Discovering kitschy, unusual roadside attractions – world’s largest prairie dog, anyone? – has always been one of the happy side effects of RVing. For campers visiting this small park in the Peach State, one such attraction has taken on new meaning in the past week or so.
In Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, a giant roadside statue of a peanut bearing the former president’s toothy grin draws carloads of tourists, but for those living in the camper park directly behind it, the enormous caricature signifies home.
“It kind of watches over us I guess, that big grin,” said Debra Liscotti, who usually stays for several months a year at the site, where about two dozen camper cars are parked.
The 13-foot (four-meter) peanut was brought to Plains after a 1976 presidential rally in Evansville, Indiana and has remained ever since.
Apart from capturing Carter’s unmistakable smile, it also references his background as a peanut farmer in the small town, where he returned after his single term in the White House (1977-81).
Since Carter recently began hospice care at his nearby home, the traffic at the peanut statue has picked up –- and residents of the Plains RV Park have taken note.
One flower bouquet left at the beginning of the week has turned into two, as the site takes on the feel of a makeshift shrine.
The grinning nut, located along Highway 45, recently got a facelift: A fresh coat of paint was applied last Sunday, a day after the 98-year-old Carter announced he would spend his “remaining time” at home and forego additional medical treatment.
Donna Peacock and her partner have been staying at the RV park since January, working as seasonal volunteers at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, which includes sites around town like the president’s boyhood home and high school.
Click here to read the full report from Agence France-Presse, courtesy of Radio France International.
