Tuesday, March 20th will be my unofficial, official 52th anniversary of being involved with cryptozoology. For me, this all began on March 20, 1960.

Casually, curiously, and unconsciously, I zoomed into being a cryptozoologist after watching Half Human , while concurrently reading Charles Fort (don’t forget, he has some great sections on Sea Serpents and the Jersey Devil), Raymond Ditmers, and Roy Chapman Andrews. Then I quickly discovered Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.

Decatur Herald & Review, Decatur, Illinois (1963)
“Carrier of the Week”
Zoology Boy’s Career Aim
{The article tells of Loren Coleman being picked as “Carrier of the Week” of the newspaper. It shared the following:}
His hobbies include photography and a collection of data on the Abominable Snowman….His parents say the paper route has given Loren a greater sense of responsibility and maturity. It has shown him the value of
money and of working for and obtaining objects he desires, they say.
His supervisor, Gay Keyl, said “Loren does an excellent job all the time and his customers appreciate his fine service.”

Loren in Illinois, investigating, 1960s.

Life choices were made, from what I would read to where I went to school, from what I would write to where I would live, based on cryptozoology, oftentimes.

No doubt about it, my sons have always been my first priority, more than they may ever know, but in the background, between supporting their baseball, taking them to Loch Ness, working with suicide prevention, teaching/researching at a university, making media and more, it has always been cryptozoology – a passion that has never died.

This year could be another exciting one. I’ll see Atlas Obscura Day come to the International Cryptozoology Museum again this year, on April 28th ~ and celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Dover Demon at that event – with a visual presentation.

In 2012, I’ll be traveling about the country (including to West Virginia, Michigan, Texas, and other locales) to give talks and look into various cryptozoological mysteries. Additionally, late in September and early in October, 2012, I will go to Paris, France, to speak at two conferences.  I hopefully will give myself enough time to visit both the natural history museum and the zoo in Paris.

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Help celebrate my 52th anniversary with a donation to my life’s cause, now physically realized in the world’s only nonprofit museum on cryptozoology.

Simply click on the following button to give $5, $10, $50, $100, whatever you can send…

Start 2012 on a positive note. Give to a good cryptozoology cause.

Much appreciation.