Democratic presidential hopeful, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, right, holds a poster as he mingles with the crowd during a campaign visit in [Brandon Park] Williamsport, Pa., April 24, 1976
On April 24th, 1976, at the invitation of Mayor Daniel P. Kirby, Jimmy Carter came to Williamsport on a campaign visit. It was not his first visit to the area - he had lived, briefly, in a YMCA in Lock Haven, nearly a decade prior.
According to the April 25, 1976, edition of the Grit, more than 1,000 people attended Carter’s campaign rally at Brandon Park.
Carter won the April 27th Pennsylvania primary with 37 percent of the vote, and then won the election against President Gerald R. Ford.
In his memoir, “Living Faith,” published in 1996, President Carter mentions his time in Lock Haven as a Southern Baptist missionary, and how much he loved his time in the community. Carter came to Lock Haven in 1968, with the goal of establishing a Southern Baptist Church there. In May of 1968, Carter took a room at the Lock Haven YMCA on East water Street.
According to his account, there were many without a religious affiliation. "His task was daunting yet simple: to visit families identified by volunteers from State College, who had canvassed the area by calling every family in the phone book. His days were spent knocking on doors, facing varied receptions - from open arms to closed doors. "
In the book, Carter recounts an incident in which he asked a local Salvation Army worker for directions to a specific address. After giving the directions, the worker asked dubiously if Carter was certain he wanted to go there. Without asking for further clarification, Carter said he was certain. Lock Haven was once well known for its brothels, and the address Carter headed to was indeed one of those establishments. He spoke with a young prostitute for two hours, and although eh was unsuccessful at converting her, he did convince her to call her estranged parents. Eventually Carter raised enough support to rent a small stone building at 215 Grant Street for a new church. The building still stands, but the congregation did not last long.
In October of 1976, Carters daughter in law, Mrs. Juliette Carter, spoke at Bucknell University, campaigning for her father in law.
Former President Jimmy Carter returned to Lycoming County at least twice, both fly fishing trips along Grey Run. Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, and Kathryn Hepburn also fished in Lycoming County, over the years.
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