Editor’s Note: A celebration of the life of the late herbalist and author Michael Moore was held in Truth or Consequences (T or C), New Mexico from April 17–19, with approximately 200 of Moore’s students and colleagues in attendance. The following article is a personal reflection of the event written by the American Botanical Council’s Education Coordinator, Holly Ferguson, a former student of Moore’s.
Under the clear blue desert sky of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, dozens of former students and friends gathered to commence the conference honoring the late herbalist Michael Moore. Standing in the center of the circle, Phyllis Hogan, a practicing herbalist for 25 years, began the ceremony with a traditional Native American song.
Phyllis then lit the sage bundle. While we waited for our individual smudging, some of us fought back the tears and some just let them flow. It was difficult for me to not think of Michael as he was omnipresent; he was the desert. As I stood under a desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) that kept tapping me on the shoulder, I remembered Michael teaching us that this tree, whose leaves, twigs, and flowers are deemed to be a strong anti-fungal, is somewhat of a Southwest analog for the South American pau d’ arco (Tabebuia impetiginosa). Then, everywhere I looked, within a few feet of the circle, another plant and another story surfaced.
Later that evening, Jessie Emerson premiered her documentary Just an Old Fashioned Herbalist, a story of Michael Moore and his contributions to modern American herbalism. As Dimid Hayes, one of the event organizers, related to me, watching this documentary was like having another chance to hang out with our teacher and friend. The film took us on field trips through the desert and mountains with a much younger Michael (some of the footage was from 30 years ago), and into the classroom with the more recent Michael. His composition “Symphony # 2–The Anasazi,” played by the Orchestra of Santa Fe in 1980, was used as part of the soundtrack. The film then ended, the sun set, long-distance friends reunited, and hot baths were taken in the healing mineral springs.
Saturday, day 2 of the conference, began at 9 in the morning. About 200 participants gathered throughout the day to attend many diverse and interesting presentations. Presenters included many former students of Michael’s and ranged from Amadea Morningstar, founder of the Ayurveda Polarity and Yoga Therapy Institute in Santa Fe, who spoke on the use of herbs in Ayurvedic medicine, to Gabriel Howearth, founder of the Buena Fortuna Botanical Garden in Baja, Mexico, who shared his years of experience with gardening, seed-saving, and herbal medicine. Adam Seller’s workshop, “The Historical Significance of Michael Moore,” put Michael’s work and philosophy in a historical context. During Monica Rude’s class on cultivation of medicinal plants, she confessed that after studying with Michael, all she wanted to do was “grow bulk herbs for the world.” (A complete list of the presentations, speakers, and other events, can be seen on the conference’s website.)
As the conference had many interesting concurrent sessions, I struggled with which one to attend, but finally chose the plant walk with local wild-crafter Andy Stevenson, whose mother, Deborah Brandt, a nurse–herbalist, studied with Michael in 1993 at the herb shop From the Ground Up in Las Cruces, NM. As soon as I jumped in the car with one of my traveling companions, Paul Bergner, director of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in Boulder, Colorado, I realized that I had made the right decision: I learned nearly as much on the ride there as I did on the walk itself.
Just a few minutes into the ride I was offered a “sample” of rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea). Sampling and "testing" bottles of tincture always was one of my favorite activities at Michael’s Southwest School of Botanical Medicine (SWSBM). We students would pass the bottle around the class, placing on each of our tongues a few drops, and watching each other react. This carride sampling of rhodiola, perhaps due to the herb’s stimulating effect, elicited a conversation of epic proportions. Bergner said that often he had seen folks in Boulder react differently to this herb, as the city’s climate intensifies vata (a constitutional body type of Ayurveda), thus increasing the herb’s stimulant effect. This “geography of herbal treatment” conversation eventually led to many other topics such as gluten intolerance, vitamin D supplementation, and the questionable popularity of agave (Agave spp.) nectar. These very serious discussions were interlaced with mediocre jokes – it was Saturday after all, and we weren’t in the classroom.
