"Mike Raye hitch-hiked to meet Plains matriarch" from the January 20, 1977 Door County Advocate
By KETA STEEBS
Mike Raye hitch-hiked to meet Plains matriarch
By KETA STEEBS
Mike Raye's jaw dropped when I walked into Kaleidoscope earlier this week.
"You're not here for a record, tape or pipe," he exclaimed. "What can I do for you?"
I told him he could tell me about his visit to Miss Lillian, Jimmy Carter's by-now-legendary mother.
Mike groaned. His visit was made, he said reluctantly, way last fall — shortly after the presidential election. He decided on the spur of the moment to hitch-hike from St. Petersburg, Fla., (where his Clockwork band was playing) to Plains, Ga., a distance of 500 miles, to have a little chat with Miss Lillian. He said he needed a change of pace.
"I could just as well have started off for the Keys," Mike recalled. "But I headed north into Georgia instead — me and my dog."
Mike and his dog arrived at Miss Lillian's favorite reception center (the old railroad depot) at about 3 p.m. Most of her entourage had left and Mike enjoyed about 40 minutes of the Carter matriarch's undivided attention before little Amy came scooting in from school.
"She and her grandma are really close," Mike explained. "Amy spent a lot of time with Miss Lillian while her parents were out campaigning."
Once Amy made an appearance conversation became difficult. Mike obligingly sang "Amy" for the precocious lemonade-vendor and by so doing made additional points with her fond grandmother.
Before Amy ended their discussion Mike and Miss Lillian spoke of many things. Her favorite subject, Jimmy Carter, was discussed freely but when it came to talking about his free-wheeling brother Billy Miss Lillian was more reticent. Billy was Billy, she told Mike. He would have to find out what he was like for himself.
Mike dutifully took off for Billy's service station but its ebullient owner-operator was nowhere in sight. "I contented myself by dashing over to Huey Carter's antique shop and buying a bag of peanuts instead," Raye concluded.
Huey Carter, a first cousin of Jimmy's, sells expensive antiques. According to Mike an old Dr. Pepper bottle retails at $3.
Plains itself is about the size of Valmy and until its favorite son became a household word was just as sedentary. All that has changed, Mike says. Now the atmosphere is more reminiscent of Coney Island than a sleepy southern town.
"They've got tour buses and barkers and the entire place is definitely geared to tourists," Mike grins. "Even when I was there it was getting pretty hectic."
Miss Lillian, dressed in a simple cotton gown and wearing sensible oxfords, rocks away her afternoons listening to people talk.
"One thing makes her mad," said Mike candidly, "She doesn't mind having her picture taken but she sure hates having people tell her how to pose."
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
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