Elk in My Kitchen - Honoring our Forefathers

By:  Janet Wong

One of the strongest childhood memories, for many people, is the smell of our grandparents' kitchen.  Maybe you remember ginger, or fish.  I remember the earthy smell of herbs, roots, and deer horn simmering on the stove.  Deer horn was my grandfather's favorite ingredient.  According to legend, deer horn was so cherished in ancient China that only the emperor could have it.

As long as I can remember, my grandfather took his tonic daily-sometimes as tea, sometimes as soup, sometimes in his homemade "whiskey" until he was ninety-six years old.  At ninety-six he was spry enough to climb up a ladder; strong enough to fix his own roof; and, healthier than I am now, at age forty.

As much as I know the value of those traditional medicinal brews, I never would make them for myself, unless I was truly ill.  My son would complain about the smell.  Even if I bought the broth ready-made, I could not drink it; I hate the taste of those bitter herbs.

Fast forward, one generation.  Now my father, at age sixty-seven, is the one making the tonic.  But take a deep breath in his kitchen, and you smell nothing.  Instead of sliced deer horn, simmered on the stove for hours, his tonic is in the form of a pill.  A capsule filled with harvested, slow-dried, ground antler.  He takes two pills in the morning with his multi- vitamin, and he's ready to start his day.

My father lives in Oregon.  He learned about elk velvet antler a few years ago from an elk rancher friend.  Apparently, some people believe it is the best natural source of collagen, glucosamine and chondroitin.  It has been featured on a national public radio show, and is the subject of books.  After researching the industry, my father decided to launch a product of his own:  8-9 Wellness Elk Velvet Antler Capsules.

Fast forward, another generation.  For the past month now, every morning I open my plastic weekly pill holder and swallow two elk velvet antler capsules with my multi- vitamin.  Who knows, maybe it is doing some good.  When I take my pills in the morning, I think about my grandfather and my father, and it gives me strength.