He may not go down in history as the most impressive or vibrant President of the United States, but President Jimmy Carter will always be remembered as the President who cared for the people, the President with character, the President who was honest and always believed in doing the right thing.
For me, personally, he will always be the President who believed in the value of hometown weekly newspapers.
It was in the middle years of his Presidency that the Carter White House sent out an invitation to weekly newspapers throughout the United States, inviting a reporter to attend a briefing at the White House. Mathew J. Gill was Publisher of the Courier, Middletown’s popular weekly newspaper at the time, and assigned the job to me.
It was the thrill of a lifetime to meet and speak with the President of the united States.
The briefing turned into a daylong event. We reporters, some 26 of us from small town newspapers throughout the United States, were met at the White House by Jody Powell, the President’s press secretary, and given a few details on what to expect at the meeting. Ushered into the meeting room and seated around a table, we stood when the President entered the room, only to be told to sit down, and make ourselves comfortable before he then introduced himself as Jimmy Carter and invited us to ask whatever we wanted.
My questions focused on a friend who was a priest and Army chaplain, the Father Joe Turner, who had been stationed at Fort Hancock and had some concerns. The President answered, neither using nor taking any notes, but aware of the matter to which I was referring.
There were questions from many of us, others sitting quietly, and simply in awe at being invited to the White House. At the end of the hour or so long meeting, the President got up, thanked us all for being there, then stood by the door as each of us left.
As we passed the President, he put out his hand, and with that big Georgian smile, thanked each of us individually for stopping in.
Powell invited us all to stay for lunch, then said the First Lady would be meeting with us in the afternoon. Once again, we were back in the meeting room, and the gracious Roslynn Carter came in, sat down, and once again answered any questions we posed.
It wasn’t until three or four days later, back at home, that I once again saw how thoughtful the President was. It appears that as each of us was shaking hands and leaving the room, there was a photographer present to record the scenes in individual photographs. The President then signed the photograph, and sent it, along with a copy of all us reporters sitting around the table with him.
Some memories you can never forget.
Nor was this the only encounter any of the Smith family met with President Carter. Daughter Michelle, now retired from the Veterans Administration, was in the Marine Corps in the late 1970s and stationed as a Sergeant at 8th and I, the Marine Barracks in Washington.
One of her duties was part of the Honor Guard that attended events at the White House. Michelle recalls she met President Carter at several of these events, and like me, always felt he was personable and never too busy to talk to anyone who approached him.
“He knew each of the Marines who was there frequently by our first names, “ she recalls today, “and he always made sure we had a meal, since there were times, we had to be there for longer periods of time while major events were going on.”
Michelle also remembers Carters youngest daughter, Amy, was a youngster at the time, and frequently popped in the room where the Marines waited their assignments and enjoyed chatting with them. “She would always tell us all the great things her dad was doing,” Michelle laughed.
Both my Marine offspring also remember that it was President Carter who got the military a 14 per cent pay raise.
Thanks for sharing these personal memories Muriel!