Past President Quotes From The King of Guilford

A Jimmy Carter quote was the inspiration for this inspirational poster of the late Lester Ray Goober.


(A Special Section)
Past President Quotes (from the King of Guilford)
The King of Guilford doesn't have a lot of spare time between fighting wars and hanging peasants and taking care of the only kingdom in the continental United States. When he does have time he puts together books that most Guilford peasants would never comprehend, while most of the outside world ignores an obvious genius. His new project involves quotes from past Presidents that are relevant to their character.

Everyone within a hundred miles of Plains, Georgia cashed in on the Jimmy Carter craze back in the 70's. People down south made all kinds of consumer gifts with Plains, Georgia engraved on them. Tourists flocked to Plains to buy these things. The King of Guilford knew this first hand because he was living down there at the time and worked a summer at GoldKist during the peanut harvest driving tractor trailers and old trucks on to the scales and drying peanuts to get out the water weight.

That's when the King met Lester Ray Goober. He was a legend even back then. Jimmy Carter was a thrifty character, which is how most politicians are when making money or hiring labor. Why spend a hundred grand on a peanut thresher when Lester Ray could be hired for minimum wage and harvest just as many peanuts? From what the King heard from other farmers, Lester Ray was the best harvester they had ever seen. Soybeans, peanuts, or corn. He could harvest five acres an hour with his face. They said it was almost a miracle to watch because the job was so nasty and filled the air with unhealthy debris.

That's why Jimmy Carter gets the credit for this quote while watching Lester Ray working on a chain gang.

"Any man who can eat corn on the cob through a picket fence can work for me harvesting peanuts with his face." 
Jimmy Carter 1976

This led to the poster above, now in the Guilford Archive collection, based on that quote. Lester Ray Goober worked for the Carter's for five seasons before dying in 1981 of oat cell penosis cancer from inhaling dust from harvesting peanuts. He still holds the face harvesting record, mainly, because it was outlawed by OSHA as being the worst health hazard it had ever encountered.

But Jimmy Carter gets credit in Guilford for the quote. 

"I've searched high and low for a peasant who can face-harvest corn in Guilford. I can't find one so I use dirty peasants."

There will be more quotes from Presidents coming soon.


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