The President's Little Sis'
Earlier this year, we mourned the passing of former president Jimmy Carter. While we'll let the historians decide whether Jimmy was a good or bad president, one thing is certain is that he had very interesting and colorful sisters and brother. Jimmy was the oldest of four, his sisters and brother were Gloria, Ruth and Billy.
Jimmy Carter was a U.S. Navy officer, farmer and businessman before he got into politics. His second sister, Ruth, was a Christian evangelist and “faith healer.” His little brother Billy, during Jimmy's time as president, was portrayed in the media as a beer drinking “good old boy” but was, in fact, a shrewd farmer and businessman himself.
For us, the most intriguing is Jimmy's first little sister, Gloria. When Jimmy was little, he pronounced her name as “Go-Go,” a nickname which fit because by many accounts, she was the most interesting of the Carter children. Gloria's first marriage was difficult and was annulled. In 1950, she married a Georgia farmer, Walter Spann. After a few years, the two of them began motorcycling, and started taking cross-country trips in 1967. In early 1977, during Jimmy's first year as president, Gloria was riding her own bright orange Honda 500, with butterflies on the fuel tank and a peace sign in the sissy bar.
As a biker, Gloria worked for motorcyclists’ rights. In one incident, she wanted to ride in a park but was stopped by a “no motorcycles” sign. When she asked the park attendant about the sign, he explained that she would be allowed, the sign was to keep out motorcycle club members with their club patches or “colors.” She left and returned wearing “colors” of her own, which resulted in the park being opened to all bikers.
Walter and Gloria made sure they always had room in their house for bikers to stay over. They planted a large garden and canned the extra vegetables so they always had food on hand for their biker guests. Walter even built a large outhouse in the back yard for the bikers stopping or camping at the farm as they were passing through the area. Gloria was one of the first women in the Harley Davidson 100,000 Mile Club and was named the Most Outstanding Female Motorcyclist of 1978.
It is very interesting to see, that as biker's rights activists and ABATE members, we share our passion and lifestyle with all sorts of people, even the family members of a President of the United States.
John
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