On October 1, 1924, Jimmy Carter was the first future U.S. president to be born in a hospital. Most women at the time still gave birth at home, but Jimmy’s mother was a registered nurse.

Jimmy’s family lived in Plains, Georgia on South Bond Street. Their neighbors included Edgar and Allie Smith. When the Smith’s daughter Rosalynn was born in 1927, Jimmy went next door to see the baby. That marked the first time Jimmy saw his future wife.

In 1928, Jimmy’s father became a full time farmer. Jimmy and his sisters were raised on a farm two and a half miles from Plains in Archery. The town had a population of around 200 people. At first the farmhouse had no electricity or plumbing. Jimmy’s most vivid memories were of the cold because his room was the farthest from the stove and fireplaces.

Jimmy’s brother Billy wasn’t born until Jimmy turned twelve so he received a lot of attention from his father. He followed his dad around the farm whenever possible. His father encouraged him to earn money at an early age. Jimmy sold peanuts in Plains when he was only five years old. He maintained ten regular customers and also sold to shoppers visiting the town.

Most of Jimmy’s duties on the farm meant working in the field. He chopped cotton and hoed weeds. Jimmy felt restless doing small chores though. He wanted to “escape from the company of other children and women in just hoeing, picking cotton, and shaking peanuts and to graduate to the exalted status of a skilled plowman who could cultivate a crop.” In his father’s opinion, Jimmy never fully reached his goal. He was permitted to break land in the field at age twelve, however. Others viewed it as boring work, “but to me it was a great achievement.”

As Jimmy grew, he especially enjoyed doing carpentry with his dad. “I relished the repair of houses, barns, and storage places, and was eager to help when new farrowing pens were built for our sows and pigs,” Jimmy wrote years later.

In addition to his chores, Jimmy also played on the farm. Since the Carters were the only white family in Archery, his playmates were African American. They made their own toys, such as hoops, slingshots and guns. Even when he started school in Plains, Jimmy felt “more at home” with his black friends. The only rankings among him and the other kids revolved around who caught the biggest fish or performed best in the last baseball game.

At six years old Jimmy attended Plains High School where he had only white classmates. The school was one of the best in the state thanks to its superintendent. She took a special interest in Jimmy and gave him extra reading assignments. Jimmy’s parents also encouraged their children to bring books to the dinner table.

Jimmy was content on the farm, but his parents wanted him to finish high school, go to college, and join the navy. His mother’s youngest brother was in the navy and sent Jimmy souvenirs from countries like Australia and Japan. A naval appointment could only come from a senator or congressman, so Jimmy had to work hard in high school to get good grades. He didn’t receive an appointment when he graduated high school in 1941. Instead, he enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College and became a lab assistant.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 changed Jimmy’s life. After his sophomore year in college, he finally received his appointment and entered the Naval Academy in 1943.

Sources:

Jimmy Carter A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety by Jimmy Carter

Gift of Peace: The Jimmy Carter Story by Elizabeth Raum