In an age when advances in modern medicine increase exponentially, more and more mainstream Americans rely on medication and surgeries to cure all their ills. Extreme sports injuries and fast food junkies are now more prevalent than ever despite the casual warnings from the medical establishment. It’s a pity to hear of cash strapped seniors spending social security checks for a plethora of pills.
     There’s a chance you’ve heard about nature’s storehouse of medicine derived from rainforest plants and trees. You may be surprised to hear over 120 different prescriptions are manufactured from these plants, including the malaria fighter, quinine, and birth control pills made from wild yams. Even the U.S.D.A. Forest Service has produced a manual to help collectors identify and market medicinal plants.
     In this peaceful Mercer County sunrise scene of Elgood Mountain, earth’s treasures lie before you, some seen and some not. While the remainder of America takes a renewed interest in natural healing, West Virginia’s rural remedies have never been forgotten. Following Benjamin Franklin’s advice, where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, West Virginians continue to plant gardens, allow animals to roam free over their farmland, harvest wild plants (inset – searching for ramps) and hunt game in the state’s bountiful woodlands.