The Eagle

Local legend?

Lighthearted campaign helps promote local businesses, events

Energizing the downtown area of the city is serious business for Romulus officials…but that doesn’t mean the community can’t have a little fun during the efforts.

The latest lighthearted campaign to involve residents includes several reported sightings of an elusive “Bigfoot” creature in and around the city, often spotted near local businesses or near public events in the community. The narrative, publicized on social media, encourages residents to follow reports and even get involved in the search for the mythical creature.

Even Mayor Robert McCraight has been involved in the good-natured spoof, submitting to a Facebook interview with very local television station 1R News. Obviously fighting a smile, McCraight assures residents they are safe and warns anyone who encounters the mythical creature to report the sightings to authorities.

“We have a lot of heavily wooded areas,” the mayor said, “so if the creature is spotted the public should be careful and keep their distance.” He then cautioned anyone who sees the phenomenon to call animal control or the police department who are “trained” professionals who can deal with the creature, adding more fuel to the fun.

One early sighting of the creature came from local fisherman Bruce Watkins who recalled the incident for 1R News. Watkins, who in reality is local professional actor and longtime Romulus firefighter John Thiede, excitedly told the interviewer that he saw the creature who was “9-feet tall, furry with yellow eyes.”

“He looked right at me. I was paralyzed for a minute,” the “frightened fisherman” tells the reporter. “He had gnashing teeth. I took off running. I left my fishing pole and just ran. I couldn’t get to my camera.”

Since that humorous introduction weeks ago, the creature has been spotted near a local barbershop and at a local sub shop where a sandwich with huge teeth marks was left behind.

Residents can enter to win weekly prizes as well as a grand prize during the September Romulus Pumpkin Festival by finding Bigfoot’s location based on the Facebook clues posted and then taking a selfie with Bigfoot. Entries must be submitted on a tracker form available on the city website. For detective assistance, Bigfoot hunters can call (734) 942-7545.

Jessical Hobbs, a city grant writer and liaison to the Economic Development Department in the city said officials feel the good-natured spoof is effective. She said the staff has heard reports of a man who visited his local barbershop for the first time after the Bigfoot sighting nearby and that there have been other reports from several residents enjoying the campaign and patronizing the businesses visited by Bigfoot.

The campaign is the latest in long-standing multiple efforts city administration has been making to reinvigorate downtown. One strategy has been to purchase old buildings, repair them, and then lease them to new businesses willing to invest in the area. The city also recently added public art and the new "Eagle Alley" social district.