Wally Stover didn’t have his driver’s license long when Ellijay Mayor Bill Sailors gave him an important mission — go to the Gilmer County Airport and pick up gubernatorial candidate Jimmy Carter.
“That’s when I got to know him, when I was 16 or 17 years old, and he was running for governor the first time,” said Stover, a longtime area homebuilder. “We used to have Wagon Train events in Ellijay, (and) it was a big day for politicians to come to town. I met him then, and I was around him after I went to school at Georgia Southern when he ran for governor the second time. I worked in that campaign for him at Georgia Southern.”
Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died last week at age 100 in his hometown of Plains. At times, he and his late wife, Rosalynn, could be seen in Ellijay en route to their vacation home at Walnut Mountain. The couple were also active in Habitat for Humanity and helped build local homes. Stover said he really got to know the Carters when he built their log cabin on Turniptown Creek inside the Walnut Mountain community.
“I went on 11 Habitat for Humanity trips,” he said, mentioning diverse locales such as New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, Liberty City in Miami, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and even Mexico. “I was on his Habitat for Humanity advisory board where we planned out the trips we were going to do the next summer.”
Asked about their friendship, Stover replied, “He’s really been wonderful to me. He came to my house one year and watched the Super Bowl with me, and went to church with me several times. When he was here, they invited me to celebrate New Year’s Eve with them one year, and I went out with them several times. It was just a genuine friendship where he always — and I don’t know the best way to say this — but I always knew I was not his equal, but he always made me feel like he treasured my advice on the Habitat houses, and especially working on his log home.”
Stover, who served on the Board of Councilors at The Carter Center in Atlanta, called Jimmy Carter “the most disciplined person I ever met.”
“If he made a schedule, he stuck to it,” he detailed. “If he made a promise, he kept it. Nothing was haphazard with him. That’s probably part of his Navy training, and it was a very impressive attribute.”
Del Land recalled being involved in a deadly car wreck where he was seriously injured.
“When he was governor, they visited me and my sister in the hospital after the accident,” he shared. “They brought (their daughter) Amy, and she was curious about how they cut off my leg, I think she was maybe 5 or 6 years old. I always appreciated that he, Rosalyn and Amy took the time from their busy schedule to make that visit. I may not have agreed with his politics, especially over the last 30 years, but I appreciated his humanity and genuine concern for others.”
‘Very approachable’
The Rev. James Holt and his wife, Betty Jo, got to know the Carters through Habitat for Humanity after the Gilmer County chapter got off the ground at Ellijay’s First Baptist Church, where Holt served as longtime pastor. They also went on homebuilding trips with the ministry.
“The church got behind Habitat,” he said of a meeting with around 350 people. “I went on the first Jimmy Carter work camp up in New York City in September of 1984 with a group from Ellijay … Jimmy did a lot of the cabinetry work in those homes, and he knew how to use tools like a Skilsaw.”
Betty Jo added, “When we got to the work site every day, they were both already there working, and they did not take a break. They worked all day long, and lived just like the rest of us on those trips.”
After the New York City mission, the Holts went together on Habitat trips to Miami and Washington, D.C. The Holts got to know the Carters even better when they attended First Baptist during their trips to Ellijay, and James also took the former commander-in-chief fishing at Carters Lake in his boat.
Betty Jo noticed Jimmy Carter was “very approachable.’
“That’s one thing that stood out to me more than any other, because we were with them a lot, we saw people who would do that (walk up to him),” she said. “One time, a man introduced himself when he was in Ellijay and told him he was on the crew that helped build Turniptown Road, (the route) to their mountain vacation home in Walnut Mountain — with picks and shovels and horses. That really got his attention. He was so accessible and so respectful of people.”
During the Washington, D.C., homebuilding trip, the construction crew of volunteers lodged at Gallaudet University, a college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
“We were on our way to the dining hall where we took our meals and walked in with the Carters,” Betty Jo remembered. “A young girl who was clearly a student there walked up to President Carter and her eyes were just sparkling. She had this little pad in her hand, and he immediately smiled at her and said hello and talked a little bit and said, ‘Would you like to make a picture?’ and signed his autograph for her. With anyone who approached him, he was so open and gracious, he was never unapproachable (but) utterly the gentleman. It amazed me to see who he was and how he related to people.”
Bologna sandwiches
On a long-ago weekend, the Holts learned the Carters wanted to have Sunday lunch in their home after church. A Secret Service detachment arrived on Saturday to inspect their house.
“She (Betty Jo) asked the Secret Service guy, ‘Are you going to look in our closets?’” James Holt recollected. “He said, ‘Yes, ma’am, and we’ll be up here in the morning before y’all go (to church), and we’ll be here while you’re gone.’”
Not having time to cook a big dinner — nor knowing how many would arrive since the Carters always traveled with an entourage besides the Secret Service — Betty Jo developed a plan.
“So I just took myself over to Ingles and bought a bunch of cold cuts and made a bunch of sandwiches, and that’s what I served the next day,” she said. “And both of my boys have always referred to it as ‘the time momma served President Carter bologna sandwiches!’ But sure enough, just a whole gaggle of people came with them, and I didn’t even know who they were. I did make dessert, and he liked it so much he wanted me to give the recipe to Miss Lillian (his mother).”
James Holt was asked what he felt was the enduring impact of Jimmy Carter’s life.
“His Habitat work, and his efforts to eradicate Guinea worm (disease),” he believes, then mentioned his Christian character. “He was just a fellow who seemed to love everybody around him.”
Added Betty Jo, “He was a man who loved to make a difference. He didn’t seem to see class. His work in Africa and Habitat all had to do with service. He was all hands on. James and I watched a CNN special on him (last week) and that really was the focus of it, his Christian beliefs and his sense of service. That just motivated him, and it shows from his work in The Carter Center with the work that they do worldwide.