Along the route we pulled over on the side of the road in typical Michael Moore fashion to check out chaparral (Larrea tridentata) and Astragalas spp. There were several carloads of us “caravanning” as we always did during SWSBM field trips. 7Song, the director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine in New York and a student of Michael’s, stood by L. tridentata, and told us that this herb is not necessarily the actual species tridentata, as many various species are often grouped as such. I vaguely remembered someone telling me that this herb could be tinctured and taken internally for extreme sunburn, and after a bit of discussion, we came to consensus that Michael had taught this in his class.
Back in the car, Andy led the caravan west of T or C to a lovely desert wilderness homestead. Here, our first plant to discuss was mullein, or Verbascum thapsus, which isn’t native but was growing there nonetheless and is useful. Andy mentioned one of its more common uses: infusing the flowers in oil to treat earache. If anything, Michael taught us to use what is there – the utmost of sustainability.
The next specimen was another that took me right back to Michael Moore’s classroom: globemallow (Sphaeralcea spp), such a cute little demulcent with its small bright orange flowers. In Michael’s class, he suggested powdering the whole flowering plant and using as a “slimy” poultice or a tea. As 7Song mentioned that the root is even more demulcent, he dug it up a bit and passed it around so we could all have a taste. The weather was quite hot, but we would not be heat dweeps (Michael’s term for people who wilted in the sun), so down the hill we went, discussing harvesting, folk uses, and preparations. Finally, we passed by a rogue fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) growing on the side of a dirt road, which reminded us that if we didn’t leave soon, we would miss lunch.
The celebration banquet took place that evening. The mood was joyous, and the food tasty and plentiful. We ate, danced and made new friends. We all had experienced a range of emotions, from the initial grief that Michael was no longer physically with us, to the joy of grasping the plentitude of unique information he has given. We also looked to the future, realizing that much important and cool work remains to be done.
The next morning featured the “Next Step” session, which was attended by enthusiasts wanting to keep Michael’s memory alive. A variety of possible projects, such as memorial gardens, state legislation work, and another conference, were mentioned. Donna Chesner, Michael Moore’s beloved widow, was actively involved in the conference and said that, in time, she would like to make Michael’s personal library accessible to the public. Further, she said she is considering many other such projects to keep Michael’s teachings alive, and most importantly, will continue to oversee the SWSBM’s distance learning program, currently available on the school’s website.
Saying Goodbye
It is now Sunday afternoon, and all of the conference presentations and events have ended as huge successes. This event has been, not only an important reunion of Michael’s students, but also, in the words of lead organizer Dimid Hayes, “an expansion of the [herbal] community around his legacy.” Phyllis Hogan leads us in a closing ceremony. It is time to say goodbye and let go. I think of Michael in the hospital during the weeks before his death. In closing, I will briefly share my thoughts during those few weeks in February 2009:
I felt that I was able to commune with Michael in spirit in a way that had never occurred before.
Clearly there was vulnerability, but also a gentleness and openness that, in the past, had been generally overshadowed by his intellect and humor.
This refined and kind man is really who Michael was.
He and I spent a day together, where he was in and out of sleeping and dreaming, retreating to his own place mentally, and then talking…
We listened to the symphonies that he composed and occasionally he brought his hand up to his mouth to “play his trumpet.”
In conversation, I told him that I believe the spirit lives on and on and that his could never die because he has touched so many of us so deeply and that he lives on in each of us. Sitting by his side, I fell in love with him all over again, but this time it wasn’t because of his intellect, it was his essence.
—Holly Ferguson
Muchas Gracias to all of the organizers that spent a year of their life making this happen: Daniel Gagnon, Dimid Hayes, Genevieve Chavez, Judy Harmon, Buffy Siebel, Catherine Mackenzie, and to the many others that supported them along the way.
I also would like to thank Donna Chesner for being so brave…and thank you Michael for changing so many of our lives, for making our understanding of this planet and our place in it so much more complete.
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