On Presidents Day in Plains, Jimmy Carter's presence remains strong

This Presidents Day marks a year since former President Jimmy Carter entered into hospice care, and three months since the death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter. 

At 99 years old, Carter, who still lives in Plains, Ga., is the oldest living president in history. 

At the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park, 2024 marks Presidential Historian Larry Cook’s 13th year speaking on Presidents Day, on the same stage that Carter once walked across for his high school graduation. He remembers the Carters coming to this talk. 

"As often as they could, President and Mrs. Carter would be right here in the front row," Cook said of the modest auditorium. 

Cook covers presidents other than Carter, but he said he's particularly dedicated to promoting the legacy of Jimmy and Rosalynn, "because it's a unique legacy, even in within the presidency."

Caption

Presidential historian Larry Cook points out former President Jimmy Carter on his tie on Presidents Day 2024.

Credit: Sofi Gratas / GPB News

Visitors Jeff and Susan Ragusa said it's Carter's story of being from this small town, that gives them hope for the future. 

"It makes you feel like anybody maybe — maybe she could grow up and be president," Jeff Ragusa said, pointing to his niece, Riley. 

Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the park and friend of the Carters, said it’s been a year full of changes in Plains, but the historic park hopes to keep welcoming visitors. 

"You know, we want people to come here," Stuckey said. "We live to tell people about President Carter, about Mrs. Carter and their impact on this town, on this state and on this world."

Stuckey said Plains will soon start planning for Carter's 100th birthday. 

Over the weekend, Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy and Rosalynn, talked with CBS Sunday Morning about his grandfather's life.

"He has seen that that same technology that knits the world together can also pull us apart," Jason Carter said. "He has seen democracy threatened at home and abroad. And he lived to see one of the most important projects of his life — peace for Israel and Palestine — at the brink."

Efforts such as President Carter's 1978 Camp David Accords "remain one of the few foundations for hope in that long and intractable conflict," Jason said. "But he has stayed on the battlefield. After a year in hospice, on a daily basis, we have no expectations for his body. But we know that his spirit is as strong as ever."