As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took their oaths of office in Washington, some in Limestone County celebrated what one called “the biggest thing since the satellite and sliced bread.”

Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States just before noon Wednesday, taking his oath on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Harris was sworn in as the nation’s first female vice president — as well as the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent — moments before him.

Wilbert Woodruff, president of the Limestone NAACP, said he watched the inauguration with his wife and grandson. Woodruff said he waved goodbye as footage of former President Donald Trump leaving for Florida played on the television that morning, and his family was “honored and proud” to see Biden and Harris take office hours later.

“We’re celebrating,” Woodruff said. “… It’s very good to know that we’ve got someone that’s caring about the whole country and not just the select few.”

Elsewhere in the county, Carolyn Williams was also celebrating. She, her nieces and her cousin joined women across the country in wearing pearls and Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, otherwise known as “Chucks,” part of Harris’ signature look.

At almost 70, Williams has experienced life during segregation. To be alive to watch the momentous transition, she said, “really gives us hope.”

“From the back of the bus to the White House,” she said.

“To see us coming together today gives me hope and lets me know that everybody doesn’t think the way those people did, because we see the multitude of people that were out and celebrating today,” Williams told The News Courier. “We had to do it on Facebook and different places, but we’re still happy. It’s just wonderful.”

For Hanu Kalapalem, an immigrant Indian American living in Limestone County, it was “an American dream come true” to see Harris become vice president. Kalapalem is also the chairman of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party, and he thanked everyone who helped make a successful, peaceful inauguration possible.

“This is the rebirth of a nation as a constitutional democracy with human values and human rights,” Kalapalem said. “This is the beginning of the restoration of our democracy and the soul of our nation.”

At the Athens Square, Ken Hines, chairman of the Limestone Democrats, celebrated the inauguration and his birthday by visiting the Limestone County Courthouse. Standing next to the statue of Judge James Horton, Hines played “Happy Days Are Here Again” on his trumpet.

“I am a Democrat because, presently, they best represent what I believe about the world I live in and the people I share it with,” Hines said. “Donald Trump was an anathema to all of that.”

He said the Biden inauguration was one of the best birthday presents he’s gotten, perhaps even more so given the events between Election Day and the inauguration. There were persistent, baseless claims of election fraud, longtime Trump supporters doubling down on or changing their views, and a Trump rally that preceded an attack on the U.S. Capitol in which five people died, including a U.S. Capitol police officer and an Athens man.

“I have spent 74 years losing and winning my causes at the polls and in Congress,” Hines said. “Never in all that time have I considered violently attacking the Congress to overturn an election or stop them from doing their business. I have spent years listening to politicians lie, but never until Trump have I heard one base his entire office on lies. I am overjoyed to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take office.”

Multiple musicians and artists also took the stage during the inauguration ceremony, including Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez performing the national anthem and Garth Brooks performing “Amazing Grace.” Amanda Gorman, who at age 22 became the youngest poet by far to perform at a presidential inauguration, recited a poem she’d written titled, “The Hill We Climb.”

“We, the successors of a country and time,

Where a skinny Black girl,

Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,

Can dream of becoming president,

Only to find herself reciting for one.”

Woodruff said it spoke volumes for the country to have a such a young, well-read woman reciting her work with all that she included in it.

“If Mr. Biden could have been overshadowed, she did it,” he said. “She did an excellent job. I was so proud of her.”

Gorman told the Associated Press last week that she would not specifically mention the Jan. 6 attack, but she did want to combine a message of hope without ignoring “the evidence of discord and division” in the country.

“We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated.”

Additional security measures were taken ahead of the inauguration to ensure a safe transition from one president to the next, including having 25,000 National Guard troops in Washington. AP reported a few scattered arrests and the removal of 12 National Guard members due to extremist statements. The extra security is expected to stay in town for at least a few more days, though as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, no serious disruptions had been reported.

Among the National Guard troops were 750 from Alabama, activated by Gov. Kay Ivey over the last week. Ivey tweeted congratulations to Biden and Harris after the inauguration Wednesday, saying that on behalf of Alabamians, she was committed to working with the new administration “for the good of our country.”