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Jimmy Carter, the 39th President Succumbs at age 100; Visited Gloucester City in 1979

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews
 
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Photo credit (Edward Tucker, Gloucester City photographer)
 
GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ)--President Jimmy Carter with the Knights of Columbus Council #674 banner in the background. Many residents are unaware that President Jimmy visited Gloucester City in 1979 during a campaign stomp through New Jersey while running for a second term against Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. A local family from Gloucester City, the Rafferty's, were chosen to host a chat with the President at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Monmouth Street. Several thousand people crowded Monmouth Street, hoping to see the President. When his motor caravan stopped before the K of C Hall, the President exited his limousine and waded into the crowd. The Secret Service stood back as "Jimmy" shook hands with some of the onlookers. (see related article below).

 
 
Today, America lost its 39th President, James Earl (Jimmy) Carter at age 100 (October 1, 1924 - December 29, 204.)  Co-incidentally, he was the first U.S. President born in a hospital.  The reason had nothing to do with health care in 1924; his mother, Miss Lillian, was a nurse and just happened to be in the hospital when Jimmy decided to be born.
 
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Early Life
 
President Carter was raised in a small town, Plains, GA.  His family owned and ran a peanut farm for decades.  He attended the United States Naval Academy, and during the Second World War, he entered the submarine service and received his dolphin badge. 
 
Politics 
 
He served as Governor of Georgia from 1971 - 1975; he was a Democrat and ran on a desegregation platform.  In 1976, the Bi-Centennial year, Carter beat Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy for the Presidential nomination.  Ted Kennedy had an automobile accident in 1969 when a young woman campaign worker, Mary Jo Kopechne, drown. He was given a suspended sentence and no jail time. The average voter hadn't forgiven Senator Kennedy, so Jimmy Carter won the nomination.
 
In Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 21.43.23 the 1976 election, Carter beat his Republican opponent, Gerald Ford.  Again, the voters cast their ballots against the man they didn't like, and that was President Ford.  Ford was the only president never to have been elected.  Richard Nixon was very close to being impeached by the House of Representatives and criminally charged by the Senate.  Nixon's elected vice-president, Spiro Agnew, pled no contest to corruption charges and kickbacks.  He resigned but only got probation - no jail time.  Gerald Ford replaced him as vice president, Nixon resigned, Ford moved up to President and his first act was to pardon Richard Nixon.  President Nixon did no jail time.
 
Although Jimmy Carter may not have been the most qualified candidate, he won because of all the corruption by every other candidate.
 
 
 
 
 
Family:
 
Jimmy Carter was the oldest of four children.  All of his siblings died of pancreatic cancer.  His sister Gloria died at age 64, Ruth died at age 54 and brother Billy died 51. Billy Carter became somewhat famous for his antics and even had a beer named after him.  In 1946, Jimmy married Rosalynn Smith.  Since George and Barbara Bush passed, the Carters have been the longest-married presidential couple.
 
President and Mrs. Carter have three sons (Jack, James III, Donnel, and a daughter, Amy, who grew up in the White House.)  They also have eight living grandsons (one predeceased him,) three granddaughters, five great-grandsons, and eight great-granddaughters.
 
Achievements
 
On Carter's second day in office, he pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders, many of whom were living in Canada.
 
He was responsible for the Camp David Accord - a summit between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders.  The two men hated each other so much that, during a photo op, they refused to shake hands.  President Carter took each man's right hand and put the hands together, making them shake.
 
Crisis
 
There were a lot of incidents/crises that happened during the Carter administration over which he had little or no control, but he was held responsible when he ran for re-election in 1980.  Some of them were: 
 
The 1979 - 1981 Iranian kidnapping of American Embassy workers.  The hostages were released at 12:10 pm on January 20, 1981 - minutes after Ronald Reagan had been sworn in as the 40th President.
 
There was an energy crisis when OPEC (the [Middle East] Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) held Western countries hostage.  Gasoline prices rose from $.30 a gallon and still haven come down.
 
The Three Mile Island, PA nuclear meltdown.
 
The Love Canal, NY, community had to be razed because it had been built on a toxic landfill, and residents were dying of cancer.
 
The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S.A 1980 boycott of the Summer Olympics.
 
Post Presidential Life
 
President Carter has written several books on a variety of topics.
 
He volunteered for and brought attention to Habitat for Humanity, an organization which involved poor, future homeowners in the building/renovation of their own homes.
 
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
 
 
 
 

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