Narrator: Although this historical marker describes George Washington Carver's homestead in Beeler, Kansas, a significant portion of his life was spent several miles north and east of Beeler, in Minneapolis.
Jettie Condray: This is a 1879 sketch of Minneapolis, and here we have a school that George Washington Carver and other students attended, a square building at the site of the library, and also the church that Carver attended in Minneapolis.
Narrator: As a young boy, George Washington carver, long before he became the scientific genus who discovered over 300 different uses for the peanut, found a home and a community that he could grow up in, and be a part of, in Minneapolis, Kansas.
Fred Krebs: Well I actually think his time in Kansas had a tremendous impact on him and particularly I would say Minneapolis, but before Minneapolis he'd spent about a year, year and a half in Fort Scott, and it's maybe a minor "What if?" of history is, "What if he had not witnessed a very brutal lynching and fled in terror from Fort Scott, it may very well be that this part of Kansas would have been the area that would have been known, because he left Fort Scott and spent a year or so in the Olathe area - met some people who were not exactly part of the exoduster movement, but they were moving west about the same time as the exodusters, and they ended up settling in Minneapolis. And Minneapolis, he was probably about 16 years old when he arrived there - 1880 - stayed there 4 years, maybe as much as 5, and its in Minneapolis that he basically gets through the 5 or 6th grade and then takes courses that are the equivalent of getting through the 7th and 8th grade, and he didn't have a high school so he worked with a teacher there and took and examination that was the e of completing his high school work. So I would say Minneapolis was pretty significant because it's really the place where his education became formalized and completed and the longest place he ever stayed.
Narrator: Today the Ottawa County Historical Museum in Minneapolis has a complete exhibit devoted to the life and work of George Washington Carver. Before, during and after his time in Kansas.
Condray: The actual exhibit of George Washington Carver which has been here for several years, was really quite small. This has been a dream that I as curator have had for several years. Many volunteers have assisted in developing this exhibit. There have been consultants, and also the museum board has been very supportive. We have an introductory panel, and than we have different panels around the room, they are numbered in the upper right hand corner.
SOUND RECORDED ON A COMPUTER: In Minneapolis, Carver found comfort in the predominately white Presbyterian church. In a community where Carver could explore his religions beliefs, a membership in the Presbyterian church of Minneapolis was inspired by his faith in God. Carver quotes: "God is going to reveal to us things he never revealed before if we put his hands in his. No books ever go into my laboratory, a thing I am to do and the way of doing it are revealed me."
Jettie: The interactive part of the exhibit is one aspect of it, you might say, is the computer. This was developed by one of our consultants, Chad Johnson, who did a very good job in developing this. There are 6 different categories about Carver and Minneapolis. Different categories such as Community; Nature; Religion; Work; a slide show and I believe about 38 different pictures of information, total.
Krebs: He also became part of the community in Minneapolis, he was the only Black person, African-American person, who belonged to the white Presbyterian church. It's the only church he actually ever really belonged to. As religious as he was and as strong as he was with matters of faith. Plus he was able to continue what he had been doing since a small child, which was taking plants out of nature, and growing them and studying them - studying nature. And in a real atmosphere, I think of acceptance, not quite equality, you know, but because I think there were fewer African-Americans; there wasn't segregation in the school. Separation was required in the schools in larger school districts, but it didn't happen in Minneapolis that way. And I think there was some interaction between the African-American community and the white community. And certainly George Washington Carver enjoyed that acceptance.
Narrator: Some new elements may be added to the Carver exhibit in the future, including a recording of his voice. High-pitched from a brutal beating he was believed to have suffered while he was a slave.
VOICE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER: "The fundamental law of the universe is to reap what we sow. If we sow oats we expect to reap oats. If we plant corn, we do not expect to reap potatoes."
Narrator: From Minneapolis, Carver journeyed to Highland, Kansas where he had been expected at college. What followed was one of the great disappointments in his life.
Krebs: Of course we have the celebrated episode about he'd been offered a scholarship. When he reported to Highland he was told that Highland didn't accept African-Americans, that's not the phrase they used, but, I think that they may have used a phrase like colored, I don't want to give the wrong impression that there was a real... situation, but when he was definitely not accepted, he was crushed.
Narrator: Carver drifted for a time, eventually spending 2 years in Ness county, working homestead land which did not pan out. But Carver was a man of great faith and perseverance.
That Carver had this life-long conviction that God didn't make anything useless, and his faith in God and the fact that he saw nature as more or less a broadcasting system for God.
Narrator: From Beeler, Carver was finally accepted at colleges outside the state. And he eventually achieved greatness at Tuskegee (Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes) Institute.
Jettie: Many of the 300 different products that he was able to come up with the peanut, he was able to chemically work with the peanut and make things real unusual. Things such as coffee, rubber, plastic.
Krebs: He also came up with uses of the sweet potato and he came up with the uses for tomatoes and soybeans to some extent, and in short, he literally restored the agricultural ability of the South.
Narrator: With his early life experiences in Kansas, George Washington Carver has emerged as one of the great individuals of the 20th century.
Krebs: It's a life that's an interesting blend of curiosity, and intuition, and faith and humility, and service. And all those things come together under this very remarkable, and I might say, very humble, self effacing man.