Euell Gibbons

Euell Gibbons (1911–December 29, 1975) was an outdoorsman and proponent of natural diets, famous during the 1960s.

He was born in Clarksville, Texas, and spent much of his youth in the hilly terrain of New Mexico during the dust-bowl era. His mother taught him much about foods available in the wilds. As an adult he lived a somewhat itinerant lifestyle, and spent time in a number of states working a variety of different jobs. While visiting Hawaii 1947 to 1951 he met Freda Fryer, and the two were married. During his travels he continued his interest in wild foods, including experimenting with new recipes and consulting with experts.

He had apparently longed to be a writer but had difficulty getting published. However his first book, Stalking Wild Asparagus, became an instant success in 1962, capitalizing on the growing return-to-nature movement. He followed this up with the cookbooks Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop in 1964 and Stalking the Healthful Herb in 1966. He was also widely published in various magazines.

His publishing success brought him a level of fame. He made guest appearances on The Johnny Carson Show and the Sonny & Cher show. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University, even though he had only completed the equivalent of a sixth-grade education.

The Post Grape Nuts cereal advertising quote "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." is attributed to him (and inspired Carson to joke about sending him a "lumber-gram"). Ironically he died from a heart attack, most likely brought on as a result of smoking cigarettes, the saturated fats he added to his wild food diet, and a lack of exercise in his later, declining years.

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