At 95, Jimmy Carter cut down trees he planted and harvested for wood to make a custom guitar

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Former President Jimmy Carter plays his custom made Kostal guitar outside his home in Plains, Ga.

Credit: Jason Kostal

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, wanted to make a point about sustainability so, he planted an orchard of Empress (Paulownia) trees on his property in the 1990s.

These nonnative trees grow to full maturity in 25 to 30 years. So, as the lifelong musician and three-time Grammy Award winner accumulated Grammy Award nominations — including his 10th just this week when his audiobook Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration was nominated in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording — he had one more musical thing in mind.

Carter planted Paulownia to promote a renewable lumber resource, especially considering the shortage of traditional tonewoods used for stringed instruments.

At the age of 95, the peanut farmer turned world leader used a chainsaw to personally cut down a Paulownia tree that Carter and friend Todd Lundberg milled and sent to Jason Kostal, a world-class luthier with a seven-year-long waiting list for a custom-built guitar.

Kostal builds between 25 and 30 guitars a year and each one starts at about $40,000, he said.

“They're lifelong players, performers and discerning collectors that have essentially done whatever they needed to do in life to be able to afford a custom-made guitar that is one-of-a-kind, and tailor-made to their needs, wants and desires,” Kostal said of his customer base. This customer was exceptional.

President Carter asked different artisans to create things with Paulownia to showcase different ways to use it, with the intent of ultimately selling off the wood and continuing to provide to his community, Kostal said.

So, the project jumped the line and Kostal dedicated about four months to completing the acoustic guitar, delivering it to the Carters' home in April 2020.

Credit: Jason Kostal

Kostal identifies himself first as a graduate of West Point Academy and an Army officer veteran who now runs his own shop as a luthier. His artistic approach with Carter’s guitar involved paying homage to the President's military service as a Naval officer and submariner.

The blue and gold rosette represents the Navy colors.

“The case that it was delivered in is blue and gold,” Kostal said. “I tried to just kind of pay tribute to that part of it because while I'm obviously very impressed and respectful of his time as president, I feel more of a connection to the military service.”

While they served in different branches, the shared experience led to an instant camaraderie.

“For graduates of the Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy, there's one day a year where we just choose to not like each other that much — and that's for the Army vs. Navy game,” Kostal said.

A decorative inlay on the back strip of the guitar is written in Morse code and it says, BEAT NAVY.

“When the guitar was presented to President Carter, I explained that to him and he thought it was hilarious,” Kostal said, but he quipped back that Navy had beaten Army in the football game for a couple of years in a row at that time.

“Interaction is something that's very special to us, and it was it was evident on his face that he was very happy to enjoy those moments," Kostal said. "So, it was really fun to be able to enjoy that connection and that kind of witty moment with him."

The Kostal model is part of the President Carter Legacy Collection, a unique collection of 12 stringed instruments created with the Paulownia wood grown by President Carter on his farm in Plains, Ga.

Watch the video here to see the first time President Carter is serenaded by one of the instruments from the collection.

After having been played by musicians around the country for President Carter's birthday, the collection was auctioned in 2021, with the proceeds going to Farm Aid and the Boys and Girls Club of Georgia.