Local contingent among vast crowd
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It promised to be a long day, but not even a pre-dawn wake up Saturday could dampen the enthusiasm for the Women's March on Washington in Washington, D.C.
"I could hardly sleep last night," said a woman from Williamsport who asked not to be named. "I think I woke up before my alarm even went off."
All over the Williamsport area, nearly 150 people -- mostly women, but with a healthy dose of men, children and at least one
baby -- awoke before the sun rose to meet at 4 a.m. at the Lycoming Mall to board three charter buses heading for the march, a gathering that began as a mere suggestion on Facebook in the days immediately following the Nov. 8 election and soon swelled into a movement encompassing hundreds of thousands of people across the United States.
The march in part was established as a protest against the divisive rhetoric espoused by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail but eventually morphed into a large-scale rally that unified a wide range of causes, from women's rights to the impending repeal of the Affordable Care Act, child care and paid parental leave, environmental causes, immigration, LGBTQ rights and many more.
"It's time to get nasty," said Sarah Billman, who drove from Mill Hall to ride from Williamsport to Washington, referencing Trump's assertion during his second debate with Hillary Clinton that she was a "nasty woman" -- something that has become a rallying cry and a point of pride for Clinton supporters and others.
Billman was one of many on the buses who expressed their pleasant surprise at so many people from the Williamsport area, a heavily conservative part of Pennsylvania, eager to take part in the march.
"I was so excited to see something being done locally that tied into a much broader focus," she said. "It was a great idea to organize buses from here."
The buses that departed from Williamsport were among more than 1,800 that parked at RFK Stadium just outside of Washington. It was a 2-mile walk from there to the gathering site of the march, with thousands of people walking through the Capitol Hill neighborhood toward the heart of Washington. The crowds chanted, sang and waved their signs as they made their way.
It took an additional hour to make it to the official gathering site of the march at Independence Avenue and Third Street SW, where the crowd of hundreds of thousands stretched back to the National Mall, a half-mile away, and beyond. Chants erupted every few minutes, including "This is what democracy looks like" and "My body, my choice," and nearly everyone carried a sign -- from funny to serious -- expressing thousands of causes or opinions on the new administration. Parents carrying babies and children stood shoulder-to-shoulder with people in wheelchairs or using walkers.
The march officially began around 10:30 a.m. as dozens of speakers began taking the stage one after another. Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys made a surprise appearance, as did pop icon Madonna. The march route was supposed to be from the gathering point to the Washington Monument and end only blocks from the White House, but the crowds were so massive -- estimates early Sunday put the number at more than 500,000 -- that they couldn't be contained to the route.
The day's activities wrapped up around 5 p.m., but it wasn't until 7 that the buses were back on the road and heading for home. The return trip was a moment of reflection, especially for those who hadn't expected the kind of turnout from a conservative area such as central Pennsylvania.
Glenda Heyd, of Montoursville, who created the Women's March on Washington Williamsport Facebook page and was the driving force behind getting people from the area to the march, was especially happy with the local turnout, even as she looked to the future of the administration and what she expected from the new president.
"I was very proud and relieved that I wasn't the only one who felt this way about the new administration," she said. "I don't expect President Trump to listen to us, but our congressmen and senators better."