John Green 1927 ~ 2016... In Memorium..

Recently our "community" lost one of its founding fathers. John Green has been described as one of the "Four Horsemen," a tough skeptic, author, journalist and a plain talking man. If you asked his opinion on something, he would always tell you exactly what he thought. Some could take that ~ others not so much. 

I'm sure many are wondering why it's taken so long for me to write something about Mr. Green. Answer to that: I had, still have, and will always, have great respect for this man. Why? He really was one of the first chroniclers of this mystery we call, "Bigfoot." He was out there, boots on the ground, talking to witnesses and taking punches in the media long before many of us even knew about the mystery or him.

Many people will tell you their interest in this topic began with the first time they saw the Patterson/Gimlin film. My interest started, as a child, with a photo I saw of Mr. Green holding a foot cast. My mind instantly filled with wonder and amazement. It was only later (in my teens) I saw the PGF for the first time. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be  out researching the very mystery, this man, had brought to life in my mind as a child. Never did I ever think I would one day be exchanging emails with this man, as I did in 2006  after I began researching myself, for this blog.

I have been sitting around, since the news, thinking about what I would say in this article. Recently I had a conversation with a friend and fellow researcher out of B.C. and I asked him - what should I say?

How do I discuss the life of a man who had a larger "footprint" in this community than Bigfoot itself?

I decided to put together, in one article, an interview I had with Mr. Green over email and released over the course of a few days. History is important. Those who came before us are important and it's even more important to remember that without people like John Green - most of us wouldn't even know about this mystery, of course, unless you had your own sighting.

Photo Courtesy of Rick Noll

I hope you enjoy this exchange as much as I did.

Question: I have read many times, you yourself have never had a sighting, that being the case, what drives you in the pursuit for this undocumented North American Primate?

Mr. John Green:  Basically, I am trying to find out what makes the huge footprints, which I have seen. Beyond that, I have enjoyed participating in such an interesting area of research.

Question: On the Willow Creek-China Flat DVD set, in your speech, you talk about Bob Titmus. You say, if it had not been for Bob Titmus we wouldn't have the Patterson footage, etc. Could you please elaborate on that? And for those of us new to this field, maybe tell us something about Mr. Titmus?

Mr. John Green: Very briefly, Bob Titmus was by far the most competent of the people who took up the search for Bigfoot/sasquatch in the 1950's and he devoted the rest of his life to it, accomplishing far more than anyone else, aside from Roger Patterson's lucky encounter." He is not well known because he did not seek publicity or write a book, but you can find a lot about him on the internet.

Re the movie, without Bob the chain of events that led to Roger being where he was when he took it would never have started, and would have been broken off a couple more times along the way. Here are the specific steps: If Bob had not shown Jerry Crew how to make a cast the "Bigfoot" story might never have hit the news, and I would not have gone to Bluff Creek.

If Bob, as a taxidermist, had not been the best-qualified person who had examined the tracks and pronounced them genuine, I would not have made a detour to see him, and when he later found the tracks of a different individual he would not have written to me and I would not have made a second trip the Bluff Creek and seen a set of really convincing tracks. If the events above had not taken place I would not have submitted to a Canadian magazine an article on the footprints and other evidence which although rejected later evolved into an article in a different publication by a different author that someone sent to British zoologist Ivan Sanderson.

If it were not for that article Sanderson would not have done some research and written articles of his own in "True" magazine, and if Roger had not read Sanderson's articles it is unlikely that he would ever have heard of "Bigfoot", let alone photographed one.

Question: Bossburg. A few months ago, I read an article about the Bossburg Cripple foot tracks, this question will be in two parts. Your opinion, real or hoax? and why?

Mr. John Green: I don't know. The circumstances under which they were found were very suspicious, but some competent people have considered them genuine.

Question: I read you phoned Rene Dahinden, but after that, what was your involvement? Did you leave the area or did you stay? If you stayed, what did you do? If you left, why?

Mr. John Green: I was unable to go to Bossburg at that time, but I made several trips later on, interviewing people, looking for evidence, and in one instance spending a day struggling through deep snow on a wild goose chase. I was never able to stay there long, as I had a weekly newspaper to produce.

Question: Is there one Track Cast that you feel could be the best example for the existence of this animal? Which one? And why?

Mr. John Green: Not one, but the several casts of tracks made by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin after they got the movie and by Bob Titmus when he investigated the site several days later. I choose those because there is a movie of the creature that made them and because Bob casts a series of tracks that demonstrate tremendous foot flexibility.

Question: What was your first thought when you laid eyes on the Skookum Cast?

Mr. John Green: I don't recall a first thought. The people who had been there told us how they had worked out an interpretation of the puzzling imprint they found and I and others were trying to check their opinions against the cast they had made --with the handicap that it still had a thick layer of dirt clinging to it.

Follow up Question: And after it was cleaned up, and the scientists like Dr. Meldrum started giving opinions? Then what did you think?

Mr. John Green: That it was unquestionably an imprint left by a very large animal and that no part of any known animal could be responsible for it, particularly one print of the back of the heel and part of the Achilles tendon of a huge humanlike, hair-covered leg.

Question:  Is there one sighting or one report by a witness that stands out in your mind? And Why? How do you view witness reports?

Mr. John Green: There are quite a few sighting reports that rate high for significant observation and apparent witness reliability, but they lack supporting evidence. The one with far the best supporting evidence is Patterson/Gimlin but that was just one individual walking away. The one that combines supporting evidence with significant observation of behavior is Glen Thomas' story of watching a large male excavate a steep, five-foot-deep shaft in heavy rocks to get at hibernating rodents, and share the meal with a large female and a small child. The excavation, which appears to be impossible for humans to duplicate, is still there as to witness reports in general, many nowadays are obvious hoaxes and presumably there are even more hoaxes that are not obvious, but reports by thousands of apparently credible witnesses are in themselves a phenomenon that requires an explanation.

Question: Questions about the Patterson/Gimlin film have been done over and over, but I am curious about one thing, Wasn't the area of Bluff Creek an area Bob Titmus was researching? If so, did Bob Titmus direct Patterson and Gimlin to this area? If not, do you know why Mr.Patterson and Mr. Gimlin headed to Bluff Creek?

Mr. John Green: By 1967 Bob was living and searching in British Columbia and I'm not sure he would even have heard of Roger Patterson. He certainly was not in touch with him. The reason Roger and Bob went to Bluff Creek was because Roger had been notified that many tracks had been seen there a few weeks before, and Roger hoped there might be more tracks show up which he could photograph. .

Question: Do you think Main Stream Science will ever take a serious look into this mystery?

Mr. John Green: Yes, that is slowly coming about.

Question:  Do you have any regrets?

Mr. John Green:   No.

Thank you Mr. Green, for many things. As his family mourns, many others in the world mourn with them. Mr. Green was a great man and I am grateful he allowed me into his world - even just a little.