How to Celebrate the Life of George Washington Carver

To many people, the name George Washington Carver is almost synonymous with the peanut. But the good doctor's legacy extends far beyond his work with the versatile legume. Explore his life, and be prepared for a few surprises.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Tapestry Needles
• Needlepoint Wool
• Needlepoint Canvases
• plane tickets to Tuskegee, Alabama

1. Visit the Diamond, Missouri, farm where Carver was born. Take a guided tour of the 210-acre National Monument, explore the museum and visitors' center, or simply meander through the tall grass prairie where Carver formed the bond with nature that sustained him throughout his life.
2. Read "George Washington Carver: In His Own Words" and learn how this accomplished, versatile, and gentle man viewed the world around him.
3. Look around your kitchen, your medicine cabinet and your garage, and thank Dr. Carver for much of what you find there. As a pioneer in chemurgy - the science of developing industrial applications for organic raw materials - he developed hundreds of common household products, including shaving cream, synthetic rubber, and wood filler.
4. Take a trip to Tuskegee, Alabama, and visit his laboratory at Tuskegee University. There he not only carried out his chemurgy studies, but also did research that made him a world-renowned expert on crop rotation, plant diseases and soil nutrition.
5. Honor Dr. Carver's memory by making a donation to Tuskegee. You'll be adding to a nest egg he started: when he died, he left his life savings to endow the school's research institute.
6. Get yourself some needlepoint canvas and wool, and stitch a pillow or two. Needlework was one of Dr. Carver's favorite forms of relaxation.
7. Do something nice for somebody. As Dr. Carver said, "It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."

Tips & Warnings

• George Washington Carver was born to slaves in Diamond Grove (now called Diamond), Missouri, most likely in the spring of 1865. He died in Tuskegee on January 5, 1943, and he is buried on the university campus, next to Booker T. Washington.
• Dr. Carver didn't limit his creative efforts to needlepoint. He also loved to do embroidery, and he was an accomplished painter. You can see examples of his work in the museum at Tuskegee.
• For information on visiting the George Washington Carver National Monument and Tuskegee University, see Related Sites, or contact the university and the National Park Service.