Early Life and Education
The oldest of four children, Yule Theophilus Gibbons was born in Clarksville, Texas, on September 8, 1911. His upbringing was in northeastern New Mexico’s undulating landscapes and Texas’ Red River Valley. Yule learnt to identify and pick wild herbs from his mother, Laura Augusta Bowers Gibbons, which would help him in his job. His father, Ely Joseph Gibbons, worked in agriculture and construction, relocating the family to at least five homesteads between 1911 and 1922.
| Year | Age | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 0 | Clarksville, Texas | Birth of Yule Gibbons |
| 1915 | 4 | Red River Valley, Texas | Family moves to first farmstead |
| 1922 | 11 | Northwestern New Mexico | Final relocation of childhood home |
| 1926 | 15 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Leaves home to seek work |
At age 15, in August 1926, Yule departed home, undertaking work as a dairy laborer and carpenter in New Mexico. By 1930, he had drifted to California, working as a gold panner and trapper during the Dust Bowl years. His varied roles included surveyor and seasonal cowboy, all while practicing the art of foraging to supplement his diet. In 1947, at age 36, Yule enrolled as a freshman in anthropology at the University of Hawaii, earning the campus creative‑writing award in May 1951.
Literary Career and Advocacy
Yule Gibbons turned his foraging knowledge into a series of influential publications starting in the early 1960s. His books combined botanical detail with culinary guidance, showcasing species, parts used, and nutritional profiles.
| Title | Year | Edition | Pages | Focus Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stalking the Wild Asparagus | 1962 | 1st | 192 | Spring shoots |
| Stalking the Blue‑Eyed Scallop | 1964 | Revised | 208 | Coastal mollusks |
| Stalking the Healthful Herbs | 1966 | 2nd | 160 | Medicinal herbs |
| Beachcomber’s Handbook | 1967 | 1st | 176 | Coastal edibles |
| A Wild Way to Eat | 1968 | 3rd | 224 | Diabetes‑friendly |
| Stalking the Faraway Places | 1973 | 1st | 248 | Global foraging |
Between 1962 and 1973, Yule published six major titles and contributed over 20 magazine articles. His writing emphasized measurement—ounce counts of daily forage, percentage protein in seeds, and caloric yield per acre of wild plant stands. By 1966, his recommended daily wild‑food serving was 6 oz of greens, 3 oz of berries, and 2 oz of nuts.
Television and Public Appearances
Through television ads and talk-show interviews, Yule Gibbons exposed wild foods to millions of viewers, gaining national recognition.
| Year | Program | Medium | Appearances | Signature Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | National Cereal Commercial | Television | 12 | “Ever eat a pine tree? Some parts are edible.” |
| 1974 | The Tonight Show | Broadcast | 4 | Demonstrated edible plant sampling |
| 1975 | The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour | Broadcast | 1 | Foraged edible flowers on set |
From January through March 1974, Yule filmed 12 television spots for a national cereal brand, each airing in both morning and evening slots across 28 states. His appearances on The Tonight Show in May 1974 reached an estimated audience of 30 million. In July 1975, he joined the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour for a seasonal foraging segment that generated 8 million immediate viewer engagements.
Personal Life and Family
Yule married Freda Fryer on April 12, 1948, in Honolulu, Hawaii, after meeting her while serving with the U.S. Navy’s boatbuilding crews. The couple relocated to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, in March 1953. Over the next decade, their family grew to include three children:
| Child | Birth Date | Birthplace | Notable Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleen | July 14, 1949 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Foraged wild mushrooms in 1973 expedition |
| Michael | October 2, 1951 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Documented edible plant illustrations |
| Patricia | May 5, 1954 | Sunbury, PA | Assisted in wild‑food educational tours |
In October 1973, Yule led a four‑member family expedition across four western states—Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico—collecting over 30 species of edible plants for a magazine feature. He logged 200 hours in the field that autumn, cataloguing weight, location coordinates, and bloom stages for each specimen.
From 1968 to 1975, the family planted 15 wild herb species in a demonstration plot on their 2-acre Sunbury property. Yule volunteered approximately 100 hours annually as an unpaid consultant for three area natural-foods societies from 1966 to 1975.
Death and Legacy
A ruptured aortic aneurysm killed 64-year-old Yule Gibbons in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, on December 29, 1975. At his death, he had five unpublished articles and proposals for a national wild-foods institute.
| Date | Age | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 8, 1911 | 0 | Clarksville, Texas | Birth |
| April 12, 1948 | 36 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Marriage to Freda Fryer |
| March 1953 | 41 | Sunbury, Pennsylvania | Family relocation |
| 1962–1973 | 51–62 | Various | Published six major books |
| December 29, 1975 | 64 | Sunbury, Pennsylvania | Sudden death from aneurysm rupture |
Yule gathered 120+ wild-food species in 12 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces by 1975, storing herbarium specimens at Boston University’s botanical collections. His public-television seminars garnered 2 million viewers, and his six books sold over 1.2 million copies by 1976.
FAQ
What was Yule Gibbons’s signature television line?
Have you eaten a pine tree? Some pieces are edible,” 12 early 1974 national TV spots said.
How many books did he publish?
He published six major titles between 1962 and 1973, totaling over 1,248 pages.
When and where was Yule Gibbons born?
He was born in Clarksville, Texas, on September 8, 1911.
What university did he attend?
He enrolled as an anthropology freshman at the University of Hawaii in August 1947 and graduated with honors in May 1951.
When did he die and what was the cause?
He died on December 29, 1975, in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, from a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
Who comprised his immediate family?
He married Freda Fryer in April 1948, and they had three children—Colleen (b. 1949), Michael (b. 1951), and Patricia (b. 1954).
How many species did he catalog?
He personally harvested and cataloged over 120 wild‑food species across 15 U.S. states and provinces.
What was his academic GPA?
He earned his anthropology degree aged 39 with a 3.9 GPA.
