I Attended Jimmy Carter's 1977 Inauguration. The First Nation to Celebrate 2025

In this newsletter, we will cover two totally unrelated topics: my experience at Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Inauguration, and the remarkable little nation of Kiribati (Warning: do not pronounce it as it looks) and the fact that they are the first to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
 
First – let’s talk about JIMMY CARTER

EISENHOWER’S INAUGURATION
Background: When I was a 9-year-old, we made the first ever trek from the farm in Kansas to Washington, DC. I remember how excited we were to see the Iwo Jima War Memorial. For some reason (and I am not sure why or how), my father could not decide on the correct road to exit the round-about that then circled the iconic statue, so we – not by design – circled it, and circled it and circled it. 
 
But what I most remember about our first ever trip to Washington DC in December of 1956 was our drive by the east side of the U.S. Capitol Building. There I saw the scaffolding being erected preparing for Dwight David Eisenhower’s second inauguration on January 20, 1957. At that time, inaugurations were on held on the east side of the building.

CARTER’S INAUGURATION 
Now let’s jump ahead 20 years, from 1957 to 1977. Jimmy Carter was being sworn in as president.
 
When I first heard of Jimmy Carter, about a year prior to the elections, we learned that he was a farmer and a Baptist Sunday School teacher, and his son was in an evangelical seminary. My father, a farmer who had always voted Republican, actually stated on one occasion, in the early hours of hearing about Carter, that he might possibly vote for him. But the more we learned about Carter over the next year, the less inclined my father – or me – was to vote for Carter. We didn’t.
 
When the November 1976 election was over, Gerald Ford lost. Jimmy Carter won. 
 
Even though I did not vote for him, I did decide to attend Jimmy Carter’s inauguration. I was a doctoral student at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey and living in Trenton, New Jersey at the time. Thinking that I might not ever get to attend another inauguration (NOTE: I would later attend the inaugurations of George W. Bush in 2005, Trump 45 in 2017, with plans to attend the Trump 47 inauguration in a few days), I talked to my friend Stan Easterwood and we decided to drive my 1965 Chevy to Washington, DC. Knowing that it would be very cold, and we would be away from my car and any heat for eight or more hours, I put on five layers of clothing and carried a lunch and hot thermos in a brown paper bag. 
 
(NOTE of trivia: I felt enormous pain from the long day of walking in the cold at the inauguration of 2005, and less so in 2017. And on both occasions, we walked and walked and walked because barricades go up the night before and no taxi, Ubers or cars are allowed in the huge, secured area of DC which surrounds the White House, the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building, a rather large area. I think that in 2017, we likely walked as much as 15 miles.)
 
In those days, at the Carter inauguration, you did not need a ticket to attend, and you did not have to pass through any metal detectors, as nearly as I can recall. It was a freer and more innocent country then. 
 
We arrived in DC on that cold January 1977 day, parked and walked to the east side of the Capitol Building, standing behind the ropes placed there by Secret Service. I wanted to be able to listen to the news during the long day, so I had purchased a new transistor radio which allowed me to hear the happenings pertaining to the inauguration.  
 
At one point I was reaching to get a drink of hot chocolate from my thermos, so I asked the lady standing next to us – we had briefly visited with her – to hold my transistor radio for just a moment. She consented and took my radio. At that moment, the Secret Service surprised us, lowered the ropes and allowed us all to move about 100 feet closer to the stage. Thousands of us instantly ran the distance to the newly established boundary. However, in the running forward the crowd reassembled in a different order, thus I could not find the lady who was holding my radio and never saw my transistor ever again. 
 
After the inauguration, Stan and I walked around to the other side of the Capitol and sat on the western steps (where the inauguration is now held) and watched the parade move down Pennsylvania Avenue as we ate our “brown bag” lunches.

During the parade from the Capitol to the viewing stands at the White House, Carter did not stay in his limousine. On Jan. 20, 1977, Jimmy Carter became the first president to set out on foot down Pennsylvania Avenue after his inauguration. Carter was joined by his wife, Rosalynn, and their 9-year-old daughter, Amy.
 
CARTER PRESIDENCY 
That was the first day of Carter’s term. He had come to office with an impressive resume as a Naval officer on a nuclear-powered submarine. What followed was – well – less than stellar. 
 
Since it is not appropriate to discuss a person’s weaknesses in the context of their death, allow me to simply list some summary bullet points:

• ENERGY: I have memories (as do many) of sitting in long lines to try to get gasoline. We could only fill up our cars every other day.
• INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Fifty-two American hostages were held in Iran, including the son of Earl Lee, prominent pastor of First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, CA, for 444 days of Carter’s presidency. They were released as Ronald Reagan was being sworn in as president on January 20, 1981. 
• ABORTION: Carter’s position on abortion was so disappointing, quite a shock to us actually, considering that he was a Baptist Sunday School teacher. 
• HOMOSEXUALITY: So was his position on the definition of marriage. Carter wrongly contended that Jesus would approve of same sex so-called “marriages.” 
• ISRAEL: In the fall of 1978, we had high hopes for the Middle East when Carter gathered Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (NOTE: Tragically Sadat was later assassinated for this; in 2019, we had the privilege of meeting with Sadat’s widow) and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for the signing of the Camp David Accords. Regretfully, later in life, Carter was not a supporter of Israel and of the Jewish people. He befriended antisemite terrorists. 

 
Positively, Carter’s post presidency days held some good moments, that is, helping to build houses for the homeless through the Habitat for Humanity program.
 
These are my random thoughts from the inauguration of 1977, and the presidency which followed it.

NOW – ANOTHER TOPIC – “WHAT IS THE FIRST NATION TO CELEBERATE THE NEW YEAR?”

On New Year’s Eve, let me ask you a geographical question: Where is the first place on Earth that will celebrate the new year?

Answer: the nation of Kiribati (formerly known as the Gilbert Islands).

But did you know that “Kiribati” is actually pronounced “Kiribas?” Why. Because the language was unwritten until Missionary Hiram Bingham, Jr (also known as Hiram Bingham II) came to the island and created a written language. But there was a problem. His typewriter “s” key was broken. So he substituted “ti” for “s.” Thus Kiribati is pronounced “Kiribas.”

Our good friend Teburoro (“Teb”) Tito is the Ambassador from Kiribati to the United Nations. And remember, even though his name is spelled “Tito,” it is pronounced “Sito,” due to Bingham’s missing “s” on his typewriter in the 1800s. Ambassador Tito is a passionate lover of Jesus and a worshipper (listen to him sing), along with being the former president of Kiribati.

And imagine this: There is a Starbucks on the Island (that is pronounced “Starbucks,” like you say it) but is spelled “Titarbuckti.” For real.

And finally, a bit more geographical info: Why is Kiribati the first nation to welcome the new year? Because it is on the 180th meridian.
 
But there is more. The islands straddle the equator as well as the 180th meridian. This means that Kiribati (pronounce it correctly now, phonetically “Kiribas”) is the only country in the world located simultaneously in all four hemispheres, that is, the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern hemisphere. Just think what you would NOT have known had you not read my newsletter!

Blessings,
Dr. Jim Garlow
CEO/Founder
Well Versed

Rosemary Schindler Garlow
Co-Founder
Well Versed