Pauline Burch was more than a little surprised when she got the call from Narvell Peterson, asking her if she would do the honors of being the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Day Parade Marshal in Monday’s parade.

Graciously, she accepted, and it is clear from a conversation with her that she, of many people, is most grateful for how times have changed. Burch was a school teacher at Roosevelt Academy before racial integration started.