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Posted: January 18, 2005 A brisk but sunny Saturday morning paved the way for hundreds of persons who turned out to participate in, or to watch, the 2005 Martin Luther King, Jr. parade, Saturday, January 15, Downtown Avenue K. (For parade photos, click here.) “I come down every year to view the parade and pay my respects to Dr. King,” said 69-year old Bessie Evens. “This is the best weather we’ve had in several years, and it sure makes sitting here a lot easier.” While children waved at friends and danced to the melodies of two outstanding parade bands, Ms. Evans reflected on the day she found out Dr. King had been assassinated at a Memphis hotel. “I lived in rural Ohio and Dr. King had been around for a long time before I ever heard about him,” she said. “Then, he made that speech in Washington and suddenly everyone seemed to be talking about him on the news, good and bad. It was my daughter who told me he had been killed and later my cousin, who lived in St. Louis, told me the man who killed him had family still up there near her. “ While most persons in the parade were too young to have lived during Dr. King’s lifetime, it was evident his message of unity and brotherhood was ageless. The 2005 parade, and community events throughout this week have celebrated his life and legacy and have continued to open doors of communication and dialogue between persons of all races and ages. The “MLK 2005 Celebration” concludes with a free public event on Thursday, January 20, Plano Centre, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, 7:00 p.m., when the Plano Independent School District celebrates “Many Nations, One Community,” a multi-cultural presentation and musical and awards event, featuring hundreds of students and a spectacular costumed “parade of nations.”