Public Housing Unit occupied by Carters rededicated in Plains
Published 3:18 pm Monday, October 14, 2024
- Public Housing Unit 9A on Pascal Street, formerly occupied by the Carters.
Public housing unit 9A, which was occupied by the Carters, was recently rededicated October 5th. The unit is on Pascal Street in Plains.
CEO of the Housing Authority of Americus, George Edge, gave his reactions. “It was a very powerful moving experience.” Partners of the effort included The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trial, The Plains Historic Preservation Trust, and The Jimmy Carter National Historic Park.
Edge talked about the impact of the event. “It was a moving experience, just to be able to see and internalize that a President of the United States actually lived in public housing for approximately two years. So the message from that was, it doesn’t matter where you begin. If you can dream a vision. . . anything becomes possible.”
He told how Richard Monocchio, the Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of HUD, was in attendance. James Earl Carter the third, better known as Chip Carter, gave an address. Edge shared his impressions. “He shared of that time, actually living in the unit, and just spoke of the possibilities, the importance of housing, the need for housing, affordable housing. So he spoke very passionately concerning that.”
Edge also told how the Carter family made a donation. “The Carter family donated a split sofa that the Carters brought back to Plains when they returned from Hawaii.”
He told how it was restored. “It was upholstered by a local person, Larry McCray. He re-covered that sofa so it’s absolutely immaculate.”
Edge further detailed the restoration. “Everyone had the opportunity to view it, to actually see all the boy’s rooms, President and Mrs. Carter’s room. We completely restored it. We redid the cabinets according to the original floor plan designs.”
He told how they were able to find unique period items. “The Historic Trust really worked with us in identifying dated period pieces that would be good to go in there.” He told how the Unit had Roy Rogers curtains.
Edge also told of the work of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail. “They did the landscaping. They did the pollinator gardens and raised bed gardens which were very prevalent.”
Jill Stuckey, Superintendent of the National Historic Park, described the rededication. “It was such an amazing event. We had well over 100 people attend. The Housing Authority, Mr. Edge, and Mr. Fuse, did an amazing job of making everybody comfortable.” She also praised Annette Wise and the Plains Historic Trust.
She was optimistic about its use. “We look forward to the future where we can maybe partner with the Housing Authority to actually do some tours [for] folks that are coming to Plains to learn more about the Carters and our education program.”
Stuckey summed up its significance. “It’s a great example of how in this country, you can grow up in a housing project or live in a housing project and become leader of the free world.”