Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 25, 2014

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 25, 2014 5 AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 25, 2014 5 
“What’s Going On?”

News and Views from Joan Schmidt 

ARCADIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 
CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING OF 
NATURAL GAS STATION

This past Wednesday I attended the “Ribbon Cutting” ceremony marking 
the grand opening of the Arcadia Unified School District’s Compressed Natural 
Gas Station. How was this possible? The AUSD received nearly $500,000 in 

grants. The California Energy Commission (CEC) contributed $300,000 in a grant and the Mobile 
Source Air Pollution Review Committee (MSRC) contributed an additional $175,000. The new CNG 
station is estimated to save the district up to $40,000 in fuel and maintenance costs per year. It will 
also continue AUSD’s mission of being a greener and more environmentally friendly district. 

When I arrived, I received a warm welcome from Dr. Brook Reynolds, AUSD Director of 
Operations, Transportation, and Food Services. In attendance were AUSD Superintendent Dr. Joel 
Shawn, Deputy Superintendent Dave Vannasdall, Assistant Superintendent Christina Aragon and 
School Board Members Janet Chew and Kay Kinsler. The Program began with Dr. Reynolds as the 
first speaker. He explained that “This is Phase I of the Project and work will continue towards a Phase 
II which would include a second compressor and two additional storage tanks. This would increase 
our ability to allow other agencies and school districts within our community to use our facility via 
fast fuel.” 

Dr. Reynolds continued, “We must not just teach students facts, but skills to gain knowledge and 
apply the information to make a global impact. Compressed natural gas to an alternative to fossil 
fuels…it is cheaper, less maintenance to vehicles; it is safer, storage tanks are safer, reduces chance of 
fire; it is cleaner, more environmentally safer. It produces 95% less carbon monoxide.” 

The second speaker was Sam Emerson from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Review 
Committee. Ms. Emerson said, “We applaud AUSD. We provided funding and were very happy to 
partner with AUSD.” 

From the speakers, I also learned that the two great advantages of this CNG program are 
cleaning up the air- which is greatly needed in California and reducing our dependency on foreign 
aid.

 After the speakers, there was the official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Project Manager, all the 
School Board Members present, Sam Emerson and of course, Dr. Reynolds. The program concluded 
with a short tour of the CNG Station and the Storage area. It was really exciting to see this and how it 
will help our environment and save the AUSD such a large amount of funds! 


EUELL GIBBONS 35 YEARS LATER 

By Christoper Nyerges 

[Nyerges is the author of “Guide to Wild Foods” and other books. He teaches 
ongoing classes in wild food identification. He can be reached at Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041 or www.ChristopherNyerges.com.] 

 Someone recently asked me how long it’s been since Euell Gibbons 
was on television. Has it been that long already? In 1974, a strange man 
entered America’s consciousness via television. He would brandish cattails, 
goldenrod, hickory nuts, and pine branches, instructing the viewers that 
“many parts are edible, you know.” 

Euell Gibbons rapidly became 

fodder for comedians who 

turned his “Stalking the Wild 

...” book titles into the comedy 

cliché of the year. But, in the 

summer of 1975, the Federal 

Trade Commission ordered 

Gibbons’ commercials for 

Post Grape-Nuts cereal off

the air, and, by the time he 

died on December 29 of 

1975, Gibbons’ celebrity had 

diminished considerably.

 That was a shame, for 
Gibbons did have a valuable 
message for America: There 
are tons of wild, nutritious 
food growing everywhere in 
this country that we could 
-- but don’t -- eat. Gibbons 
believed that the main 
reason that Americans shun 
wild food is fear of ridicule if 
they stoop to gather weeds, 
which are generally regarded 
as suitable only for the trash 
can, not the dinner table.

 The FTC ruling appeared 
to speak to a deeper fear: 
fear of the unknown. In the cereal commercials, Gibbons spoke of his years of foraging for wild 
food. “Ever eat a pine tree?” he asked in one spot. “Many parts are edible. Natural ingredients are 
important to me. That’s why Post Grape-Nuts is part of my breakfast.”

 
The FTC objected to the apparent connection, especially as it might be interpreted by children. 
The ruling said that the commercials “undercut a commonly recognized safety principle -- namely, 
that children should not eat any plants found growing in natural surroundings, except under adult 
supervision.”

 Despite its good intentions, the FTC succeeded in generating a great wave of mistrust and fear of 
all wild food, despite the fact that Gibbons stressed in his books and countless public appearances 
that you much never eat any plant or part of a plant until you recognize it as edible. Shortly after 
the FTC ruling, the media latched onto two incidents in which teen-agers who had been captivated 
by Gibbons’ living-off-the-land philosophy became ill when they mistakenly ate toxic plants while 
foraging near the Angeles National Forest.

 Gibbons’ death of unspecified “natural causes” at the age of 64 seemed to seal his reputation 
as a “kook.” At worst, people suspected that he had accidentally poisoned himself (he hadn’t); at 
best, it appeared that eating “natural” foods did not contribute to longevity. But those of us who 

saw the real value of Gibbons’ teachings still feel that he left us with a precious legacy. I first 

encountered Gibbons in 1972, through his writings. Excited and fascinated by “Stalking 

the Wild Asparagus” and his other books, I explored fields and woods across the country 

in search of wild edibles. In 1974, I began to share what I had learned by conducting Wild 

Food Outings in the Los Angeles area. 

I finally met Gibbons after he gave a lecture at Pasadena City College. We chatted for 
the better part of an hour, our conversation ranging from carob pods to American Indians to 
compost. He told me of his plans for television documentaries about primitive societies that 
still live totally ecological lives. Gibbons said he hoped to show the modern world some of 
the follies of civilization.

 One of these follies is the persistence -- the expenditure of so much time and money 
-- in attempting to eradicate from our yards and parks plants that have thrived for centuries. 
Some of the most common edible “intruders” are dandelion, lamb’s quarter, pigweed, mallow, 
mustard, and sow thistle. Among the most enduring of wild plants that were brought to 
California in the westward migrations is chickweed. To even the most pampered palate, it is 
an incredibly good salad green, yet it often leads the list of “garden pests” in advertisements 
for herbicides. Other “enemies” highly valued by herbalists and naturalists are wild garlic, 
plantain, purslane, French sorrel, sour grass, and ground ivy.

 Many of the common wild plants have been used for centuries as herbal medicine, and 
still have value for simple ailments. 

While many people regarded the natural foods “craze” as a passing fad, others found 
much that is worthwhile in what Gibbons brought to the national attention. I know I do. 
Gibbons was just passing along something that our ancestors knew, something that is still 
a deeply respected tradition in many parts of even the “civilized” world where scarce food is 
more prized than ornamental gardens. Despite the ridicule of passersby, on almost any day 
in almost any park right here in the city, people still gather berries, cactus, mustard greens, 
chickweed, and wild mushrooms. These wild foods are there for the taking -- foods that grow 
in relative abundance and that are much better for you than a lot of the processed junk sold 
in supermarkets.

 Euell Gibbons and his many adherents warrant our admiration, not our mockery. 


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