T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Jon Muller of rural Marshalltown is pictured recently at the T-R office with his collection of Jimmy Carter’s books, which includes several autographed copies. Muller met Carter in Iowa City ahead of his 1976 presidential campaign and worked for the Peanut Brigade in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin during that election cycle.

The late President Jimmy Carter was known for his plain speaking, humility and possessing the common touch. His unlikely rise from peanut farmer to Commander in Chief and post-White House work with Habitat for Humanity is sure to inspire generations to come.

Jon Muller, who has lived and worked in Marshalltown for nearly 50 years, first met Carter while a high schooler in his native Iowa City. Carter spoke at the Memorial Union to a group of about 10 people. Muller’s father Kenneth had secured an invitation to the event. Active in the Democratic Party and head of the AFL-CIO union for the University of Iowa, Kenneth had also run the successful Congressional campaign of John R. Schmidhauser and did the mailing campaign for Sen. Harold Hughes.

“At that meeting, my father said if I had a question to ask (Carter), I’d better ask him now, because the next time he’s back, the room will not be this light on people,” Muller recalled. “The next time he was at the ballroom at the Union, and it was jam-packed…I think what drew both my dad and me to him, he was just so common. He never seemed like he was in a hurry anywhere. My father always said when the candidates came to town, it didn’t matter if they were Democrats or Republicans, that you should always go and see him, and you get the information firsthand that way.”

Muller then got on the Johnson County steering committee for Carter. He joined the Peanut Brigade in the summer of 1976, stationed in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

“It was a lot of people traveling around on commercial buses, and wherever he was appearing for a speech or parade, we were there to pass out literature,” he recalled.

Also that summer, Muller, his parents and little brother were invited to Plains, Ga.

“We never got to go to the Carters’ home, but we did get to go to his mother’s home — Miss Lillian’s,” Muller said. “When we got there, Carter was there to greet us, and we got to spend about 15 minutes with him that day.”

Although uncommitted voters made up 37 percent of the Iowa Caucuses vote, Jimmy Carter came in second with 27 percent, thus helping to propel him on the national stage.

Muller attended the inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 1977. Academic and politician Jim Leach had offered Muller’s father some tickets in the seating area set up for members of Congress. At the ball the Mullers attended, they got to meet actress Jean Stapleton and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

“Of course, the Carters stopped by. They had a lot of balls to go to that night,” he said.

Muller had invited three college buddies on the trip, noting that area museums stayed open all day and all night to accommodate tourists in D.C. for the inauguration.

The next year, when Carter gave his first State of the Union Address, he invited members of the Iowa delegation to a dinner at the White House.

“I was the youngest person in that Iowa delegation to go there,” he said. “After the speech, we formed a line and we got to go by and say hi to him and his wife.”

The next day, the Iowa delegation toured the Capitol. Muller noted Carter dropped by to chat.

“He was always very thankful to Iowans for that help,” he said.

Muller met the Carters’ son, Chip, in Marshalltown during the District Convention in 1980. A reception and fundraiser was held at Muller’s in-laws’ home — Kenny and Dude Cagwin. Muller’s wife Dawn was also in attendance.

“We had Secret Service in the timber 24/7 for a week before that event,” Muller recalled. “Chip said he would stay for 15 minutes, but he was having so much fun, he ended up staying about three hours that night and played his guitar.”

Muller said the last time he saw Jimmy Carter in person was when the former president spoke at Carver Hawkeye Arena on a book tour in April 2007. Muller owns several copies of books penned by Carter that the former president had mailed to him.

“Now that he’s passed away, the books are more meaningful today,” he said. “I know that he’s touched all of them.”

Other locals share experiences with President Carter

Lisa Tice Jones, who graduated from MHS in 1984 and currently resides in Junction City, Kan., met President Carter in 2015 on an airplane flying from Santa Barbara to Kansas City.

“He actually came up to me. I was sitting in my seat while the plane was still boarding. He came on with what looked like two security guards,” Tice Jones said. “I was not paying attention and he said, in a strong southern accent, ‘good morning young lady.’ I looked up and to my surprise it was him. I said ‘good morning sir’ and he chuckled.

Carter told her it was not necessary to call him sir, and he asked if she was going to Kansas City, and she confirmed it.

“He asked if I was going home or going for a visit. I told him that I was leaving from a visit with my granddaughter and heading home to Fort Riley. He said ‘oh you must be military,’ I replied ‘yes,’ and he thanked me and told me to thank my husband for his service as well,” she added. “He told me to have a safe flight and I wished him the same. He was so kind and soft-spoken. He actually sat a few rows behind me in the regular seats, not first class.”

Mike Martin of Union said his son Dan, who graduated from MHS in 2011, attended and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta. President Carter spoke to the freshman class each year.

Kenny Swartz of Lathrop, Mo., formerly of Marshalltown, met Carter at the Regency Hotel when he first began his bid for the presidency.