JIMMY CARTER: Historic Georgia theater shares memories of longtime friend

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Jimmy Carter and Columbus’ historic Springer Opera House go way back. It depends on who you ask just how far.

Former President Jimmy Carter passed earlier this week at the age of 100 in his Plains, Ga., home. At the Springer, located just an hour away from Carter’s hometown, staff are remembering a man they knew for decades as a friend.

“He and his family have had a long relationship with the Springer Opera House,” said Paul Pierce, the Springer’s senior adviser and former longtime artistic director.

He recalled the Springer’s 100th anniversary in 1971, when then-Georgia Governor Carter named the opera house Georgia’s state theater.

On another occasion nearly twenty years ago, Pierce found out Carter’s history with the Springer goes back even further than he knew.

Pierce was standing with Carter inside the Springer’s dark wood saloon chatting when the then-artistic director noticed the former president’s wife Rosalynn eating at one of the many tables.

“She looked rather ravenous, in fact, and she was eating alone,” Pierce said. “And I said to President Carter, ‘I’m so glad that Miss Rosalynn had a break so that she could get something to eat.’”

Sitting inside the Springer just days after the news of Carter’s death at the age of 100 broke, Pierce chuckled at the fond memory of what the longtime friend of the Springer told him next.

“He said, ‘Well, to be honest, she never liked coming to the Springer.’ And I was surprised. And I said, ‘Well, why?’” Pierce remembered.

It was then that the nearly 80-year-old Carter made a confession.

Years ago, during the 1940s when Carter was in the Naval Academy, he had dated a girl from Americus, Ga. One night, he took her on a date to the Springer to see a movie.

Pierce said the former president told him, “‘A few years ago, I mistakenly confessed that I kissed that girl in the balcony of the Springer Opera House and she hasn’t liked coming to the Springer ever since.’”

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But Carter never lost his love for the Springer, according to Pierce, who called the former president a neighbor and friend whose “history [was] completely intertwined with the history” of the local opera house.

In 2003, the Springer Opera House put on a stage adaptation of Carter’s 1995 children’s book “The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer.” It was based off stories Carter used to tell his children when he returned from long naval deployments, fictional memories of what happened at sea.

Carter’s daughter Amy originally illustrated the book for a course at the Memphis College of Art. When it came time for the stage production, Amy was invited to the Springer to create custom scenery for the show. Newspaper photos from back then show her doing just that.

Pierce remembers taking photos on opening night, with his granddaughter standing alongside the former president.

In 2006, Carter made his last visit to the Springer for a fundraiser that was held for the Historic Westville museum. He signed autographs and took photos with guests.

“Jimmy Carter brought stories into this building. He was a poet. He was a writer, humanitarian, a farmer,” Pierce said. “As Bob Dylan said, ‘If you told me that he was a race car driver, I wouldn’t be surprised.’ – and he [was] someone who has great intellectual curiosity and a deep, deep love of his fellow human.”

Carter’s memory will continue to live on at the Springer. A star-shaped paver outside the theater bears the former president’s name.

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