The death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29 prompted memories of residents who interacted with him during his term in office, nearly 50 years ago. A National Day of Observance is being held today to honor Carter, who died at the age of 100.

The peanut farmer and governor of Georgia came from nowhere to claim the Democratic nomination and, in a nation still disillusioned by the mud of the Watergate political scandal, to victory in 1976. He became the nation’s 39th chief executive, serving one term until defeated by Ronald Reagan.

His successes and failures are being examined fully in this period of national mourning. Those are the big things. For Gloucester and Mathews residents, it was the everyday things that counted.

Sunday school teacher

Charlie and Eloise Davidson of Mathews, faithful members of the Mathews Baptist Church in Hudgins, made a point of worshiping at a Baptist church wherever they traveled.

In the summer of 1977, the Davidsons, now deceased, were completing a driving trip of points north into eastern Canada. An article in the Aug. 4, 1977 Gazette-Journal stated, “The last leg of their trip brought them to Washington, D.C., where they decided to go to the President’s church.”

They had no idea that President Carter would be in attendance that day at Washington’s First Baptist Church, but the obvious presence of numerous Secret Service agents in the vicinity confirmed their deduction that the President would attend.

They went to Sunday School and “found themselves in a class with about 30 regular members and a number of visitors, many of whom probably wanted a close view of the President.” “The thing that impressed me was the lack of fanfare,” Mrs. Davidson said. “He and Mrs. Carter came in like just another couple.”

They didn’t know he would teach the class until the regular teacher welcomed everyone and announced he had a good substitute for the day. As it happened, Carter used the same standardized lesson that the Davidsons had already studied, teaching about the second Commandment—”Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.”

Mrs. Davidson came away most impressed with Carter’s devotion, with his familiarity with scripture, and with his ability as a teacher. “He got up and started teaching,” she related. “It just thrilled me to hear him teaching God’s word the way he did it. Although he is President, on Sunday morning he was just another Christian teaching a Sunday School lesson … I felt definitely that he knows Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Carter later attended the worship service, as did the Davidsons, and left the church with the crowd. The Davidsons left for home, and took with them a renewed admiration for the President.

Mrs. Davidson said that the experience “made me feel sure he is a born-again Christian. It makes me feel good that a man like that is head of our country.”

Fundraiser

For Roselle Hogge King and her daughter Jon-Betty King of Tidemill, the contact came during a Democratic fundraiser held in Williamsburg in September of 1977.

Mrs. King, who died in 1991, and her daughter, Jon-Betty King, each paid $500 to attend the dinner at the Williamsburg Lodge. The fundraiser supported the Democratic ticket for governor that year (Henry Howell, Chuck Robb and Edward Lane) with Car-ter as the keynote speaker. Roselle King was impressed: “I just think he was something out of this world. One thing—he didn’t have that Nixon grin—that artificial Nixon grin.”

Attired in a black and white evening dress for the gala, the lifelong Democrat told the Gazette-Journal she attended the grand affair “Because I had the money to buy the ticket and I wanted to go see the President … I’d do anything for the Democratic Party.”

She did her best to support the party personally as well, stating she had registered five new voters and planned to carry others to the polls (in the election, Robb was the only member of the ticket to win a position, as lieutenant governor).

“I found that all I ever got came from the Democrats so I’m going to stick with them.”

‘We held hands’

Jon-Betty King, who grew up in Gloucester and now lives near Tampa, Florida, said the event was not only a great time for her mother, but also for herself. “We had a lovely night, we really did.” When they were presented to the President, she said, “he and I didn’t shake hands, we held hands.”

She underscored her late parents’ love for Democratic politics and politicians. Roselle and Howard King attended John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, where they had great seats sitting three rows behind Eleanor Roosevelt. After JFK’s assassination, they walked through the Capitol Rotunda to pay their respects to the fallen president, lying in state. They also attended Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration in 1965.

Her mother, she said, absolutely enjoyed every minute of the 1977 fundraiser in Williamsburg. “That woman was in seventh heaven that night.”

Poems and artist

Bonnie Hall, who lived in Mathews in 1980, felt moved that spring to write to President Carter encouraging him to stay strong through the tough times he was then experiencing. Among the toughest was the ongoing captivity of American hostages by Iranian revolutionaries.

As related by the Gazette-Journal, her pastor, the Rev. M. G. Dudley of the New Testament Tabernacle in Tidemill, had preached to his congregation to pray more. During her prayers, Hall found inspiration in a poem by Jane Eggleston of Williamsburg which urged the reader to grow during dark periods of life.

She enclosed a copy of the poem with her letter to Carter, and received a reply from Daniel M. Chew, director of Presidential Correspondence. According to the Gazette-Journal, the letter stated, “President and Mrs. Carter were pleased by your thoughtful gestures. You have their thanks and best wishes.”

In addition, a piece of local art made its way to the White House.

Mathews County native Larry Harris, who now resides in Newport News, became inspired by the Camp David Accords of 1978, in which Carter brought together Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. After 12 days of secret negotiations, agreements were signed leading to the 1979 Egypt-Israeli peace treaty.

Harris created a portrait of Carter, Begin and Sadat, from photographs in the paper, and sent it to the president. Harris received thanks for his work, and was later told by staff members that President Carter took the pinting with him when he left Washington and placed it in his personal collection.

Harris is author of a book of poetry, “Blessed by the Best,” and an ordained elder in a Christian church. He has worked in telephone ministry, performing arts, and as a singer and fashion designer.

Not politics as usual

When Jimmy Carter exploded onto the national scene in 1976, seemingly out of nowhere, his campaign took some untraditional avenues. Among them was the Peanut Brigade, a bus carrying many youthful supporters of Carter. This bus made a stop on Main Street in Gloucester where its passengers handed out campaign literature and Georgia peanuts.

FILE PHOTOS
Eloise and Charlie Davidson of Mathews, shown in the 1990s, had the pleasure of attending a Sunday school class taught by President Carter at First Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., in 1977.