See Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s July 1946 wedding announcement from our archives
Three decades before they became America’s first couple, their wedding announcement on page 11 of The Telegraph the morning of July 12, 1946, appeared as humbly as the renowned, down-to-earth Georgia pair have themselves come to be known.
Future first lady Rosalynn and future Georgia governor and U.S. president Jimmy Carter were married the Sunday afternoon of July 7, 1946, at the Plains Methodist Church in Sumter County.
Five mornings later, word of the union was noted in The Telegraph, the region’s main source for news and, as it were, notes and tidbits of social happenings.
The Carters’ announcement, all five paragraphs of it, was published beneath an item about war rations — “Housewives Urged to Keep Ration Books — and just to the left of ads for a hot-flashes cure and Tetley Tea — “You’ll Welcome Its Friendly Stimulation.”
Headlined “Smith-Carter,” the write-up began by noting that “Miss Roselyn Smith,” a not uncommon misspelling of her first name, and “Ensign James Earl Carter” had tied the knot in a ceremony performed by the Rev. C.M. Infinger.
“Following the ceremony, Ensign Carter and his bride left for a wedding trip to the mountains of North Carolina,” the article went on, noting that “the bride wore a navy blue-and-white ensemble with matching accessories. Her flowers were purple-throated orchids.”
The Carters celebrated their 75th anniversary Wednesday.
“Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses,” the former president told AP, explaining that he and Rosalynn, both devout Christians, read the Bible together aloud each night — something they’ve done for years, even when separated by their travels. “We don’t go to sleep with some remaining differences between us.”