Lewiston residents Barbara Alberda and her daughter Amanda, a senior at Boston College, high-five in front of the “Hopeful” sign displayed on the Main Street side of Bates Mill No. 5 in Lewiston. Their video was shown Wednesday evening during the nationally televised “Celebrating America” as part of the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
LEWISTON — Near the end of the 90-minute inauguration special Wednesday, a brief clip of two women in front of the the city’s “Hopeful” sign caught the attention of many in Maine.
Lewiston residents Barbara Alberda and her daughter Amanda, a senior at Boston College, were shown high-fiving each other while holding a hand-printed sign that said, “Together We Accomplish More.”
Behind them was artist Charlie Hewitt’s “Hopeful” sign on the side of Bates Mill No. 5 on Main Street.
“It’s really pretty cool” that the picture ended up in the video presentation, Barbara Alberda said late Wednesday.
She said a friend of her daughter asked if she could come up with a quick video from Maine that might be used in the inaugural video for Joe Biden.
“We need something from Maine” for it, her daughter was told.
So the two thought about what they could do, considering Great Falls on the Androscoggin river and other options until Amanda Alberda, a 21-year political science major, realized the “Hopeful” sign would be perfect.
They got a neighbor to capture them in front of it and send the short video off.
Barbara Alberda said it was “a lot of fun” to see the image in the national broadcast hosted by actor Tom Hanks.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.