Since I was out of town, I decided to hunt for something kind of unique for my "first." I used one of my phone apps to search for interesting attractions in Dothan. When I saw this particular museum come up, I thought this would be a great "first" while in Dothan. After all, that is where the peanut festival is held each year. George Washington Carver was the guest speaker at Dothan's first peanut festival in 1938.
I called and found out that admission to the museum was free. That is a plus. It was different than I expected. I thought it would be all about George Washington Carver and the peanut. That was a small section of the museum. It was mostly a museum about the contributions of African American citizens to our country. Some feel that these contributions have been overlooked by many of the history books of the past. As I looked through, I was amazed at the inventions and thought of our fellow human beings. I just don't know how people come up with some of the ideas and inventions they have come up with.
There is a small section devoted to George Washington Carver. I learned some things about him that I did not know. I did not know that when he was an infant, he and his mother were kidnapped. A $300 racehorse was offered for their return. Only George was returned and his mother was kept. Some think George was returned because he had the whooping cough. He gave himself his middle name to eliminate confusion between him and another guy named George Carver. He attended Iowa State College when he was about 30 years old (nobody knows his birthday) and was the first African American to attend that institution. He received his Master's Degree in Agriculture in 1896 and after graduation was invited to teach horticulture classes there which he did as the first African American faculty member.
Most people know George Washington Carver for his over 300 innovations with the peanut. These innovations included cheese, facial powder, shampoo, printer's ink, soap, wood stain, peanut butter and I would assume indirectly, peanut butter cups. That's a lot of stuff to do with a peanut. He also discovered around 118 uses for the sweet potato. I wonder if he included eating them.
Jim Beckwourth
This is Hannah Grace's favorite because of his work with sugar!
Precursor of the cell phone
George Washington Carver
Here's something very interesting I read about this great man: For all his great inventions and ideas, Carver only owned three patents on his many creations. Why? Because he didn't feel it was right to take money for something God gave him.
God gave him?
That's the way Carver saw it.
When he was inventing products from peanuts, Carver would go into his lab (which he called "God's Little Workshop") at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, and ask God to reveal to him the mysteries of the peanut.
Carver literally asked God why He made the peanut, and, by Carver's own testimony, God answered his prayer. Carver locked the door to his lab when he was creating things, because, as he put it, “only alone can I draw close enough to God to discover His secrets.”
Carver epitomizes what it means to be a co-worker with God. In a letter written to Rev. Lyman Ward, Carver declared, “I am not interested in science or anything else that leaves God out of it.”
Is that not very cool? Carver is an inspiration to each of us to invite God into our workplaces and ask Him how to do things. Who would think to ask God to reveal the secrets of the peanut? I guess that would be Mr. Carver. No matter what we are doing, we need to asking God for His revelation and to depend on His strength to carry it out. It seemed that this was not just something Mr. Carver was about doing himself, but he saw himself as a co-laborer with God. I have a book that is titled "Co-Parenting with God" by Peter Lord. We should see everything we do as being with God. Of course, we are not equal partners. God is the boss, master, leader, and the wise one. We are the followers. If we will follow what His loving voice says, this will go much better. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:9, " For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building."
Submitting to God for the abundant life
Barry
3 things I praise God for today
1. Peanuts
2. George Washington Carver
3. The sweet lady at the walking trail that says she listens to our radio broadcast on Sunday mornings.
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