 | | Jerry D. Coleman | I question everything, but still believe anything is possible even when seemingly improbable.
Am I a Cryptozoologist? I don’t know, I’ve been called worse.
In 1977 I investigated the Lawndale, Illinois Thunderbird reports of the Lowe family. (Article on this site)
In 1994 I created and produced the “Myth or Real” collector card series.
In 2003 my first full length work was released in the form of a book called “Strange Highways”.
In 2006 the sequel “More Strange Highways” was released.
And in the midst of the above -- articles can be found from: Fate Magazine, Strange Magazine, various newspapers, and Cryptozoological books. I’ve done a few radio broadcasts and guest appearances on local television programs.
I encourage anyone that has a story to tell, a comment to make or question to ask to please feel free to e-mail me anytime at Jerrydale13@Charter.net or leave a message at Myspace/Jerry D. Coleman .
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| | Growing Up Coleman |
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From left to right: Bill, Jerry & Loren Coleman. Photo taken sometime around 1954, Decatur, Illinois.
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From left: Loren & Jerry Coleman with our dog Junior. Photograph taken in the mid-1960’s in Decatur, Illinois.
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Growing Up Coleman
Memoirs Leading to a Cryptozoological Quest
The content of this article might come as a surprise to some and perhaps long over due to others but one thing is an absolute; Growing up Coleman was indeed unique.
Many of you relate the Coleman name correctly, that Loren Coleman and I are brothers. But from time to time I still receive e-mails asking if Loren is my brother. That question, has now been answered. Loren and I have another brother, William (Bill).
Bill is a Vietnam war hero in my book. His outfit had the responsibility of running supply convoy’s over the D.M.Z (Demilitarized Zone of Vietnam). The squad often took on small arms fire but on one particular mission they were hit extremely hard. The convoy was pinned down by an ambush of heavy enemy sniper fire. Bill’s head was cut open by a piece of shrapnel from a North Vietnamese rocket but he continued to fight and drag the wounded to safety. He received the purple heart, the bronze star and saved a few American soldiers lives that dreadful day.
Now days we live equally apart. Bill on the west coast, in Orange County, Loren on the east coast in Maine and I in the middle, in Tennessee..
Growing up around Loren was a unique experience. Long before we were teens, we boys shared a bedroom and Loren being the oldest decorated it according to his interest. I remember monsters all around the room. There was a huge, full body, Halloween gorilla mask that hung on the wall for years and other things like an enormous rubber snake and an awesome model of the Creature from the Black Lagoon that set atop the dresser glaring at us. Also in our room was a full-wall shelving unit that was filled with Cryptozoological books, magazines and articles. Heck one could not help but read the stuff.
Needless to say, neither Loren or I were content with simply reading the stuff, so mini expeditions to wilderness areas were organized within hiking distance of our home. One of our favorite treks would lead us to a place we called Hollers and Hills. The deep, wide, overgrown gorge ran on for miles and had a crystal clear creek, which cut through the center of the ravine. Hollers and Hills was teeming with wildlife and fossils were found in abundance on the sandstone cliffs. The expeditions entailed searching for anything from raccoon tracks and soft-shelled turtles to stray bones and strange looking insects. It was pretty cool, a lot of fun and much was learned about the wilds and the woods. These expeditions were not limited to beautiful summer days but in fact, were more often taken in the dead of winter. Winter tracking was easier and varmints more stationary. We never discovered a Cryptid but dang if we did not try!
Loren started the Abominable Snowman Club. The club was organized sometime in the early1960’s. Bill claims to still have his membership card, at least he told me that back a couple few years ago. The Abominable Snowman / Yeti and the Himalayas fascinated me, I guess that was another reason those cold, snowy mini expeditions were more exciting and challengingly fun.
However, the day came too soon when the real world crept in. Loren went off to college and I continued with high school. We grew apart Loren and I, but never so far that a phone call could not catch us up. I recall one day the telephone rang, I picked it up expecting it to be Loren however much to my delight it was Ivan T. Sanderson trying to get a hold of Loren. Mr. Sanderson identified himself then asked for Loren. I told him Loren was gone to college in Carbondale at S.I.U. He replied, “Oh that’s right, I’ll try to get a hold of him there.” I expected him to hang-up but instead he said in that Sean Connery type of accent, “So who do we have here?” I replied, “Jerry his brother.” Then Mr. Sanderson and I spoke for the next ten minutes or so, but not about Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness Monster, he asked about other things that he thought might interest me, like school and work and cars. It left me thinking of the man as a real class act.
Loren soon wrote his first book and handed me a copy of The Unidentified with co-author Jerome Clark. I recall how excited and proud I was, I even went right out and purchased 10 extra copies to give to my friends. I still have that first book, signed by Loren and wrapped in plastic.
But times they were a changing. Loren continued on with his education and kept writing books and I became a too young dad that worked to support a family. In my dreams existed an old conversation that Loren and I once had, that someday we would go on the ultimate expedition in search of the Yeti! That dream kept me interested in all things Cryptozoological, Fortean and even Paranormal for decades. Yes I worked hard and long for my family but any spare time and money I had would be devoted to Cryptozoological investigations. And believe me there seemed to be a lot of them, from black panther reports to Thunderbirds and beyond.
Many young males set their goal to follow in the foot-steps of their fathers but for the three Coleman boys this was not a desired option. So what did I do? I followed in Loren’s footsteps but taking a different path with different belief’s and using different methods. I’m not the walking encyclopedia of all things Cryptozoological and Fortean like Loren and I’m no where near the writer or speaker neither. I’m not real comfortable with self-promotions and over theorizing. I didn’t have a lot of time or money for travel in the beginning because my children kept me focused on their needs instead of my wants. So in those early years Cryptozoology was done when no one was looking.
I owe Loren a thank you because if it was not for him, I would have never become interested in Cryptozoology in the first place. If not for him I would have never met people like Mark Hall, Mark Chorvinsky, Troy Taylor, Richard Greenwall and others or corresponded with Bernard Heuvelmanns and so many others or interacted with all of you fine people who are now reading this article. If not for Loren Coleman I would have never met and interviewed hundreds of people and darn sure would have never written Strange Highways and More Strange Highways.
Now of course Loren and I have had our Cryptozoological disagreements and I have not approved of some of his methods and don’t think much of a few of his theories but looking at it objectively I would venture to guess that he has just as many complaints about my research. You don’t need to be on the same team or hold the same beliefs as someone in order to respect them. So even though there still exists a line in the crypto-sand between Loren and I, and no doubt always will, it’s one that we can reach across and shake hands.
This article is dedicated to the recent loss (August 28, 2006) of our Aunt Dorothy the Coleman matriarch.
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