Jimmy Carter In Oklahoma: Looking Back On Carter’s Visits To Elk City, Stillwater

Many people across the United States are remembering President Jimmy Carter this week after his death on Sunday.

While the 39th president didn't have any direct ties to Oklahoma, he did make a few appearances in the state during this life. Many people saw Carter in Norman when he visited for a campaign stop during his 1976 campaign. He also held a late October rally in Tulsa.

Related Story: Oklahoma Lawmakers React To Death Of Jimmy Carter

1979

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter visited Elk City, Oklahoma keeping a promise that he had made during a campaign visit a few years before.

Carter delivered remarks during a town hall but quickly opened the discussion up to the Oklahomans for a Q&A. Carter addressed local concerns ranging from inflation and energy policies to social issues like food stamps and military taxation. He also discussed national challenges such as labor negotiations, inflation control, and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty which was signed that same week.

Here is an expert from the event provided by the American Presidency Project. The President was asked about whether the two-income family model was here to stay:

Q: "Mr. President, with inflation increasing every month, can you foresee a time when the average American family will be able to live on one salary again? Or are we doomed to be working housewives?"

A: "I would guess that the trend of more than one person working in a family would continue. Now the two people working make a much higher income, much more than twice as much income, as a single person working in a family did 10, 15, 20 years ago. We have a much higher standard of living. I remember when I was a boy, for a family to have an automobile made them one of the richest families in the community. And I grew up without electricity or running water in my home. And many things now that are taken for granted, even by supposedly poor families, would have been considered extremely wealthy, you know, back just when I was a child. So, I would guess that because people do want to live a better life, to have more leisure time, to learn more about the world, to do more study, to have more recreation, they will continue to want to have a higher wage income even than one person can provide. I know many people—I know you do as well—where a husband might make a fairly high income, $50,000 or $100,000 or more, where the wife decides to work because she wants to express herself or because she has some special talent or wants to expand her life beyond the family itself, certainly after the children are grown or able to take care of themselves. So, I would guess the trend would continue. It's not all because the families would starve without the wives' help. But I know that in this time of inflation, two incomes can give a family the standard of living that they want and deserve. I don't think I've answered your question very well, but to say that I think it's a permanent fixture on the American scene to have many double wage earners or even more, with children counted, in a family, I think that's a time that's come. I think it's going to stay with us. I don't see anything wrong with it."

Transcripts of the event depict an informal and interactive atmosphere, marked by Carter's candid responses to questions and even lighthearted moments like granting requests for kisses from attendees.

(AP: President Carter Kisses Karen Ensey of Dill City, OK)

Q. "Mr. President, my name is Karen Ensey, and I'm from Dill City, Oklahoma, and I'd like to know if I can have a kiss. [Laughter]"

[At this point, the President kissed Ms. Ensey.]

A: "I might say that I don't have any rule against the same question being asked more than once. [Laughter]"

Carter was a Baptist who attended church most Sundays and was in the pews Sunday morning at the First Baptist Church of Elk City.

(AP: Carter shakes hands with the pastor of First Baptist Church in Elk City)

1990

Carter also visited Stillwater on Dec. 6, 1990, to dedicate the Seretean Wellness Center. The 25,000-square-foot center later opened in January 1991 and was named for M.B. "Bud" Seretean.

Carter did not win Oklahoma in 1976 when he ran for re-election in 1980. The '76 race was close though with Carter only losing by about 13,000 votes. In 1980 he lost close to 200,000.

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In 1996, News On 6's Lori Fullbright and Oscar Pea met the former President.

"I was fortunate to meet Former President Jimmy Carter, along with photojournalist Oscar Pea, in February of 1996," Fullbright shared. "We were flying to Bosnia to cover Oklahomans called up to serve there and Mr. Carter was on the same plane and graciously took pictures with lots of people."