The Widow Wilcox of Rattlesnake Ridge or (Yarb Tales from The Widder Wilcox) is a living history presentation with plant props and stories about using plants in the Ozarks.The Widow Wilcox of Rattlesnake Ridge. The Wider Wilcox came to Arkansas with her family in the last part of the 1800’s. Everything the family needed to start a new homestead was packed on a wooden wagon that was drawn by two gray donkeys. Using the trees and plants found on Rattlesnake Ridge together with the seed that they had packed, she and her family built a life. Using hand tools and the common knowledge of the time, they built a log cabin, grew crops of sorghum and tobacco, made remedies with mullein, horehound and numb tongue and dug sassafras, sang and yellowroot. The humor and drama in the story captures the imagination and informs folks about the history of the beneficial plants of the Ozark Mountains.

Tina Marie Wilcox has been the head gardener and herbalist at the Ozark Folk Center’s Heritage Herb Garden in Mountain View, Arkansas since 1984. She tends the gardens, plans, and coordinates annual herbal events and facilitates the production of sale plants, seeds, and herbal products for the park.  She is a well-seasoned herbal educator, entertainer, and with Susan Belsinger, co-authored The Creative Herbal Home.

Tina currently serves as president of the International Herb Association. She is a member of the Herb Society of America—Ozark Unit and was awarded the Nancy Putnam Excellence in Horticulture Award 2017 by the Herb Society of America.

Tina’s philosophy is based upon experiencing the joy of the process, perpetrating no harm, and understanding life through play with plants and people.