Denison Bigfoot Back in the News
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on May 18th, 2006
When last we saw the Denison Bigfoot, he was keeping a lonely vigil in the storefront at the Hart Place Antique Mall in Denison, TX.
Here is the article that tipped us off to the Denison Bigfoot.
How much is that Sasquatch in the window?
He was either for sale, or was to be auctioned off. As he was in rather flea-ridden condition, the TBRC decided not to liberate him from the storefront. One of our members who lives in the area did some investigation.
I entered the auction house about an hour before they opened and asked about the statue. One of the employees gave me the auctioneer’s cell phone number, he said she knew more about it. I called her and she laughed when I told her what I was inquiring about and said, "Everybody loves Bigfoot don’t they?" I agreed. "I have nothing but calls about that Bigfoot Statue since I put it in the window," she said.
I asked her about the history of the model and she said it came from "Wild Bill’s" Museum in Durant, Oklahoma. "Wild Bill" died, and they were auctioning his belongings. He was supposed to have acquired it from either Snow or Snow’s Museum in Missouri. I asked her the price and she said $350. I thanked her for the info and hung up.
That was in January of 2005, and that was the last we heard of the Denison Bigfoot, until last night.
On a local Dallas news station last night, there was a report of a pawnshop "mascot" in legal trouble.
Yep, you guessed it, the "mascot" in question was the Denison Bigfoot. Only now, he is festooned with Mardi Gras beads, wearing what looks to be a shaggy, purple sweater.
Oh, the travesty…
JUAN GARCIA/DMN
Mel Foust (center) and son Brian say their statue doesn’t violate city code because it’s a mascot, not merchandise.
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
It violates good taste …on those grounds alone in England it would be removed.I can understand they think it’s a good gimmick but it belongs in a museum not on a shop front.
Good morning Craig…..
Has anyone closely examined this “item”….
I asked my Cousin in Highland Park to take some high resolution photos of this next time she went through Denison….she never could find it…now I know why…
seeing is believing…
ole bub and the dawgs
That is the ugliest looking bigfoot I have ever seen.
wow they did no favors with the purple sweater and beads. I hope someone saves him.
on this item from the original report:
‘I remember seeing televised footage – long since exposed as fraudulent – of a “Bigfoot” caught on camera somewhere in Canada. It was pretty famous at the time, sort of an early “Blair Witch Project.” Over the years, of course, the controversial image has been debunked as a guy in a dog suit with a zipper running up the back.’
Just what video is this guy referring too? As a former newspaper man I will not hesitate to say that this is shoddy journalism.
I imagine that he is referencing the Patterson/Gimlin film, which would extremely shoddy journalism…
Does anyone have any notion where this ORIGINALLY came from though? How did it end up in the “Wild Bill” museum in Durant? (And what connection do hairy hominids have with Bill Hickok?) For that matter, what connection does the Illinois born Hickok have to Ok.? Didn’t he get shot in the back in the Dakota territories?
re: # 6
Eh, California, Canada…
Dog suit, Gorilla suit…
debunked, still debated…
trifling differences, really
*sigh*
Re back to the point. In Scotland there is a museum that has a room for things (for want of a better word) like this, mermen, made up show exhibits etc. is there not something similar in the USA that could rescue the poor thing…Purple I ask you????
I’d be interested to know who originally first made this, I wonder if it is an old carnival gaff?
My father is the one who bought Bigfoot from Denison Antique Mall. It is very good for our business and everyone loves it. It has been in the paper and in the news the last few days b/c the city doesnt want us to put it out front. We never have put a purple sweater on it so i dont know what you are talking about. But anyways he is with us inside for the meantime! Thanks!
# Tabitca Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Re back to the point. In Scotland there is a museum that has a room for things (for want of a better word) like this, mermen, made up show exhibits etc.
Where in Scotland is this?
Gordon
Ow… Bigfoot is insulted
txdollarpawn,
In the picture in the Dallas Morning News that is reposted above, the hair/fur looks like it might be purple. I just assumed that it was a purple sweater.
Watching the news segment that aired on channel 8 today, I could tell that it was just the hair/fur, no sweater.