Today is the birthday for the oldest of my siblings (but still younger than
me.)
Bill has hiked the Appalachian Trail twice and is very involved in the
activities of ALDHA, the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. So in
order to salute him on his natal anniversary, I wanted to showcase somebody from
the League of Themselves who was always identified with the Great
Outdoors.
I think I found the perfect candidate........
EUELL GIBBONS
From Wikipedia:
Euell Theophilus Gibbons (September 14, 1911 – December 29, 1975) was an
outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets during the 1960s.
He was born in Clarksville, Texas, on September 14, 1911, and spent much of his youth in the hilly terrain of New Mexico during the dust bowl era. His mother taught him about foods available in the wild. As an adult he spent time in several states working a variety of jobs.
Throughout his travels his interest in wild foods continued and he experimented with new recipes and consulted experts.
Capitalizing on the growing return-to-nature movement in 1962, his first book, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus", became an instant success.
Gibbons then produced the cookbooks "Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop" in 1964 and "Stalking the Healthful Herbs" in 1966. He was widely published in various magazines, including two pieces which appeared in National Geographic Magazine. The first article, in the July 1972 issue, described a two-week stay on an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine where Gibbons along with his wife Freda and a few family friends relied solely on the island's resources for sustenance. The second article, which appeared in the August 1973 issue, features Gibbons, along with granddaughter Colleen and grandson Mike, stalking wild foods in four western states.
Often mistaken for a survivalist, Gibbons was simply an advocate of nutritious but neglected plants. He typically prepared these not in the wild, but in the kitchen with abundant use of spices, butter and garnishes.
Gibbons's publishing success brought him fame. He made guest appearances on 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University.
A 1974 television commercial for Post Grape-Nuts cereal featured Gibbons asking viewers "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." While he recommended eating Grape Nuts over eating pine trees (Grape Nuts' taste "reminds me of wild hickory nuts"), the quote caught the public's imagination and fueled his celebrity status.
Johnny Carson joked about sending Gibbons a "lumber-gram", and Gibbons himself joined in the humor; when presented with a wooden award plaque by Sonny and Cher, he good-naturedly took a bite out of it. (The "plaque" was actually an edible prop.)
He was born in Clarksville, Texas, on September 14, 1911, and spent much of his youth in the hilly terrain of New Mexico during the dust bowl era. His mother taught him about foods available in the wild. As an adult he spent time in several states working a variety of jobs.
Throughout his travels his interest in wild foods continued and he experimented with new recipes and consulted experts.
Capitalizing on the growing return-to-nature movement in 1962, his first book, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus", became an instant success.
Gibbons then produced the cookbooks "Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop" in 1964 and "Stalking the Healthful Herbs" in 1966. He was widely published in various magazines, including two pieces which appeared in National Geographic Magazine. The first article, in the July 1972 issue, described a two-week stay on an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine where Gibbons along with his wife Freda and a few family friends relied solely on the island's resources for sustenance. The second article, which appeared in the August 1973 issue, features Gibbons, along with granddaughter Colleen and grandson Mike, stalking wild foods in four western states.
Often mistaken for a survivalist, Gibbons was simply an advocate of nutritious but neglected plants. He typically prepared these not in the wild, but in the kitchen with abundant use of spices, butter and garnishes.
Gibbons's publishing success brought him fame. He made guest appearances on 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University.
A 1974 television commercial for Post Grape-Nuts cereal featured Gibbons asking viewers "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." While he recommended eating Grape Nuts over eating pine trees (Grape Nuts' taste "reminds me of wild hickory nuts"), the quote caught the public's imagination and fueled his celebrity status.
Johnny Carson joked about sending Gibbons a "lumber-gram", and Gibbons himself joined in the humor; when presented with a wooden award plaque by Sonny and Cher, he good-naturedly took a bite out of it. (The "plaque" was actually an edible prop.)
AS SEEN ON:
'Tonight'
'The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour'
"Dean Martin Roasts Michael Landon"
And of course:
Sadly, somebody out there doesn't want to allow embedding of the other videos, so you'll have to click on the links for the following:
Bill also happens to like Grape Nuts. Me, I find it's like eating Quarry
cereal.......
My brother is also a member of the League of Themselves. Like me and our brother Tim (plus seven of our cousins), he appeared on an episode of 'The Ranger Andy Show' back in the 1960's. It was an afternoon kids' show broadcast locally in Connecticut. And he read one of the epistles during a telecast of the Mass, also broadcast locally in Connecticut.
(This picture is from a documentary about the Appalachian Trail and its hikers.)
BCnU!
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