There are few places where men can escape the pressures of the president.
For Jimmy Carter, there was a modest ranch house he built in 1961 on Woodland Drive in the small southern Georgia town of Plains. In a town where every public building seemed to be a stop on his life's journey, the house remained private.
It was here that Mr. Carter spent his first years in office and most of his later years, surrounded by a close circle of supporters. Some came to know Mr. Carter because he was president, while others knew him simply because he was a neighbor or friend.
Collectively, they ended up as custodians of both a man in the twilight of his life and a world leader's political legacy.
“You would do that for any friend,” said Andy Walker, a neighbor who used to live behind Carter's house and has cooked hundreds of meals for her over the past few years. Regardless of your position in life or your career.” . “I knew he was the former leader of the free world, but when I was doing it, that never really crossed my mind. It was all about, this is my friend. .”
The house was first built in 1961, when the family's farming business was thriving and Mr. Carter was making his first foray into politics. Mr. Carter's political career has taken him to official residences elsewhere in Georgia and Washington state, but he has often returned to his Plains hometown.
“He called it his sanctuary,” said Leanne Smith, Mr. Carter's niece. “No matter what happened, he always came back to it.”
The presidency has changed what it means to live on the Plains. That meant a background check when Mr. Walker, a neighbor, bought land that borders the Carter family's property. That meant the Carter mansion became more complex, surrounded by gates and buildings that served as Secret Service checkpoints.
And that's when Mr. Carter went about his daily life, including walking hand-in-hand with his wife, Rosalyn, sneaking into hardware stores for lumber and saws, and running four miles as a young man, investigators said. This meant that he was being followed.
“As a Secret Service agent, you shouldn't be obsessed with the people you're protecting,” said Alex Parker, who was Mr. Carter's detail chief for more than a decade. However, he acknowledged that “President Carter had a magnetic personality.''
From North Korea to the Gaza Strip, from Colorado to Washington, there were journeys that spanned the world and countries. But he also ventured closer to home to check on Carter Farm's produce, go fly fishing, and investigate the farm's pond. (Parker said dumping bags of fertilizer into the pond wasn't technically part of the conservation mission, but officials cooperated.)
“President Carter just wanted to be a real person, a regular person,” Parker said. “He didn't like fancy things like some people like.”
When Randy Dillard, who had overseen Carter's farm for years as a boy, took over as ranch manager, the Carters presented him with a list. Their focus was on removing cobwebs and stray branches, rather than updating the show-stopping bright colors or aging appliances that were popular when the house was built.
Any changes were carefully discussed or closed.
“Nothing was more important to me than what they wanted,” said Carter, a longtime friend who encouraged him to become the national historical park's custodian and preserve the former president's sites on the Plains. Save Jill Stuckey said.
As soon as the Carters called, Stuckey cleared his schedule and invited them to his home for dinner every Saturday night. And although she consulted other presidential libraries and parks, she proudly said that the only one who actually lived in her home was the president.
In later years, there were difficult conversations about installing ramps and replacing furniture for ease and comfort that are familiar to anyone who has cared for an elderly person. Walker would send meals midweek, such as spaghetti, assorted vegetables, or Carter's favorite breakfast and dinner combo of eggs and bacon.
There was also discussion about what to do with the house and garden after the Carters passed away. They will be buried together in their garden, surrounded by kumquat trees, blueberry bushes, white azaleas, roses and pollinator plants. Dillard plans to continue tending to the white flowers around the gravestones, including impatiens in the spring and pansies in the winter.
Mr. Carter's passing has been bittersweet for those who cared for him in Plains during his later years. They comfort each other that he is at peace and reunited with Rosalyn, which, in Mr. Stuckey's words, “got his wish the other day.””
As one of the park's longest-serving employees, Dillard rang the bell at his childhood farm 39 times to commemorate Carter's arrival from the Plains to Atlanta as the 39th president. Mr. Parker was one of the pallbearers who carried the coffin from the hospital. Stuckey and Walker are among the Plains residents who have shared fond memories of their friend Carter, who was once president.
They begin to think about what it would be like to live in the Plains without Mr. Carter and drive past the empty house. Under the supervision of the National Park Service, it will transition from a residence to a museum.
“The structure is there,” Walker said. “But I don’t think that homely feeling that you felt when you came just to visit them and be with them is no longer there.”