Cassondra Roane dragged her grandson out of McCaskey High School Thursday afternoon for a reason.
Supporters cheer for presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday after waiting hours in the heat f
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"It's good for him to see that you can be anything you want to become — you can do it!," she said minutes after she and Darrian Hilliard, a 15-year-old sophomore, had hung onto every word uttered by Sen. Barack Obama on a hot, late-summer afternoon atop the city's Buchanan Park.
"I want to push that on all my grandchildren," the Lancaster woman said. "You can do anything. We just heard a man who has."
Hope, the expectation of change and a sense of history in the making seemed central themes that drew a diverse crowd estimated by officials at around 15,000 to Obama's third stop in Lancaster this year, and his first since winning the Democratic nomination for president.
Strolling up to a packed security entrance was 78-year-old Jack Spiese, who had been at Obama's other two Lancaster stops — at Stevens College of Technology on March 31 and the Lancaster Amtrak Station on April 19. Spiese also was there when John F. Kennedy made his locally famous campaign speech in a packed Penn Square in 1960.
A Columbia resident and retired Temple University professor, Spiese was also at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 when Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech.
"Now a dream has become a hope," he mused, referring to a theme in Obama's campaign. "The man is just a straight shooter."
Later, he Spiese would lead the masses in a chant of O-B-A-M-A.
In contrast, with an air of equanimity, there was Warren Snyder, 85, of Lancaster. Sitting against a security fence, beside a chatty group of onlookers, the retired city resident wore a hat and brought a book, "Masters of the Air," to read as he waited for several hours for the presidential candidate to appear.
"I'm a registered Republican and just went to pick up my tickets to hear Sen. McCain next week," Snyder said. "I want to see both of them and hear what they're going to say. Well, I know what they're going to say," he said with a smile, "but I want to hear them say it."
At times, the event seemed like a rock concert — long lines, souvenir peddlers, pre-show chanting and a buzz of what was about to unfold.
There were signs, such as "Hockey Moms 4 Obama."
And like many big-name acts, not everyone got to see the star.
Obama's campaign is about accessibility to the masses, but an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people who braved a searing sun and long wait did not get to see the presidential candidate, instead settling for listening to his words drift down to them from afar.
Lines to get through security gates with full-body scans began backing up hours before Obama's speech.
When Obama's campaign bus arrived at the Buchanan Avenue entrance, a line still stretched from the top of Buchanan Park, through a part of the Franklin & Marshall campus, down Race Avenue and onto Buchanan Avenue.
Obama noticed and was visibly concerned, reports Mayor Richard Gray, who greeted the candidate.
"The first thing he said to organizers was, 'Why are all those people outside?'" Gray said.
The candidate then elected to delay his talk for almost 30 minutes to allow more people to get in. He chatted with the welcoming group, signed autographs, reviewed papers and talked on a cell phone, Gray said.
When Gray was contacted by campaign organizers Wednesday, and was told that 3,000 to 4,000 people were expected to show up, the mayor said he immediately sensed there would be a logistical problem.
"They obviously underestimated the appeal of Obama to the people of Lancaster," Gray said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't have a place where more people could get in."
Also unfortunate, he said, was that the four security gates, controlled by a private security contractor, didn't open hours earlier than they did.
"We feel disappointed for the people who didn't get in," Gray said. "On the other hand, we are elated at the number of people who showed up. It says a lot about the popularity of Senator Obama in central Pennsylvania."
Shortly before 3 p.m., several people who had been waiting in line gave up and made their way to the snow fences near the top of the ridge — figuring if they couldn't see Obama, they'd at least be able to hear him better.
"I'm an Obama supporter," Mike Clark, 49, of Lancaster, said, "I'm not registered to vote, but I support him,"
The 90-degree heat sent many scurrying for refuge under the few trees in the seating area. Fire company officials at the event reported a few heat-related incidents. One person was transported to a hospital.
Among the early arrivals was Hillary Clinton supporter Marie Suydam, 67, of East Petersburg. After her favorite lost in the primary, she said she was undecided for a while but is now supporting Obama because "McCain is just a grumpy old man."
Donna Lindsey of Lancaster was determined for her second-grade son, Johnny, to see the man who may lead their country. She'll try to take him to see John McCain on Tuesday when the Republican presidential nominee speaks in Lancaster.
"It's a great opportunity for a child," mom said. She's tried to expose her son to the import of a presidential race on TV.
"I only watch the Disney Channel," the unimpressed Lancaster Country Day School student replied, showing more interest in the sunglassed Secret Service agents than anything else.
"I think if he sees him in person, it really shows the impact," mom said hopefully.
Staff writer Ad Crable can be reached at acrable@LNPnews.com or 481-6029.
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