Carter’s watch gives in to plans for 100th birthday party

The owner of the Plains Trading Post has added two new $10 pins to his inventory of political memorabilia to mark a day that once seemed unlikely: an Oct. 1 100th birthday celebration for his longtime friend, former President Jimmy Carter.

“I’m pleasantly surprised because it’s still up and running,” said Philip Kurland, who runs the store in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Ga., now a national park. “And of course now that we’re getting closer to October 1st, my excitement level is a little bit higher, hoping that we’re going to make it, just to say it’s 100.”

Excitement is running high in the town of 500 as Carter’s Watchwatch takes a reprieve, giving way to plans for a big centennial party in just 40 days.

Jill Stuckey, superintendent of Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, said the park plans to host both a birthday concert and a naturalization ceremony for 100 new Americans to welcome the nation’s 39th president. who began hospice care at his home 18 months ago.