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THE BI-WEEKLY PENNYSAVER - WKLY
February 27, 2014 - March 13, 2014
SEASON ENDING LEARANCE C
w w w. c r w n e w s p a p e r s . c o m
THE KING OF SNOW®
• PPROFESSIONAL • DELUXE PLATINUM • BRUSHES www.ariens.com 60 FREEMAN’S BRIDGE RD., SCOTIA
ALL SEASONS EQUIPMENT INC.
(518) 372-5611
Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri • 8:00 – 6:00; Thurs • 8:00 – 8:00; Sat • 8:00 – 4:00
CRAFTERS/VENDORS WANTED CAPITAL DISTRICT - Crafters/Vendors wanted for the Little Sisters of the Poor “Hello to Spring” Craft Fair. The event will be held on Saturday, March 29, from 10am-4pm at Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham. Hope you can join us. Please call 518-526-0659 or email charply @msn.com for more information.
A NIGHT REMEMBERING SINATRA DINNER SHOW BALLSTON LAKE - Tickets are available for “A Night Remembering the music of ‘The Chairman of the Board’”, a dinner show featuring the music of Sinatra performed by Chris Jason. The event will be held at 6:30 PM on Friday, April 11 at the Clifton Park Elks Lodge, 695 MacElroy Road in Ballston Lake. Dinner is a choice of Sirloin Steak or Crab Stuffed Haddock. Tickets are $35.00 per person. Seating is limited, only PRE-PAID reservations accepted. Reservations and payment MUST be received by April 4, 2014. Sponsored by the Clifton Park Elks Ladies’ Auxiliary. For tickets contact Johanna Mrochko @ 371-1451.
EVERYBODY’S IRISH ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY, SO HAVE SOME FUN IN THE IRISH TRADITION
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Publication Dates:
March 6th & 13th
Guide
Deadlines: February 28th and March 7th
Includes Free Spot Color Green, of course! Minimum size 3 col. x 1 1/2”
PENNYSAVER MONEYSAVER THE BI-WEEKLY
(Published In The March 13th Edition) Call Today To Reserve Your St. Patrick’s Day Advertisement In Saratoga County: 2 Rosell Drive, Ballston Lake, NY 12019 (518) 877-7160 • Fax (518) 877-7824 In Corinth: 217 Maple Street, Corinth, NY 12822 (518) 654-9331 • Fax (518) 654-2935 In Rensselaer County: 29 Sheer Road, P.O. Box 70, Averill Park, NY 12018 (518) 674-2841 • Fax (518) 674-8680
As we wait for our world to thaw, I’d like to take some space to reflect on a couple of people that made contributions to the world of agriculture. These two men developed insights into the world of plants and products that could be produced from plants that borders on mystical. One was born at the end of the Civil War and overcame great hardship to become a respected agricultural chemist. The other was relatively uneducated and yet managed to introduce over 800 new plant varieties during his lifetime; a feat that has yet to be outdone. The two men are George Washington Carver and Luther Burbank. George Washington Carver was born of slave parents in 1864 or 1865 in Missouri on the Moses Carver plantation. Like most slave children of the time, he took the name of his parent’s owner. His father is believed to have been a slave at a neighboring farm although not much is known of him. Baby George and his mother were kidnapped by raiders from the south and although Moses Carver managed to locate baby George after the war was over (Moses Carver had to trade a racehorse to gain his release), his mother was never located and he never saw her again. Although not technically a slave, George remained at the Carver plantation as a boy. He was sick upon his return and was kept from hard labor. Instead, he cooked, sewed and tended the plantation’s gardens (which he loved best of all). It is said that he also wandered the woods “talking to the flowers” and collecting them. He even earned a reputation at this young age as a “plant doctor” often consulting with neighbors about plant problems they were having. During this time he also managed to teach himself to read and developed a strong desire to get an education; not the easiest thing for a black child in those days. At the tender age of 10, George left the Carver plantation to make his way in the world on his own. While he was earning his high school diploma, he supported himself by working as a farmhand, cook and in a laundry. He applied to Highland University but was refused admission when it was learned he was black. Finally, he was admitted to Simpson College in 1890. By this time Carver was about 30 years old. There were no science courses at Simpson so he studied piano and painting. An instructor there recognized Carver’s horticultural talent and encouraged him to pursue that rather than the arts. He took her advice to heart and was admitted in 1891 to the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now known as Iowa State University). Here, George Washington Carver blossomed into a true renaissance man. He was a leader in the YMCA. He was captain of the debate club and the campus military regiment. The school newspaper published his poetry and he even had two of his paintings exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. In spite of his excellence in the arts, Carver’s horticultural prowess allowed him to remain at the college as a graduate student. His insights and innovations with plant breeding led to his appointment to the faculty; another first at Iowa State College. In 1896, George Washington Carver, after publishing several papers on his work, completed his master’s degree. It was at this point that Booker T. Washington invited Carver to join the faculty of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. It was here that all his training and intuition would revolutionize and revitalize agriculture in the south. For many generations farmers in the south had grown cotton. The soil was depleted and cotton was no longer a viable crop. Carver devised a method of crop rotation where a legume crop (such as peanuts) would be planted every other year to replenish nitrogen and minerals in the soil. This method was quite successful but soon there was a surplus of peanuts. Undaunted, Carver the chemist went to work to see what products could be developed from peanuts to make them a more valuable commodity. I guess you could say he succeeded. He managed to develop 325 products from peanuts and their shells. Products that range from nitroglycerine to hand lotion to animal feed to linoleum. So successful was he that soon farmers in the south were making more money on peanuts than on “king cotton”. While his remarkable development of peanut products is what Carver is best known for, it is just the tip of the iceberg. He introduced over 100 products from sweet potatoes and many hundreds of products from many other plants and even products derived from clay. While all these accomplishments are astounding to the point of being almost unbelievable, it is the philosophy of this great scholar that is the most endearing. Fame and wealth were of no importance to him at all. “God did not charge me or you for making peanuts. Why should I profit from their products?” He stated. His goal was to use his knowledge for the betterment of all and he encouraged his students to adopt the same attitude. He strove to make beneficial products from the common things that could be found near at hand. He advanced chemistry and agricultural as none before had. Although he was born out of slavery he was, in great part, responsible for the resurrection of southern agriculture. To be sure, Carver’s intellect and education enabled him to successfully develop the various products from the plants he found around the south. But, there’s more to it than pure science. His ability to understand the potential of a plant was uncanny and puzzled scientists. Carver contended that God and the plants themselves communicated with him. He was known to arise before dawn and wander the woods about Tuskegee just as he had the woods of Missouri in his childhood. It was during these pre-dawn treks that he gained inspiration. “Nature is the greatest teacher and I learn from her best when the others are asleep. In the still hours before sunrise God tells me of the plans I am to fulfill.” was his honest explanation. Considering his genius and the results of his labor, it’s hard to dispute his beliefs as unbelievable as they sound. He was an American genius and overcame hardship and prejudice to fulfill what he considered his sacred mission on behalf of humanity. We owe him much. Next week: the amazing Luther Burbank. Thanks for the read.