DES MOINES - U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley stopped by the state Capitol Monday to watch the Iowa Legislature's opening-day ceremonies, 50 years to the day after he was sworn into his first term in the Iowa House.

Grassley was there to see his 25-year-old grandson, Rep. Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, sworn in for his second House term.

The elder Grassley was 25 years old when he was sworn into his first term in the House.

"It's a lot of memories here," Grassley said in an interview outside the ornate House chamber.

Grassley remembers that the Legislature had a much more rural flavor 50 years ago, when districts were drawn up largely by county rather than population.

When Grassley joined the Iowa House, it had 108 members - one for each county and an additional member for the nine most populous counties.

He estimates that about one quarter of Iowa's population was represented by about half the members of the House, and a large share of them were farmers.

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1962, Baker v. Carr, helped change the way districts were drawn in Iowa and other states.

Back then, it was hard to tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats, Grassley said.

"I think there's more partisanship now than there was when I was here," Grassley said.

Grassley said he hopes his grandson adopts the approach he took of doing the best possible job in the position he is in now.

"If you do that, you have opportunities later on," Grassley said.

Pat Grassley said the best political advice his grandfather has given him was to remember that being a public servant is important, but family comes first.

"For me, that was very important, because being about the same age when we started and having a young family, we could really relate to that," Pat Grassley said.

After Iowa lawmakers dropped the gavel on their session, the elder Grassley was off to catch a flight to Washington, D.C., where much of the talk has focused on president-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus package.

Grassley praised the tax changes for individuals and businesses included in the proposal, saying the country needs to encourage investment for long-term job creation.

"Particularly, I'm proud that Obama has decided no earmarks. I hope he sticks with that," Grassley said.

Contact Charlotte Eby

at (515) 422-9061 or chareby@aol.com.