were the only Kosciusko County residents and among the few northern Indiana residents who attended the festivities last week in

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NW honor roll

North Wood Announces Honor Roll Students: Principal Michael Keppler anthat the following North Wood High school students have attained Honor Roll status for the 2nd nine week grading period this school year Students being named to the Df?tinguiihed Honor Roll have earned a grade .point index of 3.7 to 4.0. Distinguished Honor Roll Students have no grade lower than a B in order to be named to this honor group Northwood students named to Regular Honor Roll have earned a grade index of 3.2 to 3.6 and a minimum of one C is permitted DISTINGUISHED HONOR ROLL Seniors: Bart BeMiller, Maria Blosser. Ty Bollinger. Candy Bontrager. Angie Brock, Dee Clem. Melanie Compton. Barb Culp. Paul Eby. Pamela Greenawalt, Diana Hoover. Wade Johnson. Lisa Jordan. Lona Kitts. Amy Price, Jaakko Salminen. Denise Solidav. Steve Strycker. Nelda Troyer, Sharon Tyson, Laura Warnick “ Juniors: Robert Benedict. Michelle Bradyi, Laurie Dieterlen. Janice Ecklebarger. Leanne Farmwald. Sheila Glenn. Terry Graber. Brett Grove. Tad Hockert, Beryl Moore. Randy Rhoade, Lissy Shank. Joan Stichter. Kathy Strycker Sophomores:' KifrrArrgfm'; ■Jeffßeck ,* Scott Cassel. Beth Ervin. Trent Gongwer. Kevin Graver. Mark Hahn. Lila Hoover. Mary Hoover. Russ

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Washington. Merle is wearing a button signifying that Indiana was the first state in Reagan's victory column on election night, giving the Hoosier state a honored place for inaugural activities. Shown at top are commemorative gold niedalions the Holdens received. (AN photos) ™

Hunsberger. Brad Kaser, Kris Kern. Darlene Miller. Lane Reed. Jenny Truex. Steven W'agner. Brad Wells, Kim Wrightsman. Freshmen: Kevin Eby. Jeff Fervida. Eric Fields, Sue Flora, Lori Greenawalt, Doreen Hoover. Paul Meissner, Patty Neff. Sally Rensberger, Dale Ressler, Cindi Schwartz. Rusty Snook, Bonnie Spicher, Angie Whitehead. Lori Wise. REGULAR HONOR ROLL Seniors: Adam. Dawn Bauman. Steph Beck, Deb Beehler, Rich Biever. Dee Blosser, Margaret Bowman. Rose Chupp. Darryl Gall, Lori Goans, Paula Graber, Diane Hartman. Dee Housour. Karen JCurtz, Mark McClure, Dolores McDonald, Steve Marks. Rosalyn Martin, Patty Mast. Terri Miller, Larry Mishler. Tom Perry Roland Rohrer, Betsy Schalliol, Marcia Schrock. Jeff Strakowski, Val Walter. Karen Winslow, Dennis Weaver. Cathy Wesolek, Rita Wrightsman. Carla Yoder. Juniors: Todd Beer.ftenay Bemiller, Pam Birky. Ron Fisher. Jon FlLckinger, Connie Harter. Michele Hartman. Deb Hooley, Charlotte Hughes, Sue Johnson, Kami Kane. Dawn Middaugh, John Moore, Tim Osborn, Carl Reinhardt. Rita Sheets, Tony Shifflett. Sherri Steiner, Shelly Suter. Tracy Stump, Diane Weldy, •Sophomores: Tonya Adams. Bruce Balasa. Kevin Balsley, Paul Beery, Patty Birke\. Cathy Blosser. Elizabeth

;..but they almost didn't : make it By TONY BARKER A funny thing happened to Merle and Judy Holden on the way to Washington, only it didn’t seem so funny at the time. Between a forgotten tuxedo and a defective car, they almost didn’t make it to Ronald Reagan’s inaugural. Their saga started Friday evening, Jan., 16 as the Holdens left Nappanee to catch a Saturday morning flight from Indianapolis to Baltimore. “We were getting our bags out at the airport and handing them to the man to put aboard the plane when I realized that I had forgotten my tuxedo,” Merle said, the foripal wear being necessary to attend the inauguration festivities. They decided to return to Nappanee for the forgotten tuxedo and take a later flight to Baltimore. But en route back home, their car started missing. “One mile north of the Howard-Miami county line, the car quit,” Merle said. Within 45 minutes State Trooper John Hill came to their aid and called a wrecker in Kokomo. An hour and a half and three calls later, the wrecker still had noF arrived. Finally, Trooper Hill called to Peru and-a wrecker arrived right away. Once in Peru, however, no mechanic in that city knew what was wrong with the 1980 car. "We decided to tow it back to Nappanee to Junior Mast,” Merle said. “I know he can fix anything." Merle called Amy Masterson at his local insurance office and asked her to bring the tuxedo in .Judy’s car and meet them in Akron. There they switched cars and luggage and made the plane with barely time to spare, only because the plane was late. "It cost us SIBO more for tickets on the later flight and $125 to have the car towed so we were $305 in the hold already,” Merle said. To top off their woes, they had arranged for a rental car in Baltimore but the rental agency closed at 9 p.m. and they were not due to arrive until 9:18 p.m. Merle called another agency which did Rave a car available, but at nearly twice the price: S4O a day and 43 cents a mile. Finally the weary travelers arrived at the home of Merle’s brother, a Marine captain living in Alexandria, Va. at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, missing the Saturday night fireworks gala. "Were we ever exhausted, both mentally and physically,” Merle said. “But from this point on, everything worked out well.” Actually, there was one more minor problem: the brake light on their rental car didn’t work. But other than that, the Nappanee couple made it to Washington to witness the inaugural of the 40th president of the United States.

Brovont, David Copeland. Jeff Culp, Jackie Etsinger, Lori Hartman, Lisa Heckaman, Ann Neff, .Lisa Paugh, Andy Preston, Wanda Rohrer, Kelly Shoemaker, Jill Sholly, Laura Showalter, Chip Stump, Mike Wagner, Lori Weldy, Larry Wilson, Janice Yoder. * Freshmen: Deb Angel, Mary Benedict, Brenda Broyles, Lisa Detweiler, Tom Herr, Amy Hochstedler, Cheryl Jessup, Tyler Johnson, Dave Lechlitner, Nancy Lehman, Susan Marks, Carmen Martin, Cindy Miller, Greg Miller, Dick Moore, Pam Nusbaum. Anita Osborn, Lori Parks, Steve Phipps, Angie Pletcher, Tammy Ratliff, LeAnn Rohr,. Rod Schroeder, Jodi Schwartz, Cynthia Shaum, Deb Slabaugh, Skip Smeltzer, Deanna Smith. Jenny Stutzman, Tom Tarman, Jeff Troxei. Scott Tuttle, Tanya Weaver, Cary Weldy, Nancy Weldy, Amie Williams.