Inquirer staff writer Zoe Tillman reports:

2:07 p.m.

Paul Coyle, 61, from Ambler, drove in with his family on Saturday. After several hours standing in the cold near the Washington Monument, he and his family headed back to their hotel to watch the parade on TV.
“We’re going to quit while we’re ahead,” he said.

Coyle called President Obama’s inaugural address “heartfelt and inspiring.”
Unlike many others, Coyle was able to find cell phone service to call friends and family. “I called a brother in Colorado but he didn’t believe we were here,” he said.

Coyle and his family plan to bring home plenty of souvenirs.
The mall is lined with vendors selling Obama T-shirts, bracelets, buttons and posters. Many were also doing a brisk business in American flags and hand warmers.

“Selling gets me engaged. I feel like I’m more a part of it,” said Todd Georgelas, 36, who was selling handwarmers

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Inquirer staff writer Joelle Farrell reports:

2:05 p.m.

In Delaware County, 100 second and third grade students from the Widener Partnership Charter School gathered with about 100 university faculty and staff to watch the inauguration on a large movie projector screen in Lathem Hall, formerly a church.

Some of the elementary school students dozed off, while others squirmed in their chairs, their feet swinging. Others tried to ignore the distractions around them, taking in a moment they have been told was something to remember.

College students and faculty who gathered were mostly solemn, some leaning forward in their chairs, their hands holding up their chins, hanging on every word Obama uttered. Some were so mesmerized that they sat still, watching the screen, as others in the room clapped along with the crowd in D.C..

Afterwards, Annette Anderson, 37, an African American and the principal of the charter school, choked up while explaining how it felt to watch Obama’s inauguration.

“To think that our children now have a president who says we are all Americans,” she said. “From the Freedom Riders and those who marched …. All the people that were hosed in the South and discriminated against in the north,” now African American children “will have opportunities that even I didn’t have.”

Jazsmine Jackson, 8, a third-grade student from Upland, said she was glad to see so many people in Washington cheering for Obama.

“Barack Obama is going to be president and he is going to change things,” she said. “He’s an interesting man.”

Jackson, whose mother is a soldier serving in Kuwait, said she is proud that Obama mentioned the soldiers deployed overseas. She said she hopes her mother can help children in other parts of the world.

“I think that one day, they’ll have the same freedom,” she said.

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Inquirer staff reporter Kathy Boccella reports:

12:40 p.m.

As Obama took the oath of office friends, Pam Komm and Terri Thompson clutched each other tightly. One white, one black, both emotional. “I never thought the day would come,” said Komm, 57 of Coatesville as tears streamed down her face. “It’s hope personified,” said Thompson, 50 of Coatesville.

“I had ancestors in the struggle and they were subjected to discrimination and oppression. I would have loved my parents to be here to witness this but they’re deceased. They’re in the good seats.” The friends were among those watching the inauguration at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

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Inquirer staff writer Kathy Boccella reports:

As the motorcade worked its way to the Capitol, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute switched channels -- from Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer on ABC to PBS.

Instead of showing the scene in Washington, PBS went with Jim Leherer asking a historian which word best described the day, "historic or extraordinary."

After a few boos from the audience, the Institute switched back to ABC, to the crowd's approval.

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Inquirer staff writer Kathy Boccella reports:

Watching the festivities at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, when Michelle Obama and Laura Bush walked out of the White House en route to the capitol, the crowd politely clapped.

A few minutes later, when President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush emerged, they erupted into loud applause and cheers.

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Inquirer staff writer Kathy Boccella reports:

About two dozen people galthered at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to watch Inauguration coverage on the big screen there.

"It seemed like a fun thing to do, to be with a large group of people rather than being alone watching it on TV, and much warmer than standing in Washington, DC,' said self-employed architect Karen Ramsey, of Wynnewood, who took the day off to be with her sister and friend.

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Michael Vitez reports:

When CNN declared Obama the president at 11 o’clock, the 150 people at the Camden County Democratic headquarters in Cherry Hill who had been there waiting for the count went into a roar.

Norwood Allen, 65, of Camden, broke into open sobs.

“It’s just a wonderful thing to see things turn around in your lifetime. To see people come together,” Allen said.

Augusta Hughes, 53, of Sicklerville, has an MBA from LaSalle University and had worked in marketing for various pharmaceutical companies in 15 years before losing her job in April. Since then, she has been cleaning houses since while looking for work. Her husband lost his job at a Volvo dealership in Berwyn three weeks ago.

When the declaration came, she danced across the room, jumping, screaming, doing a beautiful interpretation of a Mummers strut. She also cried.

“I’ve been looking for work for six long months. We need change,” she said. “We have to help Barack Obama become the president we need him to be.”

Cheryl Caldrone, 51, from Sicklerville, also broke into tears. “I hope I don’t pass out. I never thought I would see an African American president.”

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Dan Hardy and Martha Woodall report:

Voters were still waiting in line at 9 p.m. at 12th and Susquehanna in Philadelphia and near Lincoln University in Chester County.

About 150 people waited in line in Lower Oxford Township’s east precinct, about a mile from Lincoln, which was plagued with problems all day.

Kathy Bojanowski, who works the night shift at A.I. DuPont Hospital in Delaware, gave up about 8:45 p.m.

“If I knew I could have voted in an hour or two, I would have been OK,” she said. “It’s a shame. This is wrong with the technologies we have. My daughter voted early in North Carolina. They have to do something different.”

About 100 voters went to the other precinct in Lower Oxford Township and voted by provisional ballot.

Near Temple, voters still in line at 8 p.m. were ushered inside the building, and doors were locked. Voting finished about 9:30 p.m. State law guarantees that anyone in line by 8 p.m. will be given the opportunity to vote.

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Kristen Graham reports:

6:35 p.m.

Speaking to reporters at an early evening news conference, Gov. Rendell predicted a historic turnout in Pennsylvania.

“We’ll break turnout levels of Kennedy-Nixon, I think, and that was the highest in relatively modern times,” Rendell said. “I’ve been at this 31 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a good day for America. We should be very proud.”

Rendell said by 5 p.m., there were very few election complaints lodged in the state – fewer than 1,300 of about 60,000 nationwide, he said. He predicted that fewer than 10,000 emergency ballots would be needed across the state.

The worst election scam he’d heard of, the governor said, was a text message that went out to some voters leading them to believe that if they pulled the straight Democratic ticket, they also needed to check Obama’s column. In fact, doing so would void a vote for Obama.

“That was a dirty trick of sorts,” Rendell said. “Lord knows who did that.”

Although Obama’s race lost him some votes, Rendell said, the faltering economy shored up Obama’s campaign.

“Some people will vote against John McCain because they think he’s too old,” the governor said. “Some people voted against me because I’m from Philadelphia. Some people vote on preconceived notions.”

The youth vote is impressive, Rendell said – by 5 p.m., voting places at the University of Pennsylvania were already reporting 70 percent turnout. Across the state, in Indiana County, polling places at Indiana University of Pennsylvania had 80 percent turnout by 5 p.m.

“Young people clearly stepped it up,” Rendell said, adding that youth turnout may stay the same as it was four years ago, since overall voter numbers rose as well.

Looking fatigued after long days of campaigning for the Obama-Biden ticket, Rendell waxed nostalgic about the suspense and ritual of Election Day. When the next president is elected, in 2012, Rendell will be out of office.

“This is probably my last major campaign,” Rendell said. “I’ll miss it.”

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