LEWISTON, Minn. – Democratic old-timers around Winona County are remembering their annual 1975 picnic at Farmerd Park on Garvin Brook. Hopping up on a flatbed truck was a man they didn’t recognize and had never heard of. The guy had arrived unannounced, unexpected and by himself. Standing on the flatbed, he got everyone’s attention: “My name is Jimmy Carter, and I am running for president.” Sixteen months later, in November 1976, he was elected the 39th president of the United States. Democrats at Farmers Park remember the occasion although not exactly what was said. It seems that Carter mentioned just finishing a term as governor of Georgia, that he was committed to humanitarian causes, to ending racial and gender discrimination, and to decency in government. At the time the nation was still reeling from the scandals of the Nixon presidency. The applause was mild, no one quite figuring out what significance to attach to the guy on the flatbed. He hopped down, shook hands and chatted. Then he was gone. Carter hitched a ride 10 miles to the Winona airport. Local pilot George Bolon flew him, still by himself, to Wisconsin for the next stop on his coast-to-coast bid to introduce himself at grassroots events across the American landscape. In the end Carter carried Minnesota 55% to 42% with the state’s native son Walter Mondale as his running mate. Winona County went 10,929 to 10,436 for the Carter-Mondale ticket.
Jimmy Carter
1924-2024
Shirt-sleeve campaigner. On his barn-storming 1975 tour to drum up support for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Farmers Park. Huge gatherings at the county park were a big deal for decades. The turnout at the 1975 DFL potluck picnic wasn’t recorded, although probably less than this earlier Farm Bureau get-together. Recollections are of a hot, hot day and bountiful home-cooking in the Winona County DFL tradition.