Welcome to Plains, GA, (pop. 716) home of Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The whole town of Plains is designated as the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. Plains has done its best to maintain the atmosphere of a small agricultural town.
Our first stop was the visitor center where we learned all the pertinent places we needed to visit.
We rode into town on the main route.
One street over is the main downtown area. All of it. Gives new meaning to the term small town.
In Jan. 1977 an 18 car "Peanut Special" trin departed from the railfoad deopt filled to capacity with supporters bound for the inaugruation of the 39th President.
View of downtown from the depot.
Front of depot museum.
Campaign symbol
Message below voiced by Democratic Party. Now it's the Republican theme.
Jimmy's little brother Billy no longer run this gas station.
Our next stop was the farm where the Carter children grew up. Dad and the kids worked the farm. Mom (Miss Lilian) was often gone to help neighbors but left lists of chores for the children.
This outhouse was used until the bathroom was was added to the house. Behind it is the poultry pen. The other buildings--barns, sheds, etc, are beyond that.
Back porch of house.
Modern indoor plumbing included this shower. The faucet brought cold water directly from the spring, ran it through a bucket full of holes. Genius!
Front porch. Inside is a kitchen, dining room, and living room on the left. Opposite the kitchen is Jimmy's bedroom which Billy took over when Jimmy went to college. Next is the bathroom, parents room, and girls room in front right.
Come out the front door, go across the street and there is the railroad track. The family learned to sleep right through the noise. Go to the left and the rest of the farm appears. The windmill pumped the water from the well. It got Jimmy interested in ecology. The building next to it is the general store.
Throughout the farm are buttons to push to hear recordings of Jimmy's recollections. The one for the store said that he couldn't remember eating his midday meal without being interrupted to take care of someone in the store.
This is really what it looks like--a tennis court. Jimmy enjoyed playing with his dad, although the old man always won. Jimmy says it was difficult to guess which way the way was going to bounce.
Being a self sufficient farm, it included a blacksmith/tool shop.
Various barns and sheds
The farm was located about 3 miles outside the town.
We wanted to get a picture of the Carter house (the only one Jimmy and Rosalyn owned and still live in) but it was so normal looking that we rode past it twice and didn't notice it. Our next stop was the Plains High School Museum.
Front of the Museum. On the left is a wing the mirror image of the one on the right. The museum, as well as the Depot are chock full of pictures, signs, letters, and other memorabilia about, belonging to, or pertaining to Jimmy Carter. This museum also houses a nice gift shop. In our touring we didn't stop at the cemetery where Miss Lilian is buried or go out to the church where Jimmy's father preached.
On the way out I did get a nice pic of the visitors' center we visited on the way in. I could live there!
Our way to Plains took us through the town of Americus. We were so impressed with the reconstructed downtown that we stopped on the way back to take some pix.
From there we rode around the little town of Montezuma, then stopped at the local Mennonite restaurant and bakery. We killed a half hour before the restaurant opened perusing our future purchases in the bakery, and talking with some Christian bikers about various scenic routes in the area. After a cafeteria-style dinner of home-cooked food, we bought some jam (made in Marysville, OH!) and some to-die-for-cinamon rolls. I like to get my jam, jelly and honey from local gift shops and farmers markets because they don't contain any preservatives or artifical coloring. Carrying my purchases in my lap because our saddlebags were full, we took our bike and ourselves home. We had to rest up for our visit next day to the fair.
State fair here we come!
Louise and Duane
1 comment:
We haven't been there either. The
Campaign symbol cracked me up then and now. Crazy!
In another blog I read, the people actually got to meet the Carter's. They eat at one of the restaurants often and are happy to talk with any visitor. The bloggers even had their picture taken with the Carters. Wish you had the same experience.
Post a Comment