(picture taken by me at Falling Leaves Rendevous 2018)
Episode #66 of the Ground Shots Podcast features a conversation with Doug Elliott, Appalachian storyteller, herbalist, naturalist and basket-weaver.
I went to go visit Doug and Yanna on a cold winter’s day, near the winter solstice with my friend Squirrel, who I convinced to tag along and help out while Doug and I recorded our conversation. Doug and his partner Yanna, who have been on their land for decades, could always use help from the occasional visitor on their land, processing food, foraging, cleaning up the garden, chopping wood and whatnot. When we got there, Doug and I got settled into where we were going to have our conversation, on the couches in their side room, whereas Yanna took Squirrel under her wing to get to work. While Doug and I bantered on air, turns out Yanna and Squirrel quickly find all of these ‘Shrimp’ (Entoloma abortivum) mushrooms in the woods together, and while ferociously gathering also figure out they might be kin to one another as their Jewish families are from the same towns in New York and parts of Europe. Yanna got Squirrel’s grandmother on the phone within 30 minutes and they were talking about who they knew and the changes of the town. A banter in the house carried on by the fire by unprocessed homegrown cotton and other fibers, a banter another sort went down in the Shrimp mushroom grove.
When we were done, there were still mushrooms to forage, and we gathering many while brushing away leaves to discover them. We ended up having a big lunch of sweet potatoes from their garden, Taro, Ginger-Turmeric Tea and more. After we ate, cleaned up all the mushrooms to dry, we went back out to the garden to help them do some tasks. We took down some old fencing in some different areas that had gotten all tangled up, and that took until dark. After that, we headed back to my friend Garrett’s house where we had been staying. These are the kinds of moments I cherish on the podcast, and also with my time in Appalachia, getting to visit special folks whose lives I exemplify and honor, look up to. I hope to dig in some day and tend land the way that Doug and Yanna have, and have a handmade home with handmade things I create and conjure and use every day.
This episode of the podcast is a combination of live interview with Doug, pre-recorded stories (but not too many long ones) and pre-recorded songs. To see the list of songs and stories we feature, look a little bit further down below. To listen to Doug’s complete albums of stories and songs to get the full picture of his groundhog, raccoon, fishing, possum and snake doings, alongside numerous stories on plants, download his work on bandcamp here. (also linked in the show notes at the end)
Doug Elliott is a naturalist, herbalist, storyteller, basket maker, back-country guide, philosopher, and harmonica wizard. For many years made his living as a traveling herbalist, gathering and selling herbs, teas, and remedies.
(picture by me at Falling Leaves Rendevous 2018)
He has spent a great deal of time with traditional country folk and regional indigenous peoples, learning their stories, folklore and traditional ways of relating to the natural world. In recent years he has performed and presented programs at festivals, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers and schools from Canada to the Caribbean. He has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival. He has lectured and performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution. He has led ranger training sessions for the National Park Service and guided people on wilderness experiences from down-east Maine to the Florida Everglades. He was named harmonica champion at Fiddler’s Grove Festival in Union Grove, N.C. He is the author of five books, many articles in regional and national magazines, has recorded a number of award winning albums of stories and songs, and is occasionally seen on PBS-TV, and the History and National Geographic Channels.
In recent years he has received a variety of honors. The National Storytelling Network (the largest storytelling membership organization in the world) inducted him into their Circle of Excellence for “exceptional commitment and exemplary contribution to the art of storytelling.” The International Herb Association presented him with the Otto Richter Award honoring his work with herbs and useful wild plants. The National Association for Interpretation (the professional organization of park rangers, naturalists, museum curators, etc.) gave him the Master Front Line Interpreter Award for his “mastery of interpretive techniques, program development, and design of creative projects” celebrating the natural world and our human connection to nature.
Elliott’s passion for the natural world developed in early childhood roaming the woods and waters around his home. His dad used to say, “That boy knows what’s under every rock between here and town.”
He still roams the woods today. He has traveled from the Canadian North to the Central American jungles studying plant and animal life and seeking out the traditional wisdom of people with intimate connections to the natural world. And he still looks under rocks. These days he uncovers more than just a few strange critters; he brings to light the human connection to this vibrant world of which we are a part.
My blog post from Falling Leaves Rendevous 2018 where I snapped some photos of Doug’s plant walk
Pre-recorded song and story list from this episode of the podcast:
Groundhog Love
The Travel Urge and the Magic Token
Left Hind Leg of a Rabbit
Muskrat
Dandelion Song
Creasy Greens
Ain’t No Bugs on Me
Ginseng and the Largest Living Thing
Apples, Fools, Fish or Freedom song
Racoon and Possom
Cluck Ol’ Hen
The Night Charlie Tended Weir
Old Joe Clark
Black Snake
Links:
Doug Elliott’s Bandcamp page, where you can listen to and download all of his full length albums and story recordings: https://dougelliott.bandcamp.com/
Doug Elliott’s website and blog: https://dougelliott.com/
Doug Elliott’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpxmzq7RqmnGeW2R0UnfpQ
Todd Elliott’s ‘Mushrooms of the Southeast’ book mentioned in the podcast
Article on Bessie Jones, whom Doug mentions in a story on the podcast, national treasure and African American singer (also see video alongside others, displayed on blog post page for this episode)
