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For one Blowing Rock family, a trip to Washington, D.C. last week turned into an opportunity to witness a bit of American history.

Betsy Wilcox brought her grandchildren Abby Hedgecock, 14, and Walter Hedgecock, 12,  to the House of Representatives on Thursday, Oct. 29 in time to sit in the House gallery see the House vote on the nomination of Rep. Paul Ryan as the newest Speaker of the House. Ryan succeeds Rep. John Boehner who announced his resignation from the position last month.

“Seeing the induction of Speaker Paul Ryan was very exciting for myself and my grandchildren,” said Wilcox. “I had spoken to our congresswoman Virginia Foxx a few weeks prior and she agreed to give us a tour of the floor of the House of Representatives.

“We got there on Wednesday and when I called Virginia she said, “It looks like we're voting tomorrow on Paul Ryan's nomination for Speaker of the House.”

Wilcox stated that the process of voting for a new Speaker of the House took place first thing Thursday morning with a “roll call” style of voting.

“Each representative was called on to vote,” Wilcox said. “It took about an hour.”

Before the voting took place, Rep. Foxx gave Wilcox and her grandchildren a tour of the floor.

“Virginia Foxx was so gracious with her time,” said Wilcox. “You could see that she is very influential in Congress by the way she interacted and socialized with the other members.

“My granddaughter Abby was enthralled with the aisle leading up to the podium because she had seen President Obama walk up that aisle and the Pope walk up that aisle.

“We got to hear John Boehner give his farewell speech. It was both humorous and heartwarming. He told about how when he was growing up his family owned a bar. He jokingly held up a box of Kleenex because he is known for getting emotional during those types of speeches.

“It was a monumental experience for the children. Abby has always said that she would like to become a doctor, but after our trip to Congress, she said it was something she'd like to do.”

http://www.wataugademocrat.com/blowingrocket/blowing-rock-family-witnesses-history-in-d-c/article_3092b2e6-d3d0-5402-aa29-3a6062d82569.html