Nantucketers in Washington ready for Inauguration Day

Mary B. Bergman on the Mall

By Margaret Carroll-Bergman
Independent Editor

Nantucket (Jan. 21, 2009) – While some islanders are gathering today at the African Meeting House,  Nantucket Lighthouse School,  Nantucket High School and other locations to view Barack Obama take the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States, other Nantucketers made the trip to Washington to witness history in the making.

Island carpenter Pete Sendelbach and son Otto, age 9, left Saturday for Washington to attend the inauguration.

“I am so happy, I just want to be here for it,” said Sendelbach.
“The mall was filled from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. The crowd was in a great mood and sang and danced and cheered every time Barack was shown on the screens. I loved the moment when Stevie Wonder sang Barack Obama's name,” added Sendelbach this morning.

Mary Bergman, a Smith College senior and daughter of the editor of The Nantucket Independent,  left Sunday for Washington. Bergman stood in front of the MSNBC tent set up on the Mall yesterday for a couple of hours, hoping to be interviewed. She saw island  summer visitor Mike Barnicle and summer residents Chris Matthews and Luke Russert floating around the tent, but had no luck with getting on camera.

“It was not a mob scene,” said Bergman. “Although there were enough people to be a mob. Overall, people were friendly and pleasant. It had the atmosphere of being at a carnival because of the vendors selling Obama calendars, cups, T-shirt and generally barking to get our attention.”

“It’s not as cold as the inside of our house,” she added.

Nantucket High School sophomore Evan Theroux and fellow NHS students Christopher Bell and Abergavenny Whiteford left for Washington on Saturday as part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference delegation.

“This experience will open my mind to the world of politics even more,” said Theroux. “I will understand its inner workings and the truth, not what the media says. Next election I will be way more active and by that date, I will be able to vote."

John Gardner, Nantucket High School class of 1997, is the finance director for the Democratic Party in North Carolina. Gardner drove the four hours from North Carolina to Washington yesterday to be at the inauguration.

Gardner is one of 240,000 people who will have a ticket to stand on the West Lawn to have a front row view of history in the making.

“The inauguration marks a new chapter in our nation's history. And with it comes a sense of a new beginning. Hope for the new administration and the possibilities of tomorrow,” said Gardner.

Yet, Gardner sends early reports this morning that the crowds are beginning to form.

“With the masses trying to get in our ticket line,” said Gardner. “Gates should be opening any minute. Stuck shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the intersection Indiana and 1st with thousands.”

Madaket summer resident and foreign policy advisor to President William Jefferson Clinton, Nancy Soderberg, traveled like a true islander and took the ferry to the inauguration.

“We found the best way to inaugural! The ferry from Alexandria. No traffic, great ferry, about size of fast ferry,” said Soderberg. “Hot coffee, too. As we boarded, the captain boasted we would have great views of the crowded bridges as we sail by.
“Having been in politics since 1983, I have never seen such excitement. Obama has managed to lift Americans more than any American in our history. Everyone is just happy and excited. Having had a front row seat in both of President Clinton's swearing ins, I thought I had seen the best. But, Obama is taking the country to levels that is surprising everyone... and making us all proud.”

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