Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

I always admired Jimmy Carter.

I was about six years old when he ran for president. This nice guy, this southern farmer who suddenly was in my Weekly Reader making national history. I had about twelve years to go before I could vote, but he was the candidate I was rooting for. I think both my parents voted for him.

If you’d told me back then that I’d one day grow up to get Christmas cards from the guy, well, it would have been something of a shock.

This has happened. Twice in my adulthood, I’ve received Christmas cards signed by Jimmy Carter, probably because I’m the well-known historian of one of his favorite communities. Through sheer coincidence, I grew up to be the historian of Lock Haven, where Carter spent time about a year before I was ever born.

Carter was born Oct. 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1945, serving in the Navy until the death of his father, at which point he returned to Georgia to run the family’s peanut-growing business. Carter was elected as the governor of Georgia in 1970, and then went on to become the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1980.

After losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan, Carter remained active, working as a diplomat and activist. He went on to join Habitat for Humanity, a program that builds or repairs homes in impoverished areas worldwide. Carter has personally assisted in creating or improving over four thousand homes while working with the program. You can’t beat that for class.

Before that, however, he came to Lock Haven. It was May of 1968, and Carter was acting as a missionary for the Southern Baptist Church. He came to Lock Haven with a partner, Texas farmer Milo Pennington, and they stayed at the YMCA. The goal was to establish a church congregation in Lock Haven, which they actually accomplished for a few years. The church was at 615 Grant Street, and the building still stands.

It was a rocky road. Carter was treated to a dollar donation from one woman, and a lecture about being satisfied with her church from another. He and his partner got some pushback from the local religious leaders, who felt that their congregations were being poached. An explanation that the missionaries were looking for new, unaffiliated members did little to persuade them.

Carter called his wife, Rosalynn, once while he was in Lock Haven, describing his mission to her, and mentioning his attraction to the city.

In one incident, Carter and his partner were given an address to look for recruits. They stopped a Salvation Army worker for directions, and he gave them kind of a funny look and asked if they were sure they wanted to go there. Without question, the missionaries pressed on, and found themselves at a local brothel—Nobody had warned Jimmy Carter that Lock Haven was known for them once upon a time.

The trip didn’t result in any new church members, but Carter sat down with one of the employees and talked to her for over two hours, and then returned the next day—His final day in Lock Haven. Carter being Carter, he managed to talk her into calling her parents, perhaps with the possibility of reconciliation.
Jimmy Carter never forgot his love for Lock Haven. I have two Christmas cards in my office that attest to that. And

I am immensely pleased that Jimmy Carter even was aware of my existence. I’ve always admired him, and to some extent, tried to emulate him in some respects. After Reagan took the presidency in 1980, Carter could have easily retired to relax and make speaking money, but he didn’t. He spent the next forty years doing good things, building homes for people who needed them.

Jimmy Carter was an amazing man, who left behind an unequivocally decent legacy. As the country mourns, here in Lock Haven we grieve for him, as well. We have a special connection to this extraordinarily good man, who for a time came and lived among us.