President Jimmy Carter, known to some as an avid fisherman, visited one Central Pennsylvania farm numerous times, forming a friendship that would last decades with the owner.
Wayne Harpster, a member of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association Hall of Fame, described the first time President Carter visited Evergreen Farms. “Walking down, there were Secret Service along. And I had this fly vest all puffed out, and I didn’t think about it then, but I thought about it later, I wonder why they didn’t stop me because they never questioned me or nothing, you know, and I had this, all this could’ve been hand grenades,” Harpster said.
President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, visited the farm for the first time in 1978 and would go on to return countless times to fish with Harpster until his health declined, preventing him from traveling.
After his first visit, Harpster commissioned a special fly fishing rod for President Carter in hopes he would return again, which he did the following year. Harpster, a Master Farmer, is passionate about conservation and water quality, bolstered by his love of fishing. He developed several charity fishing events on Spruce Creek that runs through his farm, encouraging youth fishing and overall natural resources conservation.
Throughout his many trips, President Carter became more like family to the Harpsters.
“We had lunch, and he was the, I think he was the first guy who finished lunch. I’m not a slow eater or anything, but anyway, he was the first guy. He jumped up and went over to the sink and he started washing the dishes. Now he was president of the United States,” Harpster said.
President Carter showed that his character was great enough to surpass party politics.
“Well, with the first– when he ran for president for the first time, I was a busy guy and I didn’t pay much attention to politics and I did vote, though, I didn’t vote for him, no. But the second trip, I did vote for him,” Harpster said. “And I also campaigned for him.” While President Carter did not win a second term, he did win a friendship that would last the rest of his lifetime.
Today, the Harpster family milks 2,800 cows and farms 5,500 acres with more than 80 employees at Evergreen Farms. Wayne Harpster also served as director and then president of the PA Holstein Association. He chaired the 1990 state convention and secured former President Jimmy Carter as the banquet speaker.
Source: abc27.com edited with additional source material