They came to see history.

For friends Lena Wilke and Carolyn Kidd, the time clock started ticking at 10 minutes after 3 p.m. today. The women, and Kidd’s four grandchildren, were the first to step in line to see Bill Clinton.

The former president is campaigning on behalf of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president. That campaign is bringing him to North Bend Middle School. And there the women and children waited as a crowd began to assemble.

“I think bringing grandchildren or children to something like this might make them want to vote later,” said Kidd, who lives in North Bend.

The 65-year-old said she is an independent who leans Republican, but she didn’t want to miss tonight’s event.

“It’s a little bit of history in town,” she said.

But politics haven’t split these friends.

Wilke, who’s 75 and lives in Coos Bay, is a fan of Bill Clinton.

“I love Bill Clinton. I think he’s one of the best presidents we ever had. ... I think Hillary might be following in his tracks,” she said. “I think she could do things for the country like Bill did.”

And the crowd continued to build.

The doors opened at 6:40 p.m. North Bend High School Jazz Band members began to entertain the crowd.

Trumpet player Travis Berrian was excited. But more, he has something in common with the former president. The 17-year-old senior also has his own political resume. He has participated in American Legion’s Boys Nation and traveled to Washington, D.C., last summer through the program where students learn about government.

Clinton, too, was in Boys Nation and Berrian talked about how much he likes the famous 1963 photo of Clinton meeting former President John F. Kennedy through the organization.

“I thought that was just really cool that he went to Boys Nation and I got to go 44 years later,” Berrian said.

While the band played, people stood in line.

At 6:55 p.m., an announcer told the assembling crowd Clinton’s plane was on approach to the airport in North Bend.

At 7 p.m., a head count down the line, and down the street, showed there were 900 people waiting in line, starting at the front door of North Bend Middle School and winding almost all the way to the intersection of E and Ohio streets.

Officers from North Bend and Coos Bay’s police departments, along with Oregon State Police troopers, were watching the crowd indoors and out.

North Bend officer Jerry Merritt said everything was going smoothly, but they were watching for people who might create disturbances.

“If it creates alarm then we get to escort them out,” he said.

Jakub Klappholz, an 8-year-old Glasgow resident, was settled into the bleachers with his grandmother, Catherine Hockman, of Coos Bay. Hockman said she brought Jakub because he told her this week that he wants to vote for Hillary Clinton.

“She cares about children,” Jakub explained.

“I want him to see President Clinton because (yesterday morning) he said he wants to vote for Hillary,” Hockman said, as they traded comments.

“I was excited. I was going to experience something for the first time in my life. I’ve never seen a real president,” he added.

“This is history in the making,” his grandma said.

Not too long after, at 7:35 p.m., word went out that Clinton’s motorcade was approaching.