House begins its goodbyes…

House Speaker Lawerence Denney invited all those who will be leaving the House after this year to assemble in the well in front of him; with the huge crowd standing there, he then banged his gavel and asked loudly, “Haven’t you learned anything?” House rules forbid walking into the well when the House is in session. Amid laughter, the big group of departing representatives then posed for pictures.

“The last two or three years have been particularly hard for all of us,” Denney told them. “Those of you who are retiring, congratulations. I think retirement is not bad. Those of you who are going to the Senate, I don’t know what happened to you.” Amid more laughter, he said, “But again, we do appreciate the association we’ve had.”