Years ago, the father of my friend, Christy Pirrung, had a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia. A friend of his owned the adjacent property. He too grew peanuts. Not only that, he, the neighbor, decided to run for president.
So, when the campaign trail brought the other peanut farmer to St. Louis in 1976, Christy, who knew I was a rabid Jimmy Carter fan, called to say her folks were having a fundraiser for him and that I should come. After making several SOS calls, I couldn’t find anyone to babysit for my toddler. I called back to decline.
“Oh, just bring her,” Christy said. “Our housekeeper will be happy to entertain her.”
Sounded like a plan. And off we went. Hannah was remanded to the care of the housekeeper. As I started down the staircase the entourage arrived. Mr. Carter was whisked up the stairs before I could go down.
[Jimmy Carter] told her that when he was elected president, I should bring her to the White House to meet his daughter Amy.
Contributing Editor Ellen Sweets
Suddenly surrounded by the presidential hopeful, Secret Service agents, staff and the host and hostess, I managed to extricate myself only to spy my daughter sneaking down the hallway — clearly ignoring my earlier admonition to stay in the room with the housekeeper, and which ended with “you cause me a problem I’ll throttle you, and I mean it.”
Yes, well, before I could get to her, Mr. Carter looked down and said, “And whose little girl are you?”
Hannah looked up and saw his friendly face before she caught my very nonmaternal glare. My little darling stood up and within earshot of all, said, “I have to go back to that room, or my mother said she would throttle me.”
In front of God, the Secret Service and Jimmy Carter, I froze. Carter picked her up and said quietly, “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” I stood, still frozen in my tracks,terrified of what she might say next. Mercifully when he picked her up he whispered something to her.
She smiled, looked at him and said, “For real? Ok.”
He had told her that when he was elected president, I should bring her to the White House to meet his daughter Amy.
He did, I did, and she did. Hannah and Amy met in the tree house behind the White House. There were me, Mrs. Carter, a female Secret Service agent and me.
Rest in peace, Jimmy Carter, one of the most humane presidents ever. Hannah and I will always remember you.
Jimmy Carter died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, at 100 in his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family, according to a statement issued by the Carter Center.
Elected the 39th President of the United States in November 1976, Carter served one term before being defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.
“I grew up in a little village, unincorporated, named Archery, Ga., just a few miles west of Plains,” Carter, a former Georgia governor, said in a speech.
“We were surrounded by 55 other families who were African American. All of my playmates, all of my companions in the field – the ones I hunted with, fished with, wrestled with, fought with – were Black people.”
Ellen Sweets, a St. Louis American contributing editor, posted this remembrance of Jimmy Carter on her Facebook page.