My kids were given an Uncle WIggly book when they started to read-- one in which Uncle Wiggly get an upset stomach, and takes some peppermint oil tonic to sooth his stomach-- I was very happy with this book, since one of our "home remedies" for car sickness was sucking on a peppermint candy--
But i had not heard of Uncle Wiggly until they received the book-- and never heard of any one who knew them or remembered the stories fondly till your post, Bill.