Locals have ties to Bush's inauguration
By J.D. Walker
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ARCHDALE - From art to parades to the photographic record, Randolph and
Montgomery counties will be well represented in the 2005 inaugural activities
in Washington this week.
State Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph/Montgomery, picked up a hand-crafted
quilt from the students of Archdale Elementary School Tuesday. The quilt,
made from patches designed and sewn by individual classes, will be on display
at the N.C. Society of Washington ball to be held tonight.
The society is the oldest state society in the nation's capital. Founded
in 1896, it brings North Carolinians living in Washington, D.C., together
to strengthen their interest in their state.
Mary Elizabeth Tillman, a staffer in U.S. Rep. Howard Coble's office,
was on the society committee charged with coming up with a display for the
ball.
Tillman is the state senator's daughter. She said when the topic came
up, she knew exactly where to turn. Her mother, Marian Tillman, was once
the librarian at Archdale Elementary.
"I called Principal Candace Call just before Christmas and asked
if she could help," said Mary Elizabeth Tillman.
She said the response from Call, the staff and the students at the elementary
school was tremendous. In no time at all, the students quickly completed
their assigned stitchery.
The patches were sewn together by Archdale Elementary families.
Sen. Tillman's assignment is to get the quilt to Washington in time for
tonight's ball.
After the inauguration ceremonies, the quilt will be keep at Coble's
office until the society determines its future.
Montgomery County will be proudly represented by a local West Point cadet.
April Furr, daughter of Nelson and Teresa Furr of Candor, was chosen
as one of 81 cadets to represent the U.S. Military Academy as the first
marching element in the inaugural parade.
"I'm really excited," Furr said in a telephone interview from
West Point just hours before leaving for Washington on Tuesday.
Furr, 20, is in her second year at West Point. She and the other members
of the marching unit were chosen after tryouts in marching and drills and
uniform inspections.
Furr said they will be housed at Annapolis, the U.S. Naval Academy, and
spend Wednesday going through dress rehearsals for the parade. Immediately
after the parade, they will return to West Point.
"We are being allowed to miss two days of classes, which is almost
unheard of here," Furr said, "but we are all so excited about
representing West Point at the inauguration."
Furr graduated as valedictorian of the Class of 2001 from East Montgomery
High School (EMHS) in Biscoe and attended University of North Carolina at
Wilmington for two years before her appointment to West Point.
"I feel like this is where I need to be and I do plan a military
career," she said. "I love everything about being here (at West
Point)."
At EMHS, Furr was active in extracurricular activities and was on the
tennis team all four years. At West Point, she is a member of the pistol
team. The national competition takes her to Ft. Benning, Ga., every spring
break, so she gets home only a couple of times a semester.
"But, the pistol team is my saving grace here. I love the competition
and it keeps me focused," she said.
Competition for grades is also a part of West Point because, Furr said,
everyone there was at the top of their high school class.
To record a portion of this year's inaugural celebrations for posterity,
two Randolph Community College (RCC) students have been tapped.
Photography majors Danny Morganelli and John Rolland - who recently completed
internships at the Smithsonian Institution - have been asked to use their
skills to help document the 55th presidential inauguration.
The students made a strong impression on Smithsonian managers during
their internship from October-December last year. They were selected from
more than 750 interns retained annually by the Institution.
In addition to their photography skills, Richard Strauss, the Smithsonian's
chief of branch, photography services, was struck by the pair's work ethic.
"We have always been impressed with RCC's students over the years,
so we knew what we were getting," said Strauss. "What really stood
out about these two was their work ethic. They are self-starters with mature
attitudes. When they weren't taking photographs, they always used their
down time to maintain the studio and work areas."
RCC's students have interned at the Smithsonian for more than 20 years.
Photographing the event is an honor bestowed even less often than the
presidential inauguration itself. In the Smithsonian's 159-year history,
fewer than four student interns have been asked to assist with this most
auspicious of governmental ceremonies.
Morganelli and Rolland are expected to cover the Inaugural parade, shooting
the equivalent of as many as 10 rolls of film on sophisticated digital cameras.
Photos taken during the event will be placed in the Smithsonian archives
and made available to the Inauguration Committee for a book on the event.
Copies of the photos will be sent to the Supreme Court and both Houses of
Congress.
The photos will also be used in Smithsonian exhibits and can be viewed
in the near future with other documentary photographs. Smithsonian documentary
photographs of past presidential inaugurations may be found on the Internet
at: <http://photo2.si.edu/inaugural/inau_top/inaugural.html>.
The official web site of the 55th presidential inauguration is <www.inaugural05.com/>.
***
Staff reporter Mary Anderson and Chuck Egerton, RCC Instructor of Photographic
Technology, also contributed to this story.
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
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