Searching for Sasquatch on Halloween

Statue of Sasquatch in Troy, NC

On Halloween does the story of Sasquatch spook you? You decide if it’s the truth or a legend, but either way you will be curious and want to know more. Regardless, the story is told and retold in central North Carolina, particularly on hiking adventures and camping trips with people of all ages.

Where to Look for Sasquatch

Ground zero for finding Sasquatch is Montgomery County. More sightings of this mysterious, mythical creature have occurred here than many of us want to count. However, a group — known as the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization — does just that, and a scientific pursuit — known as cryptozoology (a serious inquiry for believers) — documents these experiences. (The nickname “Bigfoot” incidentally comes from footprints reportedly up to 24 inches in length.)

The Uwharrie National Forest is just the ideal location that Sasquatch would want to call home. (Confusing Uwharrie with U. R. Harry is a diversionary tactic by skeptics to poke fun at believers convinced that Sasquatch is real.)

With abundant game animals such as deer, turkey, rabbit, and squirrel in the forest, Sasquatch has many choices for a meal when taking a break from snacking on the abundant fish. After such a rich diet, Sasquatch can obviously travel quite a distance before returning home.

Reporting When You Find Sasquatch

If you should see Sasquatch, make sure you use the handy form on the BFRO’s website to report when your experience. (The form is easy to find online — just search for “BFRO report form” — filing a report adds you to the list of contributors. I always have a form ready just in case.) Because Montgomery has the overwhelming number of the 94 sightings of Sasquatch in North Carolina (as recorded by BFRO), this county is the obvious place to begin a search.

If you’re curious, the most promising way to find Sasquatch is to venture into the Uwharrie. When you do, the best advice is to remain calm. A police warning in 2017 advised, “Please do not shoot at him/her.” (However, this public safety advisory was intended to avoid harming “a fun-loving and well-intentioned person wearing a gorilla costume.” Obviously, some officers aren’t convinced about the seriousness of such sightings.)

Believing That Sasquatch Is More Than a Legend

That Sasquatch is more than a legend is confirmed by how seriously many people believe this story. A fall festival in honor of the creature is held at Deep River Park, a 40-acre park near the community of Cumnock in northern Lee County. For look-alikes, contests are held for the hairiest man, best beard and, of course, the biggest foot. The park’s association believes so much in the sightings that it quotes Sasquatch, “Believe in yourself, even if no one else will.” Even the Lee County Co-op Extension Center last year held a series of lectures about this truly awesome creature.

Sponsoring an aerobic search, the town of Troy has held Chasing Bigfoot, a five-kilometer trail run in a nature preserve. Although the run was successful, no credible sightings were reported. Troy has also included Sasquatch in the logo for TroyFest, its annual summer festival.

The network Animal Planet even sent a crew to Montgomery County to film part of its series “Finding Bigfoot.” Perhaps it was influenced by the Class A sightings (the most reliable category) from there since 1990. Souvenirs abound along NC 24/27 in the area of the forest for explorers and researchers looking for Sasquatch and needing to take home something tangible.

Camping outfitters and outposts have statues, t-shirts as well as bumper stickers that help in telling the story if the pictures taken aren’t in focus. With such credible evidence, is it surprising that only 16 percent of Americans believe that Sasquatch exists?

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Note: The post is based on my article about Sasquatch published in the November 2019 issue of OutreachNC Magazine.

Blueberries: Summertime Treat in the South

Does anything make summertime more enjoyable than eating fresh blueberries, particularly those that you picked yourself? Chilled, fresh blueberries are such a delightful treat on a hot day. Visiting a you-pick-it location helps you appreciate the berries much more than simply buying them at a grocery store.

You-pick-it locations are plentiful in the South.

Because blueberries are grown throughout the South, being able to pick them as they ripen is easy. Most states, such as my home state of North Carolina, help by offering maps and directories of you-pick-locations on their agricultural websites. (North Carolina has more than 100 you-pick blueberry locations.) In addition, local you-pick-it farms get extra publicity in the South when official state festivals celebrate the blueberry in late May or in June.

The calyx forms the shape
of a five-pointed star.

Picking fresh blueberries helps to connect to the culture and history of the region. One of the few fruits native to North America, the blueberry has been important for sustaining life in this region for centuries. Ripe blueberries were gathered in the forests by several Native American tribes before they also began to cultivate them. In addition to being a food source, the berries themselves and parts of the plant were used as medicine. Even the calyx, the blossom end of a berry that forms the shape of a five-pointed star, has contributed to regional lore as the legend about the Great Spirit sending “star berries” during a famine to relieve the hunger of children was retold.

Although lowbush berries (often referred to as “wild blueberries”) are native to other parts of the world, highbush blueberries are native to the North America. Even though more than 38 states grow the blueberry, only rabbiteye varieties (Vaccinium ashei) are native to the American South (from North Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas). These varieties are called rabbiteye, according to Horticulture magazine, because before turning blue they turn pink (like the color of a white rabbit). With all the varieties grown in North America, about 90% of the worldwide blueberry harvest comes from Canada and the United States. 

In my home state of North Carolina the highbush varieties can be grown anywhere from the mountains to the coast. In addition, rabbiteye varieties (which are more drought and heat resistant) can be grown in the piedmont and coastal plain.

You-pick-it bushes ready in North Carolina in late May

With the health benefits of the blueberry continually being extolled, it continues to increase in popularity. The average U.S. adult consumption has almost doubled in the last ten years. The blueberry is now the second most popular berry in the United States (second only to strawberries).

