Thank you very much, Mayor Smith, Senator John Tower, Mr. Conger, all of you wonderful people of Waco:
Let me express my appreciation for the opportunity to be here on this very historic occasion and to see so many friendly and hospitable faces. It's just a great occasion, despite this Michigan weather--not Texas weather.
But it's nice to be here. And I am very proud of the fact that you in this great community have taken this fantastic bridge that I read a bit about before I got here--completed in 1870, a tremendous engineering project over 100 years ago--and to see it as we drove up and to be here as we stand now, I think, is a tribute to your forefathers, their vision, their foresight to have something like this over this great river, the Brazos River.
But now, let me say I want to compliment every one of you, because by seeing the beauty of this bridge and preserving it for future generations, making it a part of this great complex, you're developing out here--Indian Center Park, is it?--I think this generation of leaders, this generation of citizens in Waco deserve also congratulations and commendation.
So, I thank you for the chance to be here. I thank you, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Conger. I'm deeply grateful. Good luck, and God bless every one of you.
Thank you very much.
Note: The President spoke at 4:45 p.m. after turning the ceremonial shovel which broke ground on the city's Bicentennial restoration project, involving Waco Bridge.
In his opening remarks, the President referred to Mayor M. A. Smith of Waco, Senator John G. Tower, chairman of the Texas President Ford Committee, and Roger Conger, chairman, Waco Bicentennial Commission.
Gerald R. Ford, Remarks at the Waco Suspension Bridge in Waco, Texas Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/257678
