Euell Gibbons The Father of Modern Wild Foods

www.wildfoodadventures.com...

This is a short biography of Euell Gibbons first published in 1998.

Famous for the "ever eat a pine tree" grapnuts commercial, Euell has written many books on wild foods.

His first book in 1962, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus", became an instant hit. The content evidently touching a chord with a burgeoning back-to-nature movement.

...Many magazine articles followed, either written by or about E u e l l. He wrote for Organic Gardening and Farming, National Geographic, and National Wildlife Magazines, among others.
Euell Gibbons helped found, and was a charter member of such groups as the National Wild Food Association (West Virginia), Foraging Friends (Chicago), and I'm sure many others. By 1971, E u e l l's books became more philosophical and less about wild foods - all still good reads. Even though he had only a sixth-grade education, E u e l l was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University.
As he received more literary notoriety, E u e l l became somewhat of a celebrity. He made appearances on talk shows (The Johnny Carson Show), variety shows (The Sonny & Cher show), and television commercials for Post Grape Nuts cereal. E u e l l displayed a great sense of humor. At one point, to everyone's surprise, he began eating a wooden plaque awarded him on the Sonny and Cher television show. The plaque was really a prop made out of wafer cookies or some other edible substance.

wiki source:
en.wikipedia.org...

I used to love that guy!
I still love GrapeNuts too!
They make the greatest *stretch* in meatloaf folks - try it sometime!
Just add an extra egg, some grape nuts and some beef broth - and make the meatloaf *stickier* than usual.
Incredible good.

Anyway, Euell is my hero!

"His father left in a desperate search for work. The food supply diminished until all that was left were a few pinto beans and a single egg, which no one would eat. E u e l l, then teen-aged and one of four children, took a knapsack one morning and left for the Horizon mountains. He came back with puffball mushrooms, piñon nuts, and fruits of yellow prickly pear. For nearly a month, the family lived wholly on what he provided"

During his lifelong travels he was a cowboy, hobo, carpenter, surveyor, boat builder, beachcomber, newspaperman, school teacher, farmer, and an educator. All along, building on the wild food foundation he got from his mother. My impression, from his writings, is that he learned a lot from his hobo days. Those days where he foraged both from society and nature to acquire his sustenance.

Talk about making lemonade outta lemons!



Great Find IMD12c4FUNN!

S&F


[edit on 12-3-2009 by silo13]