Sign-Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood

Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm

Designation:

National Historical Site

Amenities

1 listed

Accessible Sites

Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood

“Why do you fish and hunt?” I’m often asked. The easiest answer is: “My father and all my ancestors did it before me. It’s been part of my life since childhood, and part of my identity, like being a southerner or a Baptist.”I could add that, during the proper seasons, the urge within me to be in the woods and fields or along a stream is such a strong and pleasant desire that I have no inclination to withstand it."

Jimmy Carter 1994, An Outdoor Journal

Young Jimmy Carter heard the doctrine of stewardship – how to care for God’s gifts – from his father, in his church, and at school in the Future Farmers of America. During the 1930s, he saw Earl Carter terrace his eroded fields, preserve wildlife, and plant pine trees on marginal land. The boy who loved to be outdoors became a governor and a president known for his strong environmental stands. When he signed the Alaska Lands Bill in 1980, Jimmy Carter placed more acres into conservation than had any other president.

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter promoted tree farming in the 1980s. Farmers like the Carters have planted so many trees that today more pines grow in Georgia than 100 years ago. With more acres of commercial forests than any other state, timber is one of Georgia’s most profitable agricultural crops.

Photo: Rosalynn Carter holds a small pine tree as she and Jimmy Carter stand in a field.

• Stewardship

  
  

  President Carter's views on stewardship and how his young life influenced his adult life.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS

  Date created:

  10/31/2021

  Audio Transcript

  One of my most vivid memories of my childhood was of the earth. There was a closeness, almost an immersion in the sand, loam, and red clay that seemed both natural and constant. I remember how enjoyable it was to walk behind the plow, my bare feet caressed by the soft and cool freshly turned earth. The Great Depression really devastated our rural farming economy. The New Deal programs initiated under President Roosevelt’s administration helped to combat this economic downturn and were meant to help farmers conserve the precious topsoil making the land more productive. On our farm, we concentrated on minimizing erosion by terracing the fields and planting the rows on contour. We planted soil building crops like clover, legumes, and vetch; and we worked to enhance wildlife habitat. I learned early on that if we take care of the land, it will take care of us. It may or may not be my descendants who live on our land in the future, but I’m confident that the earth itself will basically remain the same, continuing to shape the lives of its owners for good or ill, as it has for generations. It’s good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature’s gifts, the joy and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.