The Century Mark
Former President Jimmy Carter turned 100 years of age yesterday, the first former U.S. president to reach the milestone. Carter has been in hospice for more than a year and has made no public appearances since the funeral of his wife 11 months ago.
We all live longer these days, but 100 is still quite a milestone…similar to when Iowa’s only native-born president, Herbert Hoover, reached 90 back in 1964. When asked how he felt to have been the only former president other than John Adams to reach that mark, Hoover replied, “Too old.” He passed away two months later.
Usually, the presidency is the career pinnacle for an individual. William Howard Taft was not only president, but later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the only person to date to have been the head of two of the three branches of government.
But Carter and Hoover share something besides longevity, and therefore being a “former president” for more than three decades…the presidency was arguably not their career high point.
Hoover was world-renowned for his work in famine relief during World War I, and despite the presidential experience, he was brought back to lead famine relief efforts after World War II as well. Carter threw himself into foundation work, and hoisted more than a few hammers helping bring attention to Habitat for Humanity.
Each has a presidential library, but while there is ample material to document their respective four year terms in each, there’s an awful lot of space devoted to before and after.
Both Carter and Hoover came from small towns in rural states to hold the position of leader of the free world. Their full legacies, though, require attention to more than just that four year period…and outliving most of the rest of us.
