Jimmy Carter: President, Activist... Woodworker?

His homemade pieces fetch big dollars

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 9, 2008 6:11 PM CST

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Jimmy Carter: President, Activist... Woodworker? — Volunteer Bunny Holman paints the walls as she lends a hand building a house with Habitat for Humanity, Monday, Oct. 29, 2007, in San Pedro, Calif. As part of the Jimmy Carter Work Project 2007, now in its 24th year, 100 houses will be built or rehabilitated in Los Angeles by the end of the year, to... (Associated Press)

Jimmy Carter’s built a pretty good post-presidential resume, winning the Nobel Peace Prize, monitoring elections, and working tirelessly for his Carter Foundation charity. But Carter has a quieter passion, the Wall Street Journal reports: He’s an accomplished woodworker. Tonight, Carter is auctioning off his latest piece, a 6-foot bench expected to draw 6 figures on the fame of its builder alone.

“It’s like taking a vacation,” Carter says of his craft. He mostly builds things for his family and friends, but once a year auctions a piece for the Carter Center. In all, his woodworking has brought in more than $10 million. “I hope that 500 years in the future, somebody will be sitting on the bench,” Carter says. (More Jimmy Carter stories.)

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