Park Superintendent Discusses Inspiration & Growth Of American Idealist in Missouri During Travel South Confab
The aspect of finding a real world representation of a important figure who didn't change history but gave it more perspective for the better is inherent in a figure like George Washington Carver. His journey from possible former slave to agricultural powerhouse is evident in his patents and progression to help end poverty in The South post Civil War. The George Washington Carver National Monument in Missouri shows the beginning path as Carver lived his first decade of life here on this former farm. Jim Heaney, Park Superintendent, spoke to MRV: The Buzz Editor In Chief Tim Wassberg about dedication, education and the continuing importance of Carver.
The Buzz: The aspect of history and understanding it is about being tactile...history you can touch, feel, hold.
JH: There's really no better way of learning history and immersing yourself in history than going to the actual places where significant historical events happened.
The Buzz: Can you talk a little bit about the impact of George Washington Carver, from your point of view, through your education and experience compared to other places you've worked like Natchez [in Louisiana] or Selma [in Alabama]
JH: Carver's a really challenging figure to interpret. Of course, he did some tremendous things. This is probably the ultimate struggle and triumph story. I mean, somebody who was born likely enslaved and then went on to obtain an education at a time when it was difficult for African-Americans, went on to Tuskegee, and then became really a very powerful symbol of African-American achievement there.
The Buzz: It's interesting because of where we are...in Missouri...especially with the Civil War...it was a split state. With him involved here and then with the economics, it becomes a sort of paradoxical scenario. His mother was obviously a slave. Can you talk about that?
JH: Certainly. What's also really challenging about Carver is we only know so much about his time here. And a lot of the information is really conflicting....
The Buzz: Because this is a plantation, right?
JH: It was a farm.
The Buzz: A farm. Okay.
JH: He was owned by a man named Moses Carver and that's if Carver was a slave. He may not have been. We don't know when he was born. He said it was some time towards the end of The Civil War. It could've been early 1865 when slavery was already abolished in Missouri. [Carver] certainly thought that he was born enslaved, and it's not like the conditions of slavery changed that quickly. But his early years...it is kind of shrouded in mystery. He never knew his father. He was told that his father died in a wagon accident before he was born. He was separated from his mother very early on. His mother and George himself were kidnapped by raiders and taken to Arkansas. This is a story George was told, mind you. So there's no documentation to back it up.
The Buzz: So it could be sort of a wives tale...
JH: We just don't know. Maybe she ran off. We only know what was told to George.
The Buzz: Can you talk about this area, and specifically what you guys do here as sort of a tactile representation of his life. You do more personal based activity with the students and children who come here.
JH: Our laboratory that is a great place to really explore science and get a sense of the types of experiments, the type of research that George Washington Carver did, and how it impacted humanity. The particular activity you [got to see]...the kids make peanut milk, one of Carver's 300 plus uses for the peanut. It was a way of feeding mass numbers of people. There were people in an impoverish, starving area of Africa who appealed to Carver. And that was a possible solution that he came up with...a way of feeding people in a sense that was nutritious and cost-effective [where] you could reach large numbers.
The Buzz: I think it's interesting that something so small and simple can have such a big sociological impact. Can you talk about that way of thinking...that mindset of him, from your perspective.
JH: He always had humanity in mind, in whatever he did. He always had thrift in mind. Carver eschewed extravagance in any way, lived very frugally himself, and of course, taught others. Carver's really interesting in really making a dent in alleviating poverty in the South, in a place like Macon County, Alabama. That's a tall order. Although Carver came up with some very interesting, innovative things and made a certain impact you couldn't say that he changed the world in that sense. I think his greater impact was as a symbol, a man himself who was born in extremely humble beginnings who rose to become a great symbol of African-American achievement.
The Buzz: And those are models and symbols that are still very much needed today.
JH: They were needed then and they're still needed today. I mean, he's a very enduring symbol. So [beyond] African-American achievement, I think you can also credit him with being kind of ahead of his time when it came to organic farming, finding alternative crops, but also symbol of interracial cooperation.
The Buzz: To go back to the land, I mean, this is a farm. Could you talk about how that defined him in many ways, specifically this site?
JH: Some scholars believe - and I think it is an arguable point - that at least some of Carver's theories on sustainable agriculture culture came as a result of living here and perhaps learning from Moses Carver. That's possible.
The Buzz: How much time did he spend here?
JH: Depending on when he was born, about the first ten, 11 years of his life.
The Buzz: Did he return?
JH: He went from here to Neosho, which is a town about ten miles south of here. He went to the Neosho Colored school which was a school for blacks, one of the few in the area. In fact, the park is working with the Carver Birthplace Association towards restoring the building down there. From there, he went to Kansas, and then Iowa. He eventually obtained his masters at Iowa State in agriculture. And then he went to Tuskegee where he spent the last 47 years of his life. You asked if he ever returned here. We know of at least once, maybe a couple of times that he returned here to visit the Carver family.
The Buzz: We're only discussing certain ideas of what Carver did.
JH: I'm continually impressed by how applicable a lot of his philosophy and his phrasing is when it comes to faith, when it comes to thrift, when it comes to dedicating yourself to public service in particular, when it comes to racial tolerance.
The Buzz: Because text only teaches you so much. You have to experience what you read in books. You have to go out and physically touch it.
JH: It has far more meaning than sitting remotely in a classroom staring at a smart board or whatever.
The Buzz: That's why national monuments are so important.
JH: These are the woods that inspired Carver, that stoked his interest in nature, and plants in particular. You really get a strong sense of the young Carver when you walk through these woods, even if there's not that much standing that was here in Carver's time...you still get a sense of his environment.
The Buzz: The stillness, the peace...
JH: The tranquility.
The Buzz: This was the first national monument dedicated to an African-American...
JH: And remained so for several years. This is the place where Carver as a child...this environment inspired him, stoked his interest in nature, especially in plants. This is where he would take plants, ailing plants, and nurse them back to health. He was just very in tune with the environment here. At one point called, he said that nature is an unlimited broadcasting station. And this is where he “tuned in” as a child.
The Buzz: My last question goes to the importance of educating people on this. I love that a lot of the stuff that you have inside before people go outside says that Carver was thirsty for knowledge, but he wanted to pass on what he learned.
JH: I think in some ways we're still carrying on his tradition in that sense, particularly with young people. I mean that was Carver's thing, educating young people and hopefully having an impact.
The Buzz: What's the most important thing to remember about Carver? You mentioned things like faith, thrift, sustainability....these are all important things.
JH: And dedication...to an ideal or to actual form ...but also dedicating yourself to others.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
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Joplin KOA, which is a convenient stop for rest and relaxation, food, fuel, shopping and entertainment. Big-rig sites include 50/30 amp on selected sites under mature oak trees and full-hookup pull thrus. Water/ electric sites are available for smaller RVs as well as primitive sites for tents.
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