The
sun was shining this morning, and we were finally able to leave
Montgomery. Our plan was to drive east
toward Tuskegee, Alabama. The National
Park Service administers two historic sites in Tuskegee: Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site and
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
We wanted to visit both.
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is nestled within the historic campus of
Tuskegee University and includes the George Washington Carver Museum and The
Oaks, the home of Booker T. Washington who established Tuskegee Institute. Tim and I had learned about Washington when
we visited his boyhood home in December.
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George Washington Carver Museum, Tuskegee Institute's Original Laundry |
|
The Oaks, Home of Booker T. Washington |
Tuskegee
University is a beautiful campus, and many of the buildings constructed while
Booker T. Washington was president are still standing. Many of these buildings were actually
constructed by the students from bricks that they had produced. It was so pleasant to wander through the
campus on such a beautiful day.
|
Thompkins Hall |
|
White Hall |
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Legacy Walkway |
|
Booker T. Washington Monument |
Tim
especially enjoyed talking with a volunteer at the museum, an elderly woman who
moved to Tuskegee from New Jersey and raised her children there. We spent quite a bit of time at the museum
where we expanded our knowledge of George Washington Carver. What an incredible man! Born a slave, Carver developed a passion for
knowledge. Although most people associate
Carver with developing new uses for peanuts, how many know that his first love
was art? Several of his paintings and
drawings are on exhibit at the museum.
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Carver's Painting Yucca Gloriosa Won an Honorable Mention
at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 |
But
Carver is best known as a scientist who reinvented agriculture in the
South. He encouraged farmers to grow a
variety of crops, instead of relying on cotton which was depleting the soil. In order to convince farmers that there was a
market for alternative crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, he researched
dozens of ways to utilize these crops. Carver
was the most celebrated professor at Tuskegee Institute and worked tirelessly
to educate not only its students, but also farmers throughout the South.
|
Tuskegee's Movable School Brought Education Directly to Farmers |
One
facet of Carver’s work that particularly intrigued me was the weight he placed
on beauty. Carver developed a rich array
of inexpensive paint colors from local clays and demonstrated to impoverished
farmers how pleasing color combinations could improve the looks of their homes.
He also provided farmers with flower
seeds to plant near their homes to add a touch of beauty.
|
Rich Paint Colors for the Poor |
It
was coincidental that we visited Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site this
week, just days after the release of Red
Tails, George Lucas’ new movie about the Tuskegee Airmen. Everyone we spoke with was so excited about
the movie, which had been years in the making.
Tuskegee
Airmen National Historic Site tells the story of the African American men who
arrived at Moton Field in 1941 to begin their training as Army Air Corps
pilots. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen
is well-known, and it was really cool to walk through Hangar No. 1 where they
learned to fly, hear about the obstacles the men had to overcome and listen to
their voices through oral histories. The
exhibits here are very engaging.
|
Hangar No. 1 |
|
Biplanes Were Used to Train the Pilots |
|
Another Training Plane |
The
park has not yet been fully developed, and plans are underway to expand the
exhibit space into Hangar No. 2. Plans
are to bring a P-51 Mustang to the new space. The P-51s were given the nickname Red Tails because of their distinctive
red tails. Now that would be something
to see. A highlight of our visit was
speaking with a ranger who was so excited to share the story of these men and to
separate fact from fiction.
|
Hangar No. 2 |
Great place to visit. I cannot wait till I get to see that movie. Love A
ReplyDeleteAmazing! Thanks for sharing. :-) LV
ReplyDeleteA and LV, Tuskegee is defnitely worth a visit. Since Tim and I are not likely to get to the movies while on this trip, let us know if you are able to see "Red Tails." Sarah
ReplyDelete