Rosalynn Carter’s death leads to memories of visit

The passing of First Lady Rosalynn Carter at age 96 at her home in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend gave Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Debi Pratt a chance to reflect on a 1996 visit to the town by Rosalyn and her husband Jimmy, the 39th President of the United States. 

Many of the national and international stories on Rosalynn’s passing quoted Jimmy as claiming that his wife was his poltical partner, equal to him in every way before, during and after his presidency and the most important person in his life.

That was certainly in evidence during their 1996 visit to Niagara.

“Throughout the visit to Inniskillin they were there as a couple, celebrating their anniversary,” Pratt tells The Local. “It wasn’t him leading the way as a former President. You could see the magic between them. That has always stayed with me.”

Back in July, 1996 Pratt received a call from George Bailey, who was head of public relations with the Niagara Parks Commission at the time. He asked Pratt, who was the manager or hospitality at Inniskillin Winery, if she would be able to accommodate a VIP. 

“He couldn’t tell me who it was,” she says. “I asked him to give me a date so I could ensure that Donald (Ziraldo) and Karl (Kaiser) would be here to greet whoever it was.”

Just a few days before their arrival, Pratt was told it was to be the Carters, so she sat down and began planning the visit with Ziraldo and Kaiser. 

The Carters were visiting Niagara on their 50th anniversary. Photos on the Niagara Falls Public Library’s website show the Carters posing on the Niagara Parkway in front of the Falls and standing in front of the Floral Clock. 

Their itinerary included a sojourn on the Maid of the Mist, the Journey Behind the Falls and a tour of the brand new Butterfly Conservatory. In addition, they enjoyed a leisurely stroll in Niagara-on-the-Lake and a stop for lunch at the Oban Inn.

But before lunch Pratt, Ziraldo and Kaiser hosted them at Inniskillin.

“We had our self-guided tour at that time,” Pratt recalls. “They arrived around 10:30 that morning. Donald took them on the tour, showing them the maps that explained why we could grow the grapes here. They were both really interested in the whole process.”

The tour ended in the loft, where they usually took important guests for a tasting. 

“We did the chardonnay and then Donald did the icewine,” says Pratt. “Just two wines, because past experience told us that former presidents don’t drink much.”

They also served the Carters, former peanut farmers from Georgia, a bowl of peanuts. 

Before they arrived, says Pratt, Ziraldo visited Picard’s Peanuts to buy two bags of their best product, grown in Ontario. 

“When we were setting up, Donald told me to open one bag of peanuts and put it in a bowl,” she says, “and to not open the other bag. He told me not to put the bowl out until he gave me a nod after the tasting.”

Both Carters asked a number of questions during the tasting. When they were done, Ziraldo nodded to Pratt and she went to get the bowl of peanuts.

“He told them that they were peanuts grown in Ontario,” says Pratt. “The President didn’t believe him. They tried the peanuts and agreed that they were delicious, but they still didn’t think they were grown in Ontario.”

So Pratt left and returned with the bag of Picard’s Peanuts, clearly marked with “product of Ontario”, and presented it to the Carters as a gift for them to take home.

“What I loved about what Donald did was how he made the parallel between all the people that told him and Karl they couldn’t grow their grapes here to people thinking that good peanuts couldn’t be grown here,” Pratt marvels. 

It’s an example, she says, of how Ziraldo always had the fortunes of the region in mind and not just the success of his own winery at top of mind. It was just natural to him. 

The Local reached out to Picard’s head office in Windham Centre, Ontario, where Mackenzie Picard answered the phone. She said the peanuts would have been bought from the company’s Fonthill store back then, which was managed by her late grandfather, Jim. 

Her own father, also named Jim, had no recollection of the Carter incident. A story from the St. Catharines Standard confirmed that it happened but never named Picard’s Peanuts. In fact, unless Ziraldo followed up with a call to Picard’s, they may never have known about the President sampling their product. 

Pratt also recalls the Carters being very interested in the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design of the Inniskillin barn. She credits that to the Carters’ support of Habitat for Humanity. When told that a Buffalo-based architect had refuted Ziraldo’s original belief that Wright himself had designed the barn, Pratt said that Carter jokingly suggested that Ziraldo bribe him. 

Another memory involves Kaiser, Inniskillin’s winemaker, being a bit nervous about meeting the President and First Lady. He wasn’t sure what to wear, as his usual work attire involved jeans and t-shirt. 

“He was wearing jeans and a nice shirt,” Pratt says, “and I told him he looked fine. It was just a casual visit, not formal. He went home anyway and put on dress pants, a nicer shirt and a blazer. Then when Jimmy and Rosalynn got out of the car, Jimmy was wearing blue jeans.”

When all of their touring was over, the Carters returned to their hotel, the Ramada Renaissance in Niagara Falls. Coincidentally, there they ran into former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who was visiting the area with his granddaughter.

Pratt says whenever she thinks of the Carters she thinks about their visit to Inniskillin and all the funny stories that happened that July day. And with Rosalynn’s passing last weekend it’s all coming back to her. 

At 99 years old, Jimmy Carter is the longest-living President in US history. Back in February he opted gto stop full-scale medical care and entered hospice care at the couple’s Georgia home. He has hung on since, celebrating his latest birthday on October 1. 

Mrs. Carter is also survived by her four children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and her sister, Lillian Allethea Smith Wall.