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Some people in the crowd said they had not made their minds up and wanted to hear what Clinton had to say. Others said they had decided to vote for her opponent, Barrack Obama, but wanted to see a national-level political figure.
"I just wanted to see her and to get a first-hand impression," said Sara Legg of Logan County. She said she was surprised when she heard the Clinton
campaign would be coming to Logan.
"When Bill Clinton went to Madison and Williamson, I e-mailed Rob Johnson of WSAZ and inquired if her campaign would come here," she said.
David Lovejoy of Chapmanville said he came to see Hillary.
"I think it's time for a woman or an African-American to be president," Lovejoy said, adding that he would be voting for Clinton on election day because "she has more experience in healthcare and foreign issues."
Lovejoy said he believes Obama might be the man to beat in about eight years.
Logan County Commission President Art Kirkendoll was the first speaker of the day.
"For a lot of people this day is history,” Kirkendoll said, adding, "down through the years, Logan County has been an important stop for a lot of presidential campaigns."
Kirkendoll said the position of President of the United States is important and that the candidate who would be arriving believed that every vote counted.
"When you watch the media, they try to tell you the outcome ahead of time," Kirkendoll said, noting the election process was "not over yet."
"Why quit?" he asked.
Kirkendoll boldly predicted a 70-point win for Clinton "before marching on through Kentucky."
Kirkendoll asked the community to give Clinton "a tremendous Logan County Welcome."
Margaret Davis and a member of the Logan High Band won chances to meet Clinton in a cell phone text-messaging contest.
At 3:13 p.m. the podium was set for Clinton who arrived around 3:25 p.m. with more television cameras in tow. She was introduced by West Virginia Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, who recalled his own memories of other presidential candidates who came to town in his youth.
Tomblin pointed to John F. Kennedy's historic visit saying, "and low and behold, he won."
Several locals took part in the event. The Logan High cheerleaders performed and the Logan High Band played to entertain the crowd. Amy Mareske and Connor Akers gave the Pledge of Allegiance and Ashley Carroll
sang the Star-Spangled Banner.
Ragland resident Ashley Justice and her younger sister, Abigail, drove 45 minutes to see Clinton.
“I feel that when someone of that stature comes to our local area, it’s worth the 45-minute drive to come and see her,” Ashley Justice said as she and her sister bought Hillary Clinton badges. “Yeah, I’m going to vote for Hillary. I think she still has a shot. I think we need to take into account how driven she is in her campaign and know that she could be that driven for our country as president.”
Justice said the working people of West Virginia can relate to Clinton’s struggle to stay alive in the election.
“Look at our coal miners and how far they¹ve come over the past 100 years. Even though the economy is sometimes bad here, we continue to live
and try to prosper,” Justice said.
-Reprinted with permission by J.D. Charles and Michael Browning, The Logan Banner
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