School Days….

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Sorry to bore you with more tales of Plains, Georgia. The interesting thing is that most of the town is considered a national historical park. That’s what one man can do! The old Plains High School, which both Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Smith attended, is the museum and welcome center for the national historical park. It’s fascinating on so many levels. The bottom two photos, for instance, show the auditorium (which still has that “school auditorium” smell to it!!) and a classroom. There were no lockers as we think of them today, just pegs and shelves assigned to each student for coats and books. (You knew there wouldn’t be any stealing…if there was, the principal’s paddle for corporal punishment was also on display in the principal’s office.) Even looking at the map of the world in 1924, the year Carter was born, gives one pause for how much change there’s been. In addition to the school itself being a part of history (not just presidential history), many items from Carter’s presidency and life after office are displayed. You may know he was posthumously awarded a Grammy for a spoken-word recording at the awards last week; however, that wasn’t his first. The Grammy for Faith: A Journey for All earned him a Grammy in 2018, and that one is displayed. There’s also a replica of his Nobel Peace Prize. Top right, you see a replica of his desk from the Oval Office when he was president, as well as a replica of President Harry Truman’s famous “the buck stops here” sign. Since it’s been such a short time since he passed away, the official presidential portrait on display in the museum is still edged in black. That was a great stop along the peanut route of Jimmy Carter’s life! PHOTO COLLAGE: (Top left) Presidential and First Lady portraits (Top right) Replica of the Resolute Desk, which Carter used in office (it is still in use today) (Bottom left) Plains High School auditorium (Bottom right) Classroom in the high school as it would have looked during Carter’s days as a student