Remembering Jimmy Carter: A teen’s week with the president and his family on the Mississippi

Editor’s note: This was written by Eden Prairie resident Michelle Fourre.

Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter (who died at the age of 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29). Back in August 1979, my parents and I spent a week with the president, Rosalynn, and Amy Carter onboard the steamboat Delta Queen.

My dad’s idea of a great vacation was taking a steamboat down the Mississippi River. I was 13, so you can imagine how thrilled I was.

About a week before we were set to leave, the travel agent called my mom and asked her to put me on the phone extension. They told us President Carter would be on the steamboat with us! My mom thought they were joking until they asked for our Social Security numbers and birthdates so the U.S. Secret Service could conduct background checks.

My brother, Craig, drove us to St. Paul on Friday, Aug. 17, 1979, dropped us off, and took a great nighttime photo of the Delta Queen. All the passengers watched as the Carter family, Secret Service, and members of the press boarded the boat.

Normally, the steamboat would cruise down the river slowly and stop at four ports for day trips before arriving in St. Louis, but our itinerary was adjusted to allow more stops in towns along the river for President Carter to give speeches as he campaigned for reelection. Each night, the steamboat cruised faster to make up for the time spent at the speech events. By the end of the week, we had heard the president’s campaign speech so many times that we could recite it from memory.

At one point during the daytime, my dad and I were walking along the steamboat when we could hear yelling in the distance. People were standing along the riverbank waving, and then my dad realized that the people thought we were the president and his daughter, and my dad started waving back at the crowd. He thought it was the greatest thing, while I was mortified; I could see people taking pictures of us! Somewhere, there are likely photos of two dots on a boat, with people claiming it was the president and his daughter.

There were four teenage girls on board the steamboat, including me, while most of the other passengers were over 50. The three other girls and I quickly hit it off and began hanging out together. Before long, Amy Carter joined us, and her favorite pastime became ditching her Secret Service agent. The bar on board created a special mocktail called the “Amy Carter,” which we could enjoy for free as often as we wanted.

For the campaign speech stops where President Carter and Rosalynn went ashore, Amy was required to join them. She had to change clothes – usually into a dress – and have her hair combed and braided. She hated it but understood it was necessary because the crowd loved seeing her with her parents. As soon as she returned to the steamboat, she changed back into her shorts and came to find us girls.

The Secret Service agents wore earpieces connected to microphones attached to their wristwatches. My parents and I thought it was funny to watch the agents talking to their wrists. There were also special phones connected to the White House placed sporadically around the boat.

On the first morning (Saturday), everyone on the boat woke up to a loud “thump, thump, thump, thump.” We later learned the president was doing his morning jog around the boat. After complaints, he began jogging on shore during stops for his speeches.

One late evening, my parents were standing at the bow of the boat enjoying the quiet when they heard a voice behind them ask if they could join; it was President Carter and Rosalynn. While the Carters didn’t know my parents’ names, they knew their daughter was one of the girls spending time with Amy all week. They told my parents they were glad Amy had friends on the trip and could just be a little girl (she was 11). My parents and the Carters chatted and enjoyed the evening together for about half an hour before heading to bed. My parents were deeply impressed by the Carters, describing them as down-to-earth and genuinely good people.

(My dad was a purchasing agent for Pepsi-Cola and worked for Carl Pohlad. My parents were accustomed to meeting a variety of people at soft drink conventions and through sales contacts, so they meant it when they were impressed by President Carter and Rosalynn.)

Toward the last night on the boat, Amy asked her parents if she could have a sleepover, and they agreed. Just imagine five giggling teenage girls in one small bedroom! (Her parents were in the next room.) We played cards, joked, and laughed. At one point, the phone in Amy’s room rang. Since I was sitting next to it, Amy asked me to answer. It was President Carter, asking us to quiet down. I was so embarrassed, but Amy wasn’t bothered at all.

Somehow, we all started giggling again, and soon Amy’s door opened. Standing there in his boxer shorts and undershirt was President Carter! He really shushed us, and Amy knew then that her dad meant it. We quieted down and went to sleep.

I told one of my sons this story years ago, but he didn’t believe me. So, I searched the president’s daily diary in the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and found this:

August 22, 1979

12:43–12:44 a.m.

“The President talked with his daughter, Amy Carter.”