Locals made celebration a hometown affair

Our 44th president in his inaugural speech on Jan. 20 spoke of those "men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom." In our parochial view, he could have been speaking of a greater Sandpoint area that seemingly has an unending army of volunteers and champions of various causes.  

We wanted very much to share the inauguration live with friends and neighbors. We extended our hands, asking for help to make that happen and people grabbed our hands.  

David Blair of Northern Cable Television stepped up, donating the time and equipment to hook up the Panida. Bill Lewis and Karen Bowers of the Panida gave freely of their time and expertise in setting up the live showing of the inauguration. Chris Curtis of Sandpoint Computers donated the use of his projector; Laura Bry helped with advertising; Conor Christofferson of The Daily Bee squeezed in a story about the free, live showing of the inauguration before the paper went to press Monday night. Many others sent out e-mail chains to people telling them of the "last minute" event.

And, then, last but certainly not least, were the about 300 people who, because of their need for community and their desire to share themselves during this historic time, showed up at 8 a.m. and cheered and cried and clapped for two hours. They also donated about $325 to the Panida to help pay for heating that beautiful, old building.

As our 44th president, Barack H. Obama said today, "it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation (and all communities) relies."

CAROL CURTIS

STEPHEN DRINKARD  

Sandpoint