As the nation remembers former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin took a look back through its archives to remember several stops by the former president in central Wisconsin in the 1970s.
Carter served just one term as president, from 1977 to 1981, but he became well-known for his humanitarian work around the globe after his presidency and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Carter held the status of former president longer than anyone in U.S. history, and in 2019 he surpassed George H. W. Bush as the nation’s oldest living ex-president.
Carter’s first Wausau stop came days ahead of presidential primary
Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter spoke to a crowd of over 600 people at the Wausau Labor Temple on March 30, 1976. Many of those who attended were local students.
The stop came just days ahead of Wisconsin’s presidential primary election.
Carter stressed his desire for an honest and open government, telling the crowd: “I see no reason why a politician should ever tell a lie,” the Wausau Daily Herald reported.