QUOTE
Bart Bigfoot's no bogeyman
by Larry Bingham, The Oregonian
Monday April 20, 2009, 12:13 PM
Click to view attachment
It's lonely in the deep, dark woods of the Pacific Northwest. Just ask Bart Bigfoot.
Turns out the reason he's been lurking in our old-growth forests, refusing to show himself, is simple: The poor fellow has been falsely judged. Underneath that hairy exterior lies a timid creature with a heart of gold.
Half a century after 16-inch footprints were discovered in 1958 in Humboldt County, Calif., not too far from the state line, the Sasquatch legend still lives and thrives in Oregon.
A Hillsboro man founded the Western Bigfoot Society. A West Linn man documented his search online. A Eugene woman runs the Web site Oregonbigfoot.com, which lists 985 sightings and interactions across the state, not to mention scores more around the globe.
Now comes a pair of senior citizens from southern Oregon who self-published a kinder, gentler spin on the story in October and are at work on a fourth installment.
In the three children's books written by Sutherlin retiree Jo Barnes, 72, and illustrated by Roseburg artist Dave Ewart, 70, the shadowy figure in all that grainy footage on YouTube turns out to be a nice guy. We ask the authors a few questions.
Where did you get the idea to write children's books using Bigfoot as the main character?
Barnes: Years ago I worked in a kids library and read a lot of stories. Most were about mice and teddy bears and monkeys, cute little animals. After I'd been there a while, I thought I could write a story, and one time I put up a display on Bigfoot -- I even made a plaster cast to look like Bigfoot -- and I said to myself, "Nobody has written about a Bigfoot, so that's going to be my character."
You've illustrated two other children's books. What did you think of the idea to use Bigfoot as a character?
Ewart: I thought the idea was super because Bigfoot is an icon. Jo and I sat and talked many nights about making him a nice Bigfoot, not a character that would eat the kids. I tried to make him look friendly. That was the part I really worked hard at. That was not an easy thing to do.
How did you go about making a scary figure warm and fuzzy?
Ewart: The first book I drew without a model; I just made up the character. The second and third books, we hired a model. It was my neighbor, actually. He put on bib overalls and I photographed him so we could make the poses more believable.
Does your neighbor look like Bigfoot?
Ewart: Not at all. The thing is, he happened to be available.
Barnes: I told Dave, "I really don't want Bart to be too hairy and too scary," and so he's not. Since he's a farmer, he wears overalls and a straw hat and you don't see a lot of hair. We've all seen pictures of scary Bigfoot, but Bart is very kind. All of my stories have a moral: He helps people out, he thinks of others.
Why do you call your character Bart Bigfoot and not Sam Sasquatch?
Barnes: A friend who was helping me with the dialogue said he couldn't even pronounce that, so how did I expect little kids to? When I said, "Bigfoot," he said, "He needs a name."
I asked my son, "If you were to name Bigfoot, what would you call him?" He immediately said, "Bart." It just seemed to fit.
Tell us about Bart. What exactly is he?
Barnes: He's half beast, half man. He goes into town and shops. He uses farm equipment, drives his little truck and cooks for himself. He makes cookies.
Ewart: Jo's first question to me was, "Do you believe in Bigfoot?" I said, "Sure. Why not?"
She gave me all the information she had and then I went to the local rental store to rent a movie, and to my surprise they were two or three of them. They showed the pictures we've all seen and the big prints and -- I didn't realize this -- they said Bigfoot was over in Europe, too. So he's a universal character. It's almost like D.B. Cooper.
Do you believe Bigfoot exists?
Barnes: I do. I hope that nobody ever catches him because he deserves to be in the wild, or on a farm. In my books, I've put a little synopsis about how Bigfoot evolved. I start with the history of the (American) Indians and then the pioneers and loggers who have seen evidence of a Bigfoot, and it comes to where some migrate out of the woods and settle on this farm and the local farmers give them chickens and sheep and get them started. They're part of the community after a while.
You'll think this is crazy, but I've created candy called Bigfoot Poop. People are selling moose poop and bear pies, so I thought, "Why not get into that?" I have it in one of the stores here in Roseburg.
How is it selling?
Barnes: No one has bought it yet. I think they're afraid of it.
What should I have asked you?
Barnes: What plans do you have for the future?
OK. What plans do you have for the future?
Barnes: My hope and dream -- after having T-shirts and lunchboxes and notebooks and backpacks, whatever kids like, on the market -- is I'd like to see Bart Bigfoot become a cartoon character on television.
