St. Lawrence County residents returned from the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday feeling empowered, fired up, and ready for action.

“I'm finding it hard today to find words to describe the passion, exhilaration, and solidarity we felt yesterday,” said Carol Pynchon, organizer of three buses that took more than 150 residents from Canton.

The march “was truly an unforgettable experience,” said Potsdam High School senior Jillian Todd, who organized a group of nine Potsdam and Canton students who attended. “The atmosphere at the march was very positive and hopeful. There was a strong feeling of unity as we came together with a common goal.”

[img_assist|nid=190015|title=Pat and Greg Snider ready for the march. Photo submitted by Sandy Steinberg.|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=250|height=326]“We got to hear and see amazing speakers, and we all felt it changed our lives,” said April Barnes, a Potsdam Central High School social studies teacher and student chaperone.

“The camaraderie was delightful,” said Sandy Steinberg, one of those traveling on the buses. “People were friendly, though crushed together and often unable to move at the march.”

The event drew an estimated half million people and was designed to focus on women’s health and family issues in light of the election of Pres. Donald J. Trump.

Pynchon helped organize the Canton group as a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church Social Action Committee.

“I am deeply concerned about Donald Trump and the positions and priorities of his administration. Turns out - I'm in good company,” she said Sunday.

“And that company is fired up and ready for action, as we chanted a number of times yesterday. I am encouraged and feel more hope after yesterday. We have work to do, and for many of us that needs to begin locally.”

The Canton group was hosted by members of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. They provided shelter, food, and Metro tickets.

The Potsdam and Canton high school girls arrived in front of the Capitol six hours before the rally started. As a result, they were able to get close enough to the stage to hear and see the many speakers.

“The many speakers definitely empowered our local girls,” Barnes said. Listening to her students “talk about the speakers, singers, and the Women’s March movement was inspiring to us, the teacher chaperones.”

In addition to Todd, the students included Emma Bentley-Hicks, Lauren Lucht, Grace Bessette, Madison Gray, Ellie Schonberg, Mary Chisolm, Emma Kroll and Lauryn Knowlden. Other chaperones were Potsdam social studies teacher Val Chiarenzelli and music teacher Tammy Madeja.

The students stayed with friends and traveled into the city by Uber, rather than the Metro which was overloaded, according to media reports. They arrived at the rally by 8 a.m. Saturday.

Many others who traveled from Canton were not so lucky. “I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get near the speakers. Nor could we tell what was happening when/where, but the camaraderie was delightful,” said Steinberg.

Steinberg noted many on the Canton buses wore buttons that read, “We Are June’s People” as a tribute to June Peoples of Pierrepont, who helped organize the trip. Peoples was stuck and killed Dec. 1 in Canton by a vehicle while attempting to catch two dogs that were loose in the roadway.

Potsdam student Todd came up with her idea to organize the trip for her fellow students as a senior project because she wanted to promote “civic engagement in girls my age because I feel it is so important we have a say in what our future looks like.”

She said organizing the trip was “the greatest learning experience of my life.”

Todd continued, “I am just so thankful to have been able to be a part of this monumental event and now a part of this movement.”

According to the Women’s March on Washington website, the event was designed “to stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families - recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”

[img_assist|nid=190012|title=An estimated half million people at the Women’s March on Washington at the Capitol. Photo submitted by Sandy Steinberg.|desc=|link=none|align=middle|width=470|height=353]