GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A West Michigan man created the place meant to memorialize Jimmy Carter’s legacy.
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Jim Kratsas remembers the former commander in chief as kind and determined.
Mementos of the country’s 39th president fill his office.
“Yeah, he definitely had a photographic memory,” Jim recalls. “I know he … was a speed reader, but he retained 95% of what he read speed reading, which was amazing.”
He has letters written and signed by Jimmy Carter himself.
“They considered me the expert,” says Jim. “We had to build everything and draw up the storyline for all the exhibits and so on.”
In 1985, Jim — a Grand Haven resident — took a job in Atlanta as the curator for the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, which details the Georgia native’s life and houses all of the documents and artifacts collected throughout his administration.
“We wanted to show him the biography of Jimmy Carter and the presidency,” Jim told us, “because I always view each presidency as a chapter in American history, from George Washington all the way up now to President Biden.”
Jim stayed there for a little more than four years and met Carter — and his wife, Rosalynn — several times. He even visited them at their home in Plains.
“President Carter would be in, you know, his blue jeans and, you know, open-collared shirt and Mrs. Carter was putzing around the kitchen making, you know, some baked goods or something of that nature,” Jim recalls.
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Jim describes Carter’s death as a loss for the nation. He notes when President Gerald Ford passed away, Carter insisted he attend the funeral.
Jim says the two became close shortly after they ran against each other.
“They always got along swimmingly,” Jim says. “And somebody said, ‘Well, how could you, you know, here's Republican and Democrats’ and so on, and they looked at each other and said, ‘You know, we come from a very small fraternity; only we know what the job is really like.’”
And as people prepare to put another leader to rest, Jim hopes reminders of Carter’s spirit stay with them.
“He was always out there trying to help. He felt that it was his mission,” Jim explains. “He wanted to make a mark in the world. And there's no two ways about it. He did make a mark on the world.”
Jim says in addition to visiting for Ford’s funeral, Carter spoke at GRCC in 2013 and made private visits to West Michigan a handful of times.