"Bart Bigfoot Helps Green Snake," "Bart Bigfoot and the Red Fox" and "Bart Bigfoot Believes Christmas Is Love!" are available at the Douglas County Museum or at amazon.com.
by Larry Bingham, The Oregonian
Monday April 20, 2009, 12:13 PM
Click to view attachment
It's lonely in the deep, dark woods of the Pacific Northwest. Just ask Bart Bigfoot.
Turns out the reason he's been lurking in our old-growth forests, refusing to show himself, is simple: The poor fellow has been falsely judged. Underneath that hairy exterior lies a timid creature with a heart of gold.
Half a century after 16-inch footprints were discovered in 1958 in Humboldt County, Calif., not too far from the state line, the Sasquatch legend still lives and thrives in Oregon.
A Hillsboro man founded the Western Bigfoot Society. A West Linn man documented his search online. A Eugene woman runs the Web site Oregonbigfoot.com, which lists 985 sightings and interactions across the state, not to mention scores more around the globe.
Now comes a pair of senior citizens from southern Oregon who self-published a kinder, gentler spin on the story in October and are at work on a fourth installment.
In the three children's books written by Sutherlin retiree Jo Barnes, 72, and illustrated by Roseburg artist Dave Ewart, 70, the shadowy figure in all that grainy footage on YouTube turns out to be a nice guy. We ask the authors a few questions.
Where did you get the idea to write children's books using Bigfoot as the main character?
Barnes: Years ago I worked in a kids library and read a lot of stories. Most were about mice and teddy bears and monkeys, cute little animals. After I'd been there a while, I thought I could write a story, and one time I put up a display on Bigfoot -- I even made a plaster cast to look like Bigfoot -- and I said to myself, "Nobody has written about a Bigfoot, so that's going to be my character."
You've illustrated two other children's books. What did you think of the idea to use Bigfoot as a character?
Ewart: I thought the idea was super because Bigfoot is an icon. Jo and I sat and talked many nights about making him a nice Bigfoot, not a character that would eat the kids. I tried to make him look friendly. That was the part I really worked hard at. That was not an easy thing to do.
How did you go about making a scary figure warm and fuzzy?
Ewart: The first book I drew without a model; I just made up the character. The second and third books, we hired a model. It was my neighbor, actually. He put on bib overalls and I photographed him so we could make the poses more believable.
Does your neighbor look like Bigfoot?
Ewart: Not at all. The thing is, he happened to be available.
Barnes: I told Dave, "I really don't want Bart to be too hairy and too scary," and so he's not. Since he's a farmer, he wears overalls and a straw hat and you don't see a lot of hair. We've all seen pictures of scary Bigfoot, but Bart is very kind. All of my stories have a moral: He helps people out, he thinks of others.
Why do you call your character Bart Bigfoot and not Sam Sasquatch?
Barnes: A friend who was helping me with the dialogue said he couldn't even pronounce that, so how did I expect little kids to? When I said, "Bigfoot," he said, "He needs a name."
I asked my son, "If you were to name Bigfoot, what would you call him?" He immediately said, "Bart." It just seemed to fit.
Tell us about Bart. What exactly is he?
Barnes: He's half beast, half man. He goes into town and shops. He uses farm equipment, drives his little truck and cooks for himself. He makes cookies.
Ewart: Jo's first question to me was, "Do you believe in Bigfoot?" I said, "Sure. Why not?"
She gave me all the information she had and then I went to the local rental store to rent a movie, and to my surprise they were two or three of them. They showed the pictures we've all seen and the big prints and -- I didn't realize this -- they said Bigfoot was over in Europe, too. So he's a universal character. It's almost like D.B. Cooper.
Do you believe Bigfoot exists?
Barnes: I do. I hope that nobody ever catches him because he deserves to be in the wild, or on a farm. In my books, I've put a little synopsis about how Bigfoot evolved. I start with the history of the (American) Indians and then the pioneers and loggers who have seen evidence of a Bigfoot, and it comes to where some migrate out of the woods and settle on this farm and the local farmers give them chickens and sheep and get them started. They're part of the community after a while.
You'll think this is crazy, but I've created candy called Bigfoot Poop. People are selling moose poop and bear pies, so I thought, "Why not get into that?" I have it in one of the stores here in Roseburg.
How is it selling?
Barnes: No one has bought it yet. I think they're afraid of it.
What should I have asked you?
Barnes: What plans do you have for the future?
OK. What plans do you have for the future?
Barnes: My hope and dream -- after having T-shirts and lunchboxes and notebooks and backpacks, whatever kids like, on the market -- is I'd like to see Bart Bigfoot become a cartoon character on television.
"Bart Bigfoot Helps Green Snake," "Bart Bigfoot and the Red Fox" and "Bart Bigfoot Believes Christmas Is Love!" are available at the Douglas County Museum or at amazon.com.
bill