Bigfoot hits Arts District feet first
Hauling an 8-foot-tall, 400-pound Bigfoot replica into an Arts District office Tuesday was like moving a big, shaggy sofa with jutting and (needless to say) large feet, as a team lugged the hairy exhibit feet first into a new Congress Street home.
Local cryptozoologist Loren Coleman and his friends handled the monstrous chore of setting up a key exhibit in Coleman's new International Cryptozoology Museum at 661 Congress St., braving a light drizzle and weaving between a pair of TV news crews.
A day after Halloween, the International Cryptozoology Museum is scheduled to open to the public. For a $5 admission fee, visitors will be able to browse exhibits while dabbling in Coleman's chosen field of cryptozoology, defined as the study of hidden animals. Coleman's museum will share space with Green Hand Books, a new book store owned by Michelle Souliere, editor of the Strange Maine blog.
Setting up one of the museum's most eye-grabbing attractions, Coleman and his helpers unloaded the Bigfoot — something that ended up being a process.
First, the team unloaded the “Crookston Bigfoot" from a moving van and carried it inside. Coleman then confirmed that he had measured the ceiling — an important consideration for this move — and with a little manipulation, the team attached the monster's bulky feet to a stand. Then, they stood the hairy exhibit upright and positioned it near the window.
"It's really difficult to pick up the whole thing and maneuver it, it's so large and hairy," said Andrew Cash, one of the half dozen friends and volunteers who helped Coleman with the unusual moving job.
"I find it really interesting that there's actually a place for this sort of thing coming to Maine," Cash added. "I've always been interested in cryptozoology and mysteries and it's all about trying to figure it out. It's all about trying to figure it out for yourself, and this place will really help to show people their own way and what they believe and see what they want to believe."
Saying he has read Coleman's books and followed his career, Sean Libby said he was glad to help launch the International Cryptozoology Museum.
"I have complete and utter respect for what he's doing. I love this stuff," he said.
Jess Meuse, a docent at the museum, documented the move with her digital camera.
"I always have been interested in everything that's unexplained. I always want to delve into it and learn more. My husband and I actually do paranormal investigating, too," Meuse said.
Her husband, Jeff Meuse, was one of the helpers doing the heavy lifting.
Jeff is manager at Ricetta's Brick Oven Pizzeria in Falmouth. Jess said she is unemployed but is trained as a counselor.
"This is our hobby," she said.
The “Crookston Bigfoot,” the figure moved into the Arts District Tuesday, is a creation of Wisconsin artist Curtis Christensen. It once was housed in Crookston, Minn., which for a time billed itself as the "Bigfoot Capital of the World." When a Bigfoot museum in Crookston failed to take off, a tool company in Minneapolis acquired the replica and took it to trade shows to promote the company's tools.
Finally, Coleman landed the Sasquatch mock-up and enshrined the Bigfoot in his home-based museum of artifacts. Now, the Bigfoot will join other pieces of Coleman's collection in the museum.
After 50 years of researching hidden and as-yet undiscovered animals, Coleman has accumulated well over 250 items and exhibits, which means he will end up rotating out probably one fourth of his display every month to fit it all in.
Jess Meuse said she and her husband found plenty to keep them busy in their role as docents for the new museum. It's not all intriguing, even when you're talking about Coleman and his arcane artifacts.
"We're going through stacks and stacks and stacks of books and paperwork for him, so that's the type of thing we've been doing," Jess said.
