George Washing Carver National Monument

George Washington Carver was an agricultural scientist, inventor, conservationist and artist.  He was born a slave and the first black graduate from what is now Iowa State University.  He was born around 1864 in Diamond, MO as a slave.  He was orphaned as a baby and raised by the plantation owners, Moses and Susan Carver.  Today we visited the George Washington Carver National Monument near Carthage, MO.  The actual monument was closed but we walked the path that went around where his birthplace had been.  There were several cars there and maybe a picnicker or two.



The short path around the farm was a combination of rubber, composite and gravel.  A great trail for a stroller although Krikkit walked most of it. The area was wooded, with streams meandering through it. On the path you were taken by the spring where the Carver family probably got their water, and a  house built by Moses Carver around 1881, after George had left (the original family home was destroyed by a tornado).  There were also several stones placed outside on the ground around the museum building with some of his famous quotes.  Graves of Moses and Susan Carver are found in a cemetery on the grounds, along with other relatives and neighbors.

1881 home of Moses and Susan Carver

George was said to be a religious man and took a walk every day to talk to God.  This pond had a contemplative path going around it.

Graves of Susan and Moses Carver

Flowers always add joy to a walk!

From an early age George was interested in painting, flowers and sciences.  He taught crop rotation at Tuskegee University, a revolutionary idea that replenished the minerals stripped by growing cotton with rich crops like peanuts. Unlike what many people (including Pat) think, he did not invent peanut butter, but he did invent over 300 uses for peanuts such as ink, hand lotion, and cooking oil.  Another invention was the process for producing paints and stains from soybeans.  George died in 1943 at the age of  78.   He is buried next to Booker T. Washington on the Tuskegee grounds.

Quotes by George Washington Carver:

"Education is the key to unlock the golden doors of freedom."
"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."
"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."

Today was a gorgeous, fabulous day.  It was gorgeous in that it was 65 degrees by 10 a.m., the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the 2 and 3 year-old next door were entertaining me  (I was inside watching them play) with their love of "the little things."  It was fabulous because I woke up to the new Sara Paretsky book V.I Warshawki, Dead Land, already on my tablet.  V.I was the first female detective series I started reading and is still my favorite.  I like several others including Kinsey Milhone by Sue Grafton and Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich, but V.I. holds a special place in my heart.  I really wanted to be left alone today to just sit and read the entire book, but tomorrow has a great chance of rain and I still have all night!  Hope you have something good to read.