The children who are growing up in Vernon County have a handicap that some of us hadn't realized in earlier days. They grow up with very few friends of different races or ethnic origins.

When I was a child I only saw one or two African American men in Nevada. They were at the barber shop and at Richardson's filling station. (Now, that is a word we don't use very often anymore -- a filling station. I guess that preceded the word service station.

That is also almost obsolete since the places we get gas for our cars now are usually convenience stores.

That also is a misnomer because often they are not very convenient.) But back to my topic -- a few years back we were trying to restore the Lincoln School, which was the school in Nevada for the black children. I have not heard much about that project recently but hopefully it is still in the planning stage.

Thankfully now all the children and youth of our communities can go to the same schools. But our halls are still filled mainly with light skinned pupils. Recently the hospitals, 3M, Cottey College, and other professional offices in the county have brought valuable diversity to our community.

I remember that during the winter months when we lived in Washington, D.C., we lived in the same type of segregated society that was evident in Vernon County. The black people I met were the maids in some of our neighbors' homes, or the children in the black school that was across a fence from the athletic field of the Alice Deal Junior High School that I attended.

In other parts of town we would see black people on the streetcars or buses. And as we drove to the Union Station to pick up our father after his numerous professional trips out of town, we would drive through streets of row houses where black children were playing outside on the sidewalks. This situation didn't seem odd to me. It was just what I grew up with and didn't question.

In my adult life this attitude has changed markedly. We have tried to expose our children and grandchildren to a more diverse society than we experienced as children. Having friends from many races has been a bright part of our lives.

The recent death of Gordon Parks who was raised in Fort Scott has made us realize the different life that this black young man experienced from most of us who are reading this column. Another neighboring community has shown us the greatness of George Washington Carver. The lives of these two strong black men who achieved success in every sense of the word in spite of discrimination should be a part of the education of every child in our area.

A short drive to Diamond or Fort Scott can benefit any of us as we learn more about the lives these men experienced in our part of the world.

But we don't have to turn to the famous to find these strong role models.

Teachers, post office personnel, neighbors and business people in our community are a big asset we have today. As our population grows, hopefully we will have even more opportunities for our children to experience diversity on a personal level.

But in the meantime don't overlook the chance to visit the birthplaces of Gordon Parks and George Washington Carver and learn about their lives. Or order Gordon Parks' movie, "A Raising in the Sun." It took place in Fort Scott.