Human Footprint

Do you have any memories of of the boll weevil?

Yes, I do.

We'll go and pick cotton and I actually experienced the boll weevil on my cotton sack, on my hands, on my arms.

They would knock them off.

They didn't bite.

And it was always fascinating with that little thing sticking out in the front.

Yeah, a little proboscis.

Yes.

In the front there.

They didn't bother humans, but they was devastating to cotton.

He would bore a hole into that green cotton bowl before it opened.

Once he bored a hole in it.

Game over.

Game over.

What did Enterprise look like before the boll weevil?

The main income, the cash crop was cotton.

The boll weevil came and devastated this place.

It devastated the rich, the poor, and in-betweens.

But then something unexpected happened.

The turning point.

The people of Enterprise, listened to Dr.

Carver and those who had the agricultural ability to teach and to share.

The agricultural scientists, George Washington Carver could see how decades of cotton production had depleted the rich soils of the black belt.

He promoted crop rotation.

Using crops like peanuts and sweet potatoes to restore the soil and provide food and income to farmers even if cotton crops failed.

These diversified farms wouldn't be as vulnerable to the likes of the boll weevil.

They listened to his advice and it brought the city back.

And this is some of the reason that I believe the city is called the City of Progress, because they see how much it progressed by listening and taking good advice.

So the boll weevil brought ruin to Enterprise, but in a roundabout way, it also sparked a revival.

Today, the boll weevils become the town mascot.

And some of these things you just can't unsee.

So the boll weevil sounds like it's a symbol of triumph over adversity.

Yes, it is a symbol of diversity over adversity.

Yes.

Okay.

I like that.

Yes.