Jim Sweeney of Reisterstown still remembers the day exactly 60 years ago when President Harry S. Truman came to Anne Arundel County to dedicate the new Friendship International Airport, now known to us as BWI. I'll pass along his memories in a a very lightly edited form:

my name is jim sweeney, me and several of my friends rode our bikes from brooklyn, we were all twelve yrs. old.we arrived before the president and stood by our bikes right up front next to a roped off area. after a couple of minutes two big black car arrived and trunk of one was opened and a speakers podium removed and set up right in front of me. the president spoke a very short time and when finished came up to me and (shook) my hand. we talked and i told him that I was a paperboy and he said that he had been also. he then asked if he could ride my bike. he rode it out about fifty feet and circled back and thanked me for the bike ride.

there were very few people to hear the president. i believe there were as many people behind the president as in front. times were very different.

Sweeney also recalled that  "security that day was not more than 4 or 5 people including the drivers. the world has changed -- not for the better."