THE GRASSMAN
On February 19, 1995 Terry Endres, Joedy Cook and I interviewed Dale Atkins and his son Tim Atkins (pseudonyms) in Akron, Ohio. The following is a description of how the day progressed and an inventory of the evidence retrieved from the sighting location.
The day was mostly sunny with a slight haze. It was about 50°F. The ground had only spotty snow remaining and the soil was frozen except where the sun had thawed the top layer.
Dale Atkins lives in Akron, Ohio in the Fairlawn area. We arrived at his small white house at 12:30 PM and proceeded to load our gear into his van. Dale Atkins drove and Tim Atkins accompanied us. It was a one hour drive to DaleÆs childhood home in the Kenmore area, between Manchester Road and Main Street, where the sightings took place. Kenmore is also a suburb of Akron.
We remained on the site for about four hours during which time Terry interviewed Dale. Tim accompanied Joedy and me on a search of the area. Joedy and Terry brought a camcorder, I brought a 35MM camera, and a number of photographs and videos were taken in various places.
Dale and his friends had many encounters. Sometimes it was only a feeling described as ôthe hair on the back of my neck stood up,ö or ôI felt like I was being watched.ö Mostly they heard something crashing through the woods or splashing in the swamp. They found tracks a number of times û three-toed tracks.
When Tim got older, like his father, he camped and fished in the area and had similar experiences. He spoke of times his friends told him stories of their run-ins with Bigfoot.
The sighting under current investigation occurred in 1988. While Tim was in the area, rocks were thrown at him from a very long distance. He thought it was from about one hundred yards away. The rocks dropped straight down and did not roll when they hit.
Tim went back home to get his father. Dale went back with Tim to check out the area. Again the rocks began to fall. They both talked of a seeing a creature about seven feet tall and weighing at least 300 pounds. They got no closer to it than 30 or 40 yards. I had a hard time sorting out this encounter from the others Dale and Tim were telling us about. All their experiences were very similar.
Dale and Tim consider Bigfoot to be very intelligent and think it may have mental telepathy. They said that it seemed playful and kept referring to it as The Grassman.
When Dale and Tim heard a Bigfoot expert talk on a local radio show they called the station, but did not get through to the expert. Dale was sent a report form. He filled it out and that form made its way back to Joedy. As a result we became involved in the case.
This piece of land is adjacent to a wooded lot which is bordered by the Ohio Canal on the east side and a junkyard on the west side. As we found ourselves on private property some reservations were expressed to Tim in regard to not having obtained permission. Tim said that he knew the owner of the junkyard, and felt fairly sure that we were safe from harassment.
The entire area did not seem large enough to support a large animal for an entire year, but since the wooded lot adjoins a woods that continues for a long way, the possibility of migration into the area for a portion of the year seemed possible.
Joedy spotted an electrical tower that had high bushes underneath which were all bent down as if something had been there. We found a print and made a cast of it. It was a three-toed print, roughly 10 to 12 inches long and 5 inches wide at the ball of the foot. The heel looked rather narrow like a humanÆs, but the big toe seemed to be offset as if the foot were deformed.
Looking around in this area, which is about a mile from the filled-in swamp, other possible evidence was found. A number of dug-out holes were spotted. These were about six inches wide or maybe hand-sized. At 12 inches or so deep, the holes could have been made by Bigfoot digging for roots. The dirt was piled up just to the side of the hole as if it had been dragged out. It was similar to what Rev. Lee Birt (who also investigates Bigfoot sightings) of Urbana had reported to us.
Smooth sumac bushes that were growing to the north of the tower were missing the berries that grow on top. At about eight to ten feet tall, they were topped with berries that formed an eight inch plume. The berries looked like they had been skinned off the plant, as though they were pulled through the teeth of an animal.
In addition, a group of five smooth sumac plants were growing north of the tower, spaced two to three feet apart. One of the middle plants appeared to be missing and a hole two feet in diameter and one foot deep was in its place. No plant or pile of dirt was found anywhere in the area.
©1995 George Clappison
