DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — It’s been a nostalgic week for former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
She said her week began in Washington, D.C., at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and was ending in DeFuniak Springs at the Florida Chautauqua Assembly.
Carter, this year’s keynote speaker, spoke Friday morning in front of a large crowd in the Walton High School auditorium. Her speech focused on her efforts to bring a large Chautauqua Assembly to her hometown of Plains, Ga.
“People from all over the world come to learn about the small community who helped elect a president,” Carter said. “Plains is not a sleepy little town anymore.
“It would be a wonderful thing for our community if we could get a Chautauqua Assembly going.”
Check out a slideshow of the event. >>
Plains has a population of 634 people, boasts 11 churches and is bursting with peanuts, cotton, corn, grain and pine. Carter said she hopes to build the Chautauqua Assembly to bring more education, arts and culture.
Carter stood behind the replica of the lectern she stood at with her husband Jimmy after they learned he had won the1976 election. Another lectern built by students at the Walton Career Development Center was given to her to take home.
The actual lectern sits behind a case in a museum in Plains.
Carter took the audience of students and Chautauqua visitors on a journey through her and her husband’s childhood, sharing stories about Plains and her favorite teacher who attended Chautauqua Assemblies regularly and brought that knowledge to her students.
“She used to tell us, ‘Study hard and learn all you can because some day a boy in this room might become president.’
“Jimmy Carter never thought he would be president of the United States and I never thought I’d be first lady, but it happened.
“You never know.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.