Jimmy Carter is being remembered Thursday as America's 39th president, but there was so much more to Carter's century-long life.
Tim Nixon met the future president 50 years ago during campaign stops in Wisconsin.
TMJ4's Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson is in Washington, D.C., for Carter's funeral and has talked with people from Washington to Wisconsin who formed special bonds with President Carter.
Tim Nixon's first-ever presidential vote was for Jimmy Carter.
"It's a nice trip down memory lane," said Green Bay lawyer Tim Nixon.
He has many good memories of Jimmy Carter—from campaign buttons, personal photos, and historic newspaper headlines.
"I was looking for someone who was honest and straightforward."
Nixon says he became impressed with the former governor of Georgia after meeting him at a small campaign event in Darboy, Wisconsin.
Watch: The special bond between a Wisconsin man and President Carter
"I and a couple of people got to sit down with him for an hour or two, and he just talked to us," recalls Nixon. "That was in 1975, and after that, I thought: 'This is the guy.'"
Carter would go on to win a hard-fought Wisconsin primary. He beat Morris Udall in a race decided by one percent, but it was not a lock for Carter to win.
"No, it was not, but the Carters were all in on Wisconsin."
And so was the eager 18-year-old.
Nixon ended up at the 1976 Democratic National Convention in New York City as one of the youngest delegates for Carter—and lots of souvenirs.
He still has small packages of peanuts with Carter's image and name on them.
Nixon liked the peanut farmer's resume and resolve.
"He was religious, not just pretend religious—he really believed," said Nixon.
"The other thing is, he was trained as an engineer."
Carter often talked about his faith and being a born-again Christian, who later taught Sunday school in his hometown.
He was an engineering officer in the Navyand later became a part of the nuclear-powered submarine program.
When candidate Carter was in Wisconsin, Nixon was usually by his side at campaign events.
"This is me with the president on the submarine in Manitowoc," said Nixon. "It's fading with time, but you can see his signature."
Nixon sensed he was part of something bigger—that this was a historical journey.
"Yes, we did. I was young then," Nixon said. "We believed stuff like that. We wanted to change the world."
Carter defeated Gerald Ford, but an energy crisis, historic highs for inflation, and geopolitical events led to Carter's one-term presidency.
Was there any disappointment with Carter at that time?
"No, because in a lot of cases, I don't know what else you were going to do," said Nixon. "Like all presidents, he doesn't make perfect decisions."
Nixon voted for Carter in 1980 and moved on with life but watched Carter's post-presidency with interest and fondness for a man he helped win the White House nearly 50 years ago.
"I have tremendous respect for him," Nixon said, "for the life he lived. What was the old Frank Sinatra song? 'I did it my way.' He did it his way."
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
