
This is my Jimmy Carter peanut radio. It’s just one of those things that I can’t remember getting, but I’ve always had. I imagine that it was given to me early on in the Carter Administration or while he was campaigning for President. I know that my brother and sister also had one.
The battery cover is missing, and I think one of the wires has come out, so if I put a new 9 volt battery in it, it wouldn’t work, which is sad. I have some good memories listening to this radio.
No antennas, no plugs. The radio stations broadcast. If I recall correctly, it got FM. Not all of the radios that we had could pick up FM, so this was a big deal. FM had the cool music.
He’s also missing a top hat. He must have been modeling after Mr. Peanut. There were so many ways that politicians were good naturedly parodied and teased, but I kind of think that President Carter would like this. It shows his friendly, if toothy grin, the twinkle in his eyes, and of course, a homage to his peanut farming and farm life and family ancestry.
This is one of my childhood treasures along with a stuffed astronaut doll from the Kennedy Space Center. I will look for that later in the year, and share it with you when I find it. We discovered it again when we were cleaning my mother’s house out several years ago. It was a bit moldy, but I know we have it either in the garage or the basement.