First Lady has lunch at Winston Elementary
History was made for Edgewood school district on October 12, 1984, when First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Winston Elementary School, the seventh elementary school she has visited in the United States as first lady.
Mrs. Reagan was on San Antonio to focus attention on her personal war on drug abuse.
Mrs. Reagan arrived promptly at 9:40 in the morning and was greeted by applause and cheers form the school's 677 students and teachers who were assembled in the schools yard behind a roped off area.
Mrs. Naomi Brown, the schools' principal, was the first to greet Mrs. Reagan as the First Lady stepped from her limousine. Mrs. Brown presented Mrs. Reagan with bouquet of "yellow roses of Texas'.
Although not part of the arranged agenda, Mrs. Reagan walked over to the assembled students and spoke with a few of them and shook hands.
The First Lady ten preceded to a private meeting in the principal office where officials of the Texas war on drugs spoke to Mrs. Reagan on the problem of drugs and specifically inhalant abuse in San Antonio.
After the meeting, Mrs. Reagan was escorted to the school cafeteria where a program was presented and she learned first hand of the problem and dangers of inhalant abuse in san Antonio area.
Three teenagers from the Nos Otros program in San Antonio and who were not from Edgewood spoke with the First Lady and told of their personal struggle to stop taking inhalants. Each said that he had conquered his struggle and was personally congratulated by Mrs. Reagan for turning his life around.
After the presentations, Mrs. Reagan went to the school library for a private VIP recognition.
The ten minutes for the reception was enough time for school officials to bring the entire Winston fifth grade, so students would have lunch with the First Lady.
When Mrs. Reagan arrived again in the school cafeteria most students had already sat down and were waiting to being their lunch with their special guest. Mrs. Reagan had a special escort of six fifth graders who took the First Lady though the cafeteria line.
The menu for all Edgewood schools that day was pizza, tossed salad, buttered mixed vegetables, banana twins, milk, and ice cream sandwich.
Mrs. Reagan seemed to enjoy the company of her hoists as she and students chatted on a variety of topics.
She and the students didn't seem to mind that media from all over the country (and even from Australia) was watching their every bite.
At 12:10 a Secret Service man approached Mrs. Reagan and told her that it was time to leave. At that point she asked, "Can I finish my milk?' Mrs. Reagan ate all the food on her tray.
As she got up leave, the fifth graders applauded her one more time.
As the Secret Service escorted her to the waiting limousine outside, other Winston students watched her departure from their classroom windows. The children had been watching the entire proceeding on Edgewood's closed circuit television in their classrooms, which was broadcast by the schools districts media center.
Mrs. Reagan immediately went to the children and waved to the youngsters who were in the first and second floor of the building,
The goodbyes lasted briefly and before long Mrs. Reagan departed the campus amid more cheers and applause.
The almost two and half hours spent at Winston was a historic moment for the school children, a couple of hours with living history.
There are only seven schools in this nation that can make claim they were visited by the first lady.
Winston elementary and October 12, 1984 are now a footnote in American history.