Search Constraints

You searched for: Date 2019-09-16 Remove constraint Date: 2019-09-16 Location Birch River (W. Va.) Remove constraint Location: Birch River (W. Va.) Subject American ginseng Remove constraint Subject: American ginseng Subject American ginseng industry Remove constraint Subject: American ginseng industry Subject Herbs--Utilization Remove constraint Subject: Herbs--Utilization

Search Results


Listen to Audio
["For the past 6 years, Sandy Mashburn (b. January 20th, 1954, Albertville, AL) and her husband Tommy Mashburn come to West Virginia for 3 months from August-October to hunt root, including ginseng, may apple, yellow root, and black cohosh. They sell the foraged root and other plant parts to Tony Coffman at Coffmans Metals in Birch River, West Virginia. In this short interview, Sandy speaks about how they first started coming to West Virginia, her husbands digging hobby, how the price of ginseng has changed, and more.This interview and other materials were collected in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festivals 2020 festival program on American ginseng. Learn more: https://festival.si.edu/blog/west-virginia-ginseng-trade"]