Arthur Lee "Tommie" Bass (January 24, 1908August 28, 1996) was an

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

who lived near

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. At the time of his death at age 88 on August 31, 1996, Bass was one of the best-known local herbalists in the

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. He was profiled on the pages of the ''

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'' in 1985, subject of a film on his life, interviewed on national television, subject of a master's thesis and subject of scholarly and popular books. Bass's immense knowledge of herbal lore encompassed more than 300 local plants in his personal pharmacopoeia and others that might not be useful to "give ease" to others. He was well known for his tinctures, salves and compounds. To quote his apprentice, Darryl Patton:

There are many 'Herbalists' around recommending all sorts of strange herbal treatments. But they have absolutely no knowledge of what a medicinal plant looks like in the woods and outside of a bottle. These herbal "pharmacists" come and go like every other fad. Tommie and those who follow in his footsteps will continue to use simple herbs for healing. Darryl Patton. ''Herbal Mountain Medicine: The Healing Remedies of Tommie Bass''

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070701215648/http://www.stalkingthewild.com/sh/tommie_newsletter.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070528205355/http://www.stalkingthewild.com/sh/tommiebass.html by his apprentice, Darryl Patton. *http://www.folkstreams.net/pub/ContextPage.php?essay=154 transcript to film about Tommie Bass 1908 births 1996 deaths Herbalists Appalachian culture {{herbalist-stub