PLAINS, Ga. — Every time presidential historian Dr. Larry Cook comes to Plains, he comes home to catch up with a few friends. One of those friends made the town famous.
"There’s no place like Plains," Cook said. “I feel like I won the history lottery every time I’m here.”
Plains is a place rich in farming and history. But before creating a legacy that lasted far beyond his years in the Oval Office, former President Jimmy Carter grew up in Plains. It's the same town he returned to when his father died. It's the same town that holds a Presidents Day presentation at the old high school Carter attended.
“Many people come up to me and say, ‘How did a man from such a small town become POTUS?’ When you get to know Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter and the other people from Plains, you have to ask yourself how didn’t it happen," Cook said. "The influences of his father, as we heard today, of his mother, of his teachers, the family and friends throughout his entire childhood – you can’t believe all that stuff came from a small town.”
Mr. Carter brought Plains to the presidency and around the world, advocating for human rights and healthcare, global peace and education.
Americus Mayor Lee Kinnamon said even at 99 years old, after losing the love of his life, Rosalynn, in November, the former Commander in Chief chose to continue to live the rest of his life in Plains because of his faith and determination.
“When you live in a place, you have to engage, especially when you take up that mantle Jimmy Carter took up," Kinnamon said. “The character was formed, the president was formed and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was formed in this place, rooted in this place.”
Those roots stem from a tiny town with tons of impact. They form a foundation that ties a friend from Plains, Pennsylvania, to Plains, Georgia. Cook and his wife started Plains Helping Plains, an initiative that aims to preserve the legacy and history of President Carter and his wife. The initiative funded signage on the outskirts of town and helped install a stained glass window at the Historic Inn in Plains.
The foundation formed from those roots in a southwest Georgia town has brought admirers from around the world and brought a community closer together.
“He's a unifier. I do believe, as a historian, that Jimmy Carter will be the best-remembered president in the world," Cook said. “People admire him as a great human being, they admire Rosalynn as a great human being. They admire everything he’s done since the presidency. They admire his stamina and, again, his faith. They have saved millions of lives, and they’ve improved the lives of millions more with their work during his presidency and with all the decades of work after they left the White House."