The Friends of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
The Friends of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site is a non-profit organization that supports the national park and the city of Plains, Georgia.
Led by Kim Fuller, the organization has raised millions to enhance the preservation and interpretation of the park. Beginning in 2018, for example, the Friends began funding a permanent “teacher” at Plains High School to create K-12 lessons plans and facilitate field trips for students across Georgia.
As a board, the Friends group combines a wide range of expertise from President and Rosalynn Carter to the mayor of Plains and local business owners. As a member of the board from 2017 to 2023, I brought the experience of a former park ranger and the knowledge of a public historian and college history professor.
SAM Shortline Murder Mystery Series
Kim Fuller, Executive Director of Friends of Jimmy Carter NHS, has been written plays about Plains, Georgia, and her aunt and uncle (Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter) for decades. One iteration was murder mystery series on the Historic SAM Shortline Railroad. Ticket sales support local public history organizations such as the Plains Better Hometown Program, the SAM Shortline Railroad, the Rural Telephone Museum, and the Friends of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.
Despite having no acting talent (President Carter once told me to “keep my historian job” after seeing me perform), I played the character, “Larkin,” in the series for years.
The recurring plot line—always something about a secret recipe—helped inspire the republication of a local culinary artist’s 1898 cookbook for the benefit of the Friends organization and the Sumter Historic Trust.
