As the nation prepares to say farewell to former President Jimmy Carter, many Kentuckians are recalling his good deeds in office and afterwards. In 1997, Tom Carew was president of the Human Economic Appalachian Development Corporation, which helped organize an affordable home-building project called Hammering in the Hills. It brought Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter to Morehead.
“The Carters agreed to be these sort of spokesperson, figurehead for the Jimmy Carter Work Project. They didn't do anything in the organizing, that wasn't their job. They would work on a site and they would pound nails, and that's what they always did.”
Carew said six new homes were built in a week in Morehead.
“I had always been a fan. It's unusual to meet someone of that stature who's so humble, so bright, so creative and dedicated – dedicated to working for the common man.”
Carew said many of the volunteers who built homes in Morehead and other parts of central Appalachia did so because of the Carters.
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