Plains, Georgia, plans on giving back to its resident globe-trotting former president by keeping him upbeat and entertained.
Jimmy Carter and his hometown have always been intertwined, from the day he announced he would run for president and an old train depot downtown became a local campaign office. He and his wife, Rosalynn, have always kept a home there, but the 90-year-old Carter intends to spend a lot more time in the tiny town as he’s treated for cancer that has spread to his brain.
A welcome sign leading to the center of former President Jimmy Carter’s hometown in Plains, Ga. is seen, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. Carter remains the biggest draw for the town of less than 800. A steady stream of tourists continue to visit the family farm where Carter helped in the family store and fields. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The one-block business district specializes in Carter political memorabilia and peanut souvenirs. Visitors stop by after touring dozens of properties associated with the Nobel Peace Prize winner and his extended family, including Carter’s boyhood farm and a gas station once run by his brother, Billy.
The Carters live just down the street, in a 1961 home they built before he entered politics. It’s now encircled by an iron fence with a guard checkpoint, and locals know Secret Service agents by name, along with their snack preferences.
For Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Plains is a “haven” from their work in Atlanta and around the globe, he has said. They both were born and grew up in the area. They return here following each challenge, including his 1980 loss to Ronald Reagan and his first radiation treatment last Thursday.
Residents determined to put a familiar grin on the 90-year-old Carter’s face ordered 500 green and blue yard signs and fanned out to plant them in yards and along every route into Plains. Signs declaring “Jimmy Carter For Cancer Survivor,” a slogan first shown in an editorial cartoon in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, are in demand elsewhere now.
It was a small gesture for the person who put Plains on the map and has continued to think about the town’s best interests, said Jill Stuckey, a friend who hosts the Carters for dinner regularly.
“They have always supported Plains, even down to (choosing) their burial place here in Plains,” Stuckey, 54, said. “If in the future, you know, 20 years from now when President and Mrs. Carter have passed — or 30 years — they know that will be a draw for Plains.”
Plains residents, especially members of the church where Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school this weekend, are as protective of “Mr. Jimmy” and “Miss Rosalynn” as they are proud of their town’s representatives.
Former President Jimmy Carter leaves a reception in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. As Carter undergoes treatment for cancer that has spread to his brain, the town of less than 800 people is ready to support him. Friends say they hope yard signs, well wishes and entertainment will keep the 90-year-old Carter’s spirits up. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jan Williams, a friend of the Carters, manages the crowds eager to see Carter teach at Maranatha Baptist Church. On Sunday, she warned hundreds seated on benches inside the church that they were not to offer a handshake when Carter sat for photos following the service.
Her pre-lesson rules also had a new suggestion: Positive reinforcement.
“Please don’t say ‘I’m so sorry you have cancer,'” she said. “He already knows he has it. Let’s be positive.”
More than 700 people heard Carter deliver a familiar message this weekend: When your burden grows heavy, ask God for strength. The demand prompted a hastily organized second class at a nearby high school.
Carter himself remains the biggest draw for Plains visitors. He plans to continue teaching Sunday school at the small Baptist church he and Rosalynn attend but church members say they aren’t certain whether Carter can continue doing back-to-back classes.
A.W. and Judy Hargett recently retired and decided to drive to Plains from their home in Florence, Alabama, on a hot and buggy Saturday. The couple joined a steady stream of visitors touring the family farm, where Carter helped in the family store and fields.
Judy Hargett said she’s wanted to attend one of Carter’s Sunday School classes for years and didn’t want to miss an opportunity.
“I didn’t know if the treatments would make him sick later and he wouldn’t be able to teach,” she said. “I have so much respect for President Carter. I still call him President.”
Click on any image below to launch the gallery.
The sun rises behind Main Street in the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Carter and his hometown have always been intertwined, from the day he announced he would run for president and an old train depot downtown became a local campaign office. He and his wife, Rosalynn, have always kept a home there, but the 90-year-old Carter intends to spend a lot more time in the tiny town as he’s treated for cancer that has spread to his brain. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. The 90-year-old Carter gave one lesson to about 300 people filling the small Baptist church that he and his wife, Rosalynn, attend. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The sun rises behind the steeple of Maranatha Baptist Church, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. The Baptist church where former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School classes and he and wife Rosalynn are deacons has been at the heart of their life since they returned to Georgia in 1981. On Sunday morning, Carter will teach his first lesson since detailing the intravenous drug doses and radiation treatment planned to treat melanoma found in his brain after surgery to remove a tumor from his liver. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, sits with his wife Rosalynn as they pose for photos after Carter taught Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Former President Jimmy Carter, left, sits with his wife Rosalynn as they pose for photos with Bill Bush, of Adel, Ga., from right, his grandson Carson Shirley, 9, daughter Lara Norris, and wife Pat Bush after Carter taught Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A visitor walks through an old train depot that became a local campaign office for former President Jimmy Carter in his hometown in Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Carter’s 1976 election to the presidency made Plains a tourist destination. Main Street stores are stocked with Carter memorabilia and peanut souvenirs. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A person walks near dolls of former President Jimmy Carter in a store in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, The one-block business district specializes in Carter political memorabilia and peanut souvenirs. Visitors stop by after touring dozens of properties associated with the Nobel Peace Prize winner. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Paula McNeill, right, of Valdosta, Ga., has her photo taken by Melinda Groover, of Birmingham, Ala., as they visit the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Carter’s 1976 election to the presidency made Plains a tourist destination. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A visitor walks near a cutout of former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, at an antique mall in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Residents of Plains say they’re grateful that Carter has never forgotten his hometown. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Karen Whaley, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., takes a photo of a mural while visiting the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. For Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Plains is a “haven” from their work in Atlanta and around the globe, he said this week. They both were born and grew up in the area. They return here following each challenge, including his 1980 loss to Ronald Reagan and his first radiation treatment last Thursday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jane Gurley, of Hendersonville, N.C., has her photo taken at a mock Oval Office while visiting the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. “He was the first President I voted for,” said Gurley. “It has special meaning.” (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A classroom of former President Jimmy Carter from when he attended Plains High School in 1937 is exhibited in what is now the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The sun rises as peanut wagons sit on a farm in the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter in Plains, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The handprints of former President Jimmy Carter are cast in the sidewalk outside his boyhood farm in Plains, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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One thought on “Hometown, Church Mobilize to Support Plains’ Jimmy Carter”