Andrew Reid and his family traveled from their Alabama home to Plains, Georgia, in the spring of 2017 on a unique mission: to hand deliver a reproduction of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s bed to the former president at his legendary peanut farm.
“It was a surreal moment, when I realized that I was there chatting with a former president, who at one time, was the most powerful man on the face of the planet,” Andrew, a third-generation master furniture maker and owner of Reid Classics, recalls to Southern Living. “And yet here we were just casually chatting on a farm in South Georgia. It was great.”
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Jimmy, who was around 93 years old at the time, personally commissioned a recreation of his and Rosalynn’s four-poster bed from Andrew. The reproduction was one of more than 150 items auctioned off at the Carter Center’s annual charitable auction that year. It went on to sell for $88,000. The proceeds went to support the Carter Center’s work to advance peace and health across the globe.
It’s an incredible accomplishment for a descendant of a “proud family of woodworkers.” But being a part of the Carter family’s charity work means even more.
“We didn’t make a single dime off of [it]. In fact, it cost us a great deal,” Andrew says. “But our small shop truly made an impact on a global charitable stage. Just think how far that nearly $90,000 went! All the vaccines that might have been provided! I mean truly, there may have been lives saved… we hope. If we all approached charity with the same mindset, then we all can change the world.”
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Andrew recalls the process of designing a bed with President Carter fondly. He says that Jimmy, an accomplished woodworker himself, provided detailed photos and drawings of the original piece. The 39th president had made it himself, decades prior. Together, and with a few modifications, (including a switch from black walnut to genuine mahogany) they came up with something they were both proud of.
When he brought the finished product to Plains for Jimmy to see, Andrew took along an heirloom of his own: a cabinet of vintage chisels only one person outside the Reid family had ever had access to—until that day.
Andrew watched as President Carter took a chisel in his hand and deftly carved his name into the headboard. It’s a moment he says he will “cherish forever.”
“Only myself, my grandfather, my father, Ben Napier, and President Carter have ever used these chisels,” he explains. “When President Carter picked his chisel and started slicing through that mahogany to carve his name, a sense of pride overcame me. Pride, not for myself, but for our Reid family legacy of fine woodworking that led me to stand beside a president and to watch him sign his name with my family’s chisels.”
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Andrew sees similarities between the former president and his grandfather, Robert Reid, who founded Reid Classics in 1938. He hopes that Carter‘s legacy inspires “every single American to never stop.”
“He was of the same generation as my grandfather. They went through some seriously tough times, yet ended life gracefully busy,” he says. “I think Jimmy Carter’s legacy is so important for everyday Americans and so inspiring. His legacy will endure for generations to come from humble beginnings and ascend to the highest office in the land to become our nation’s President.”
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Following the news that Jimmy died at the age of 100 last week, Andrew took to social media to remember both the man and the moments they shared.
“Of all the powerful figures I’ve met, he was by far the most humble—kind to my wife, tender with my children, yet always commanding the moment with quiet grace,” he wrote alongside photos from his family’s 2017 visit to the Carter farm.
“After a caravan of Secret Service vehicles screeched around the corner, he simply rounded another turn and casually strolled across the lawn to greet us,” he recalled in another. “All we could see was that unmistakable smile and iconic JC belt buckle.”
Katie Archibald-Woodward
Andrew Reid is a third-generation master furniture builder and the current owner of Reid Classics. You can see an example of his work in the bedroom of the 2024 Southern Living Idea House in Charleston, South Carolina. Visit ReidClassics.com for more information.
