Relics of a Bygone Era

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When someone reads that Jimmy Carter was one hundred years old when he died in December 2024 you probably think of a long a great life. No doubt, if you’ve read anything about Carter’s philanthropy, volunteer work, and dedication to God and fellow human, you know it was, indeed a great, long life. However, have you considered the changes that man saw in a century??? A walk through the Carter Boyhood Home, on the family farm just outside of the Plains city limits, can give you an indication. These photos are some of the relics of a bygone era, but part of the young Jimmy Carter’s life as a child. Starting at upper left, we see a windmill. That used wind energy to pump water out of the ground well and into the holding tank. That cost the family $100 “back then,” which the “Inflation Calculator” website says is nearly $1,900 today. Expensive, but it certainly saved a lot of work! The building to the right was a general store that James Carter, Sr. owned and operated. You can see a gravity gas pump (the green thing) in the foreground, next to the building. The middle photo is the little brown shack!!! While the Carters did eventually get indoor plumbing (of sorts), the outhouse was a standard necessity in those days. On the top right is something that you may recognize. I didn’t; in fact, I took that photo to ask the volunteer to identify it. That’s a milk separator. It’s not so antique: modern blood labs use the same principle of centrifugal force to separate blood and plasma when they do blood work. That’s what the separator used (hand cranked, of course, not all computerized and electrical the way modern things are) to remove cream from milk. The cream was used for things like butter, and the milk was consumed. Leftovers were fed to the livestock. I mentioned that the Carters eventually got indoor plumbing. Of course, it’s not the bidet and walk-in tub with jets kind of things. On the lower left, you see the world-famous water pump. My great-aunt and uncle had one of those in their house until, wow, I think 1973! On the right is what Jeff Foxworthy might call a “redneck shower.” It’s a bucket with holes in the bottom. Water was pumped into the bucket, and the holes provided the “shower.” (That was all cold water, by the way. ) There were many other “modern conveniences” that look quite dated throughout the house, like an iron that was warmed on the stove, an ice box, and a butter churn. The vast changes President Carter saw in his life!! PHOTO COLLAGE: (Top left) Windmill, gas pump, Carter’s general store (Top center) Outhouse (Top right) Milk separator (Bottom left) Water pump (Bottom right) DIY shower