Terry Burt: The death this past spring of Bud Cavadini of Cashton, Wis, a longtime Tribune correspondent, brought to mind one of the most unusual stories he or anyone else ever wrote for the newspaper. Call it a monster, a Bigfoot or a figment of someone's imagination, the stories that Bud and I wrote that fall became a change of pace for our readers, who at the time were deluged by stories of upcoming elections (does this sound familiar?)Bud came into the Tribune office one day in September or October 1976 and told me an amazing story that I was able to confirm to my satisfaction before we printed anything.I always like finding news of the offbeat, weird variety but this was the strangest case I had ever encountered. Keep in mind, too, this was before television and Hollywood made commonplace the mysterious myths and unknown, sometimes otherworldly, subjects we can see almost weekly on cable television.I'm not sure where Bud picked up his initial information but after asking lots of questions to a Cashton-area farm family, I decided there was enough credible information to write a story.Editor Ken Teachout agreed, and the Cashton Bigfoot became familiar to thousands of Coulee Region Tribune readers.

The original story and a follow-up both ran on Page One that week.The farmer, who asked to remain anonymous, was in the company of his dog early one morning a quarter-century ago when he saw, standing among his cows, a creature that does not belong in the farmland of Wisconsin, or perhaps anywhere else.It was described as being about 8 feet tall, very broad shouldered, with long dark hair all over its body and having an almost human face. It stood erect and walked on two feet. Even at a distance of 25 or 30 yards, the creature had a distinct foul odor.

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