As the nation reflects on the life of President Jimmy Carter, one family in a small Massachusetts town is remembering the time when they hosted the former President for an overnight stay during a visit back in 1977.
"It's really a part of our history we'll never forget," said Terry Ingano, who oversees the Clinton Massachusetts Historical Society.
It was the first year of Carter's Presidency. President Carter was looking to get out of Washington. So advisers picked "Everytown USA" or, in this case, a town called Clinton, Massachusetts.
This visit for President Carter was part of a tour he did in an effort to connect with the average American citizen.
"We stood outside to see the craziness all over the place," Ingano recalls.
During his visit, President Carter needed a place to stay in Clinton. So he chose an unassuming home near the center of town belonging to the Thompson family.
The Thompsons were complete strangers to the president at the time. But with eight kids in the house, the family hosted President Carter for the night. He refused to stay in the primary bedroom, instead asking if he could sleep in a guest room.
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"He did everything he could to not disrupt family life," said Dan Tenore, who now owns the home Carter stayed in.
The next morning, some of the Thompson kids were running behind for school so the president wrote them a note, "To the teacher, please excuse Jane for being late to school — she had a guest in her house," it read.
"Say what you will about any President's success or failures, you always respect the office. The fact the house played host to a president is a big deal, at least to us," Tenore added.
The entire event was front-page news in this small town for days. Old newspaper clippings can still be found in the town's library. President Carter even held a town hall during his stay.
"I think over time people started to realize, the character of the man was something maybe we haven't seen since," town historian Terry Ingano said.
As a nation reflects on the life of the 39th president, there's a piece of history one family and one town will always have.
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