ELSINBORO TWP. -- A witness to history.

If anyone can claim that title, it's B. Harold Smick Jr., who embarks for the 19th time this week to witness a presidential inauguration on the steps of the U.S Capitol.

"I love history and this is part of history," said Smick of being able to witness Donald J. Trump take the oath of office as America's 45th president on Friday.

A Democrat from Salem County, Smick, 91, has seen presidents from both parties take their oath of office.

"It's a real thrill to know you are there participating in such a historic moment."

It was on Jan. 20, 1941 when, as a teenager, Smick traveled with his father and other members of the local Democrat Party on a smoke-filled bus from Salem County to Washington see Franklin Delano Roosevelt begin his third term.

At 15, Smick was the only child aboard. He asked his father, who would later serve as a county freeholder, if he could strike out on his own in the capital and his father agreed.

Smick stood among the thousands who witnessed FDR be sworn in and speak. After the ceremony, Smick recalls how he made his way up to the inaugural platform and stood behind the podium where FDR spoke.

Part of that podium was covered with a green felt-like cloth. Part of it was loose and Smick got his first inaugural souvenir.

Over the next decades Smick would always be in Washington on Inauguration Day and each year he brings a bit of history home with him from photos and programs to tickets, buttons and even a Barack Obama candy bar he purchased in 2013. .

Each inauguration had its own special moments. Smick recalls John F. Kennedy's stirring words he delivered on the bitter cold day he took office. He almost missed the event by nearly becoming stranded in rural Virginia the night before by a massive snowstorm.

Over the years there were inaugural balls, concerts and parades that he experienced.

"We never missed them," he said from his Elsinboro home on Wednesday, recalling how he traveled with his late wife, Claire, and often spent several days in the capital.

At some of those balls he not only saw the presidents and vice presidents, but often got the shake their hands.

This Friday, his daughter, Barbara Smick Peterson, will travel with him by train to Washington.

Smick says in Trump's inaugural address Friday, he's looking forward to seeing what the new president plans to do to heal the divided nation.

"I'm hoping he's going to say what he plans to do to unite the country better what we are today," Smick said.

As for Trump's sometimes controversial views, Smick says the president-elect should be given an opportunity to prove himself.

"He should be given a chance. He may stumble, but every other president has stumbled sometime in their term," Smick said. "We've all done that."

"The more I think about it, the more I pray that he's going to be very successful. I'm rooting for him. He's an unusual person."

As chairman of the board of his family business, 110-year-old Smick Lumber in Quinton Township, Smick says he believes if Trump does well as president it will bode well for America and small businesses such as his own.

While the swearing-in of Trump will mark Smick's 19th trip to the capital for an inauguration, it will be the 18th time he has actually witnessed a president take their oath in person.

It was so cold on Jan. 21, 1985 that the outdoor ceremonies for President Ronald Reagan's inauguration were canceled at the last minute and Reagan took his oath indoors. Smick watched the ceremony from a television in his D.C. hotel room.

And as FDR began his fourth term on Jan. 20, 1945, he took his oath of office at the White House in a non-public ceremony.

After President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2013, Smick put a request in to U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo's office to secure tickets for 2017. He was among the more than 1,000 requests and only 270 tickets given out by LoBiondo's 2nd District office.

A spokesman for LoBiondo said the congressman promised as long as he is in office Smick will receive tickets.

He is still asked which has been is favorite inauguration.

"My answer always has been that 'each one gets better'," he says.

Smick said he plans on being in Washington in 2021 for the next inauguration when he's 95.

"That keeps me alive and that gives me a goal to obtain," he said.

Meanwhile, he has already started to pursue another addition to his presidential collection.

"I'd like to meet him sometime," Smick said of Trump. "I'm after his autograph, too."

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.