Thank you Whitehall, New York for providing Bigfoot and his family a safe place to call home! In 2004, the residents passed a law making Whitehall a safe haven for Bigfoot, by prohibiting the hunting of this shy creature. It kind of makes me think of the lyrics to the Cheers theme song, “Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” Although that wasn’t always the case. Back in 1976, not everyone in the community was glad Bigfoot came, nor were they ready to welcome such a famous resident.
It all began back in August 1976, when three teenagers spotted a large hairy creature with glowing red eyes, hanging out in a field near a telephone pole on Abair Road. Back then they didn’t have cell phones, so they couldn’t take a photo, or even call to report the sighting. Instead, they drove off to find help. Luckily they came across a policeman on patrol. At first skeptical of what they were telling him, the officer could see they were legitimately scared about something. This led to a trip to the fire department to make a few calls, again I repeat no cell phones back then. But eventually local police, the sheriff’s department, and state troopers were all on their way to investigate. Luckily for them, Bigfoot was a patient creature, and was still in the area when they arrived, making for numerous credible witnesses.
Alright, so Bigfoot was a creature of habit, and apparently liked hanging out in that area. Not exactly sure what they saw, and not wanting to be accused of falling for a prank, two officers returned the following night. Sure enough after waiting for hours, who should appear and let out a big scream? Bigfoot! It didn’t take long for news as big as this to spread in the small town, and sure enough additional residents slowly came forward to share their sightings. The Associated Press got wind of these strange events, and soon reporters from across the country were interested.
Rather than embrace their time in the spotlight, the residents got understandably annoyed. Reporters gave it silly headlines, and investigators from away started popping up in people’s yards looking for the beast. For whatever reason, during the 1970s there was an uptick in interest in these paranormal legends. In fact it was the following year that Champ the lake monster got his photo taken in nearby Lake Champlain. But what made Whitehall different was they had credible witnesses with the law enforcement present during those two encounters, and they did their due diligence investigating the area, even documenting footprints.
Why Whitehall? Why not! Located in the foothills of the Adirondacks, the terrain and its remoteness is just as comparable to Bigfoot’s more noteworthy stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest. There’s plenty of room for the big guy to raise a family, without getting much notice in this region of New York. Although Bigfoot does somehow manage to get spotted a lot more often than he’d probably prefer. Over the years sightings continued, and the residents started to embrace the idea of their unique neighbor. They added his image to their town seal, started a festival in his honor, and as I already mentioned passed a law protecting Bigfoot!
Oh how I wish Angel Chuck Billy was with me on our grand adventure in June when I visited the Bigfoot Museum and posed next to the 11-foot, 8-inch steel sculpture depicting this shy friend.
It is located on Route 4 at the Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone Co. Although the main focus of the store is their marble and granite business, there is a small museum and gift shop dedicated to the famous resident. There the friendly staff gave us a quick tour, showed us the plaster casts of his prints, and even informed us that there was a Bigfoot sighting the previous weekend! Which by the way, that was the Saturday we arrived for our vacation. I wonder if prior to crossing Rainbow Bridge if Angel Chuck Billy contacted Bigfoot to let him know we were coming to visit that week? I sure hope I didn’t offend Bigfoot by waiting a few days before stopping in Whitehall.
While there I purchased an autographed book by one of the witnesses, retired policeman Brian Gosselin, as well as a map of sightings. If you’d like to learn more, I recommend stopping by the museum, as well as attending Whitehall’s Sasquatch Calling Festival, which takes place the last Saturday in September each year and attracts thousands of visitors worldwide! Who knows, maybe it will even attract Bigfoot?
Just remember, even though he is BIG, Bigfoot is still shy. So please obey the town ordinance and be nice to him and his statute.
I couldn’t help but notice as I drove out of town, this billboard of Dolly Patron, reminding everyone, “Find the good in everybody.” Thanks Whitehall for finding the good in Bigfoot!
