Mharlyn Merritt

This book was written and published by my grandfather during The Depression. It is a rare compilation of African- American history, folklore and cooking Yes, it contains recipes for everything from coffee made from watermelon rinds to peach compost, with many of Dr. Carver's own recipe's for all things peanut, including candy. There are also some wonderful old photographs of Tuskegee Institute and Dr. Carver in his laboratory. In some early editions there is a picture of my cousin Estelle Merritt in the dedication section. She will always be forever ever nineteen, as she was tragically killed when a drunk driver ran into the car where she was a passenger and my grandfather,the driver. I have a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Fairleigh-Dickinson University, so if I were to look at this biography with a purely critical eye it would come up a little short. However, it is a fascinating read from an eyewitness perspective that is hard to come by given the subject and the period in which this biography was written. And it was written by my grandfather, Raleigh H. Merritt, my best buddy, who deserves a biography of his own. He was a man who endured a great deal, with class and dignity, and went on to pack more into his long life than is even imaginable to most people. Finally, this is a biography of true loving friendship and admiration with the added blessing of its inception by Dr. Carver himself; a humble man who left a wealth of discoveries that to this day benefit us all.