YEAR: 1961

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 07/01/1961

STATE: Pennsylvania

COUNTY: Adams County

LOCATION DETAILS: Greenmount Firehall south of Gettysburg,PA on RT 15

NEAREST TOWN: Gettysburg, Pa

NEAREST ROAD: Old Rt 15 Lincoln Highway

OBSERVED:
I have lived in Adams County, PA all of my life except for four years in the U S Navy and four years in college. I read in the Gettysburg Times tonight about your search team that is coming to Adams County. Take my story for what it is worth.

On Thursday nights I would go with my mother to play bingo at the Greenmount Fife Hall on Rt 15 south of Gettysburg. I was about thirteen years old, which would have been the summer of 1961. There were other kids there and we would play hide and go seek and do all the fun stuff kids did back then. Playing bingo wasn't one of them.The firehall held shooting matches and constructed a target box in the lot behind the fire hall. I hid behind this target box during a hide and go seek game. I remember that it was dark perhaps 10PM and the area was dimly lit by the outsise lights at the firehall. I was backing around the corner of the target box and backed into a big animal. I turned to see what it was and saw this human like figure, a little over five feet tall, not really heavy, covered with hair not like a bear but long like hair on the hooves of Clydesdale horses. I remember the odor as being a musk scent like that of sweat or a deer like musk, very strong. I took off running as fast as I could go to tell the others. They or nobody else believed me and when we went back to see if anything was really there we found nothing.

I often thought of that event but convinced myself that a sasquatch would not be found in a populated area such as this. Maybe I am wrong.

ALSO NOTICED: There was nothing around the target box when I got there because I ran around the thing seeing where I could hide.Whatever it was it came almost like a ghost and left the same way.

OTHER WITNESSES: None

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 10:00-10:30 PM
Dim light
Warm

ENVIRONMENT: Marsh Creek lies to the north about a quarter of a mile or less. The fire hall was in an open area backed to the west with a heavy cedar woods

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

12/05/2005: spoke to witness by telephone.

Not much can be added to the account as much time has gone by. The witness had only a brief glimpse of the animal before running away. He was very terrified and could not talk for a while after. He does distinctly remember its long hair and the musky smell of it - something like cow manure and deer musk.

About BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Paul is a network administrator and systems analyst/programmer for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY. In addition, Paul and his wife Teresa own and operate a small organic farm in western New York State. He has attended and organized expeditions including New Mexico (Jicarilla), New York (Adirondacks), Pennsylvania and West Virginia.