Natural-food advocate, author, television personality. As a child growing up poor in Texas, Gibbons learned to forage for wild foods. He left school, worked as a carpenter, boatbuilder, and surveyor, and served a stint in the U.S. Army, while cultivating the taste for natural treats like cattail roots, Japanese knotweeds, and day-lily buds. In 1962, he wrote the book, "Stalking The Wild Asparagus." During the 1970s, he achieved the status of an American icon by touting the health benefits of Post Grape-Nuts breakfast cereal in television commercials, in which he famously stated, "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible," and compared the taste of the cereal to that "of wild hickory nuts." In addition to his more visible appearances on various television shows, he helped found natural food organizations such as the "National Wild Food Association," of West Virginia, and the Chicago-based "Foraging Friends." Despite his mere sixth-grade education, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Gibbons died from cardiac disease, with complications related to Marfan Syndrome.
Natural-food advocate, author, television personality. As a child growing up poor in Texas, Gibbons learned to forage for wild foods. He left school, worked as a carpenter, boatbuilder, and surveyor, and served a stint in the U.S. Army, while cultivating the taste for natural treats like cattail roots, Japanese knotweeds, and day-lily buds. In 1962, he wrote the book, "Stalking The Wild Asparagus." During the 1970s, he achieved the status of an American icon by touting the health benefits of Post Grape-Nuts breakfast cereal in television commercials, in which he famously stated, "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible," and compared the taste of the cereal to that "of wild hickory nuts." In addition to his more visible appearances on various television shows, he helped found natural food organizations such as the "National Wild Food Association," of West Virginia, and the Chicago-based "Foraging Friends." Despite his mere sixth-grade education, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Gibbons died from cardiac disease, with complications related to Marfan Syndrome.
Bio by: HJ
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