About half of each year’s production is eaten fresh rather than processed. (Fresh production has outpaced process production since 2002.) In addition, eating blueberries raw is recommended by many health experts because this way provides the best flavor and greatest nutritional benefits.

Before: Scale before picking

After:  Reward (8 pounds) after an hour  of picking

Although blueberries make great cobblers, breads, and jellies, they are thoroughly enjoyable by the handful when they have been recently picked. Because they are 85 percent water (compared to the higher and more recognized percentage of 92 for the watermelon), they are a great way to satisfy a thirst as well as meet the recommended daily water intake. That’s why visiting a you-pick-it location is so worthwhile to celebrate the start of summer.

If you don't have time to pick your own, at least buy
directly from the grower at a stand or farmers' market.

Storytelling in the South

The rich tradition of storytelling in the South unites residents and visitors in a common love of relaying fiction and sometimes fact. Often combined with music and drama, storytelling in the Southern tradition is rich in culture, history, arts, humor, and outdoor activities and emphasizes the importance of community and the power of family.

What Is Storytelling?

Storytelling, an art that predates written history, is one of the earliest forms of human communication. Although the importance of storytelling is often underestimated, the late Southern writer Reynolds Price expressed: “A need to hear and tell stories is essential to human beings, second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter.” Storytelling obviously is not limited to the American South as the National Storytelling Network illustrates -- almost every state has an association. However, the power, intimacy and skills of storytelling in the South are unsurpassed.

Storytelling is not simple. It requires imagination, narrative, and interaction; in addition, if often depends on non-verbal communication and expressions. In fact, storytelling can be a high art form. For example, East Tennessee State University offers a master’s degree in storytelling. Other regional universities also offer programs, such as the storytelling project of Florida Atlantic University that seeks to advance the knowledge, appreciation and application of storytelling through classes, workshops, and outreach programs. Some programs focus on specific objectives, such as The Storytelling Project at UNC-Greensboro that focuses on teaching tolerance to kids of all ages (one story at a time) and uses storytelling to foster respect for diversity.

Types of Storytelling

Unlike the South, in some regions storytelling fell out of favor, particularly as the written word and printed material were used to share information. If storytelling survived, it was typically limited to library story hours and young children. However, the South is well known for its many stories where stretching the truth is not a vice — sometimes:

• Tall tales, often known as Jack tales that are very popular in Appalachian folklore, are familiar traditions. Usually centered on a weak, sometimes foolish, but usually kind character, these tales are oral traditions (as opposed to written). Many also trace back to sources in England.



• Folk tales with a moral often have animals as main characters. Probably the best known stories of the South are the Uncle Remus tales recorded by Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908), who was born in Georgia on a plantation where he served as an apprentice. The stories represent dialect tales that Harris had heard from slaves before he became a well-known writer for the Atlanta Constitution. Such tales often feature a trickster animal (Br’er Rabbit) that disobeys normal rules and succeeds through wit rather than strength or authority. Connected to storytelling traditions with roots in Africa, these animal tales, seemingly stories of simple entertainment, suggest more complex lessons about the value of cunning and escape from submission.
  


• Myths and legends, brought forward from native American, African, and European traditions, are also common in the South. Ghost stories, such as “A Christmas Haunting,” are also prominent, and their characters are not limited to humans, such as the legend of Joeabb the frog.



• Other family, church, and community tales are often great attention grabbers.

Storytelling Circles and Networks

Storytelling, by preserving the heritage of the region, serves as a bridge between families, generations and areas; reaches across barriers of age, gender, wealth and race; and provides the foundation for meaningful connections that in others cultures may be lost. Obviously, the South would be the preferred site for an international storytelling event, and it’s the home of the International Storytelling Center, located in Jonesboro, Tenn., which conducts a festival each October (attended by more than 10,000 people). It also sponsors “tellers”-in-residence from May to October.

Many states in the South have statewide guilds and local storytelling circles. North Carolina is a prime example with a statewide guild, circles in cities such as Asheville, and groups with a specific cultural focus such as the N.C. Association of Black Storytellers. In fact, North Carolina is also the home of the Storytelling Arts Center of the Southeast, which sponsors a regional festival each spring with workshops and performances, a liars’ showdown (with a maxim of “where lying through your teeth is an art”) in January, and a fall festival in October with music and storytelling. Another example of a state with a strong storytelling network is South Carolina. Often these networks and events capture the attention of regional media as illustrated by the festival report of the North Carolina statewide television network.

When I participated in the Liars’ Showdown, my tale of a talking collard plant (that lied) was representative of the traditional Southern tall tale. Held at the Storytelling Arts Center of the Southeast in Laurinburg, NC, the event featured storytellers from throughout North Carolina (including Asheville, Cary, Hickory, Marshville, Monroe, Raleigh, Saint Pauls, Waxhaw, and West End) as well as South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Other participants told tales about a Greyhound bus that flew to Africa, false teeth in a mud puddle that ate fried chicken during a tent revival, moon rocks found in a cow pasture, and a boy who could swallow an ocean. The regional talent is almost as good as the national storyteller such as Suzi Whaples of West Virginia who receives top billing.

The rich tradition of storytelling has an unlimited future in the South. Although it predates written history, storytelling will never be out-of-date even in the era of digital communications. Because it features imagination, intimacy, and interaction that the Internet cannot offer, storytelling – with its strengths in combining culture, history, arts, and humor and emphasizing the importance of community and the power of family – will be a significant part of Southern culture for a long time.