Church Street in downtown Plains was at a somber hush Saturday morning despite the hundreds of people lining the streets when former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral procession made its way to his Boyhood Farm.
There, the longest serving National Park Service Rangers in Plains, Randy Dillard and Karen Berry, rang the farm bell 39 times. That same bell would ring an hour before daylight during Carter’s boyhood, which was the name of his memoir about his early years.Carter’s ride through Plains marks the beginning of one last journey, a trip that will mirror the path of his storied life from a modest farm community to the state Capitol in Atlanta and onto Washington D.C. The former President died in his Plains home on Dec. 29 at age 100.
“I think he was the finest man that ever served in office,” said Randy Fenley, who traveled from Macon, Georgia for the procession.
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Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025; Plains, Ga; A boy salutes as the hearse carrying former President Jimmy Carter travels along Church Street through Plains, Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
The procession will conclude back in Plains on Jan. 9, where President Carter also returned from Washington D.C. after losing reelection in 1980. There will be a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday school into his 90s, before a private internment at the Carter residence. Jimmy Carter will be buried next to his beloved late wife Rosalynn Carter on those grounds. The home they shared together eventually will become part of the complex that makes up the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.
“I think President Carter’s story is the quintessential American story, singular in its uniqueness,” said Jacob Harper during an interview at the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm last Monday, before the procession.
Accompanying Jimmy Carter’s remains on this trip were members of his family, many who experienced these stops alongside him throughout his life.
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Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025; Plains, Ga; The hearse carrying former President Jimmy Carter travels along Church Street through his home town of Plains, Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
The flurry of people in Downtown Plains also filtered throughout the local businesses. The Plains Peanut Shop offered free samples of its signature peanut ice cream. Next door at Southwest Trophy & Gifts, coffee flowed for free—tips only. Visitors’ hometowns spanned from neighboring rural Georgia communities to states hundreds of miles away.
Alan and Owen Bowers traveled from nearby Warner Robins, Georgia, to honor the legacy of President Carter and pay their respects. The father and son woke up at 5:45 a.m. to make the trip. Alan Bowers said coming from a nearby Georgia town provides a sense of kinship to Jimmy Carter. On the quiet drive in, Alan Bowers found himself thinking about the red Georgia clay that President Carter also came from.
“It’s special … It shows how hard he had to work to get from his small town to the (Oval) Office,” said Owen Bowers, a high school freshman.
The funeral procession began Saturday at the Phoebe Sumpter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, Plains’ neighbor city. There, Carter’s casket was carried to the hearse, accompanied by nine of his former Secret Service security detail.
A train whistle blew in the distance over the reverent crowd of hundreds, waving flags and holding signs.
Upon leaving the Boyhood Farm, the procession made way to Atlanta for a moment of silence at the Georgia State Capitol. Saturday’s segment of the state funeral will end with President Carter lying in repose at the Carter Center, home of his post-Presidency legacy of eradicating disease, brokering peace agreements and promoting democracy across the globe.
Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
Amy Paige Condon contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession makes pass through beloved hometown