Hidden agenda? - Ulterior motive?
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio - This LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video was taken in the usually quite, but always quaint, West Loveland Historic District on October 18. The occasion was the second, "Legendary Loveland Frog Ball at Centre Alley". This report is a continuation of Loveland Magazine's self-admitted, pseudo-scientific quest to dispel what has become a world-wide suggestion that the Loveland Frog is purely an urban legend.
However, a great deal of this story is pure speculation because it is reckoned the organizers of the Ball had more motive than just inviting neighbors to a formal dress, Halloween party; to dance in the street and get to know their neighbors more intimately. "Formal Frogwear" was encouraged.
The perfect perfect perfect Environment?
The West Loveland Historic District makes claim to being the home and hopping ground of the legendary Loveland Frog.
True, the Frog's neighborhood is surrounded by hundreds of acres of green space, six city parks, and the state and nationally protected "Scenic" Little Miami River. It is the only such designated river in the U.S. that runs through municipal areas. Also, The Little Miami Scenic Trail (Loveland Bike Trail) to the East is the fourth longest paved rail trail in the U.S., running 68.5 miles though five southwestern counties in the state of Ohio. The multi-use trail sees frequent use by walkers, runners, hikers and bicyclists, as well as the occasional horseback rider. Over 350,000 people made use of the trail in 2005. (2)
There are at least five other streams of water in the neighborhood, and seasonal wetlands. Keelhoffer's Run Creek's headwaters meander from Symmes Park, through the Simpson Farms's scenic ravines, and a smaller stream's waterfall cascades and is fed from Phillips Park and the Simpson Farm. The former, Simpson family farm, is now a 40 acre protected conservation district that neighborhood homeowners fought hard to make so.
There are historic houses, and homes converted to professional offices or "Live/Work" residences that are a leisurely stroll to the library, post office, three schools, downtown restaurants and entertainment, and a Kroger. In the neighborhood are law offices, art studios, hair salons, counselors, churches, therapists, and yoga and quilters studios. There are two hardware stores and three vintage shops within walking distance. The neighborhood is an American dream of recreation and walk-ability.
There is a walking and running trail that starts in the heart of the neighborhood, goes through the Simpson Farm and Phillips, all the way to Loveland High School and its recreational facilities such as tennis courts and a running track. The school is the center of cutural, art, and academic activities of the region.
With all that greenness, forest, and wetness, a frog would feel at home alongside the neighborhood's, deer, fox, wild turkey, great owls, abundant fish; and it might make a nice abode for rearing of wiggling pollywogs, alright!
The Legend?
The Frog was once shot at by the local police department, and there have been only spotty and un-confirmed sightings since. Neighborhood folks decided last year to have a Ball, hoping to entice the legend off the river and show it there is nothing to be scared of any longer. Why a masquerade ball, when the Frog could simply come out of seclusion wearing a disguise and no one would know? Well, to give the legend, options; show herself, or remain anonymous. A cautious measuring of what rightly so, might be a paranoid, insecure, perception of humans would be allowed.
University of Cincinnati folklore professor Edgar Slotkin is quoted in Wikipedia comparing the Loveland frog to Paul Bunyan, saying that stories about it have been passed down for "several decades" and that sighting reports seem to come in predictable cycles.
February 3rd 1972 was a night that "changed the very fabric of Loveland", according to Rob Morphy writing for American Monsters.com. In his report, Patrolmen Ray Shockey and Mark Mathews reported spotting a frog-like creature on the banks of the Little Miami River. It was reported to be roughly 3 feet tall, docile, and resembled the “Creature From the Black Lagoon.” While it wasn’t aggressive, this sighting was kept under wraps. The Loveland Police Department thought it would be better to not have citizens in a frenzy over an alleged sighting. Until it happened again. Exactly one week later it was spotted on Riverside Drive, this time by Patrolman Matthews.
"The only thing different about this sighting was that Matthews unloaded 4 rounds into the torso of the creature, not because it was aggressive, but to get a closer look," said Morphy
The first report of the Frog was in May of 1955, when a Loveland businessman spotted her, and frogfriends, on a lonely and desolate local road:
"Just as the man was about to steal away, one of the creatures (3 and 4-feet tall, covered with leathery skin, and had webbed hands and feet) suddenly held what the witness could only describe as a “wand” above its head. The anonymous source further claimed that sparks spewed out of the end of this device. He left posthaste." (1)
She/He/Him/Her?
The frog's gender still remains in lingering question throughout the West Loveland Historic District. Many say, that just because it was the target of pot shots by police, does not necessarily mean the frog was a threatening figure, nor showed any signs normally attributed to males, aggression, etc. And since gender was not attributed in the police reports, town-folk do not at times appreciate depictions and representations of "their mascot" as a male monster. They say it makes no sense to un-necessarily frighten young impressionable children that there is something lurking in the dark in an otherwise very peaceful, welcoming, and friendly neighborhood.
The Frog has never hurt a single, solitary or otherwise soul. Non-withstanding, The Legendary Frog Ball's quest to meet her, the gender remains a bit of speculation.
The trap was set for the Frog and the neighborhood
The neighborhood's second attempt to lure the Frog out of seclusion took many months of planning, and the decorating of Centre Alley was accomplished over the two weeks before folks hit the dance floor. The habitually, haunted, Centre Alley was even more-so... even a sChOOL bus with its Blue-ray projector aimed at a 10'-wide screen with movies for children. Live music followed by a disk-jockey. Local folks, those not often seen socializing in the neighborhood were also a target of the plot. With just the remotest possibility of a brief glimpse of the Frog, it was hoped neighbors would come out of their own seclusion to meet unknown neighbors and share the pot luck celebration of their "olde worlde" - and chat with a neighbour for the first time.
More Fact and Fiction
The Investigation of Centre Alley is Loveland Magazine's report from last year's inuragural Legendary Frog Ball. Read (Story Here) Watch the video below...
To commemorate the rich Frog legend, a short movie called “The Legend of the Loveland Frogmen,” was made in 2010 by Gretchen Kessler and directed by her father, Bob Kessler, both of Loveland.
THE LOVELAND FROG FINALLY CAUGHT ON TAPE!!!
(2) "Little Miami Scenic Trail Through Terrace Park Now Open Full Time" (Press release). Ohio Department of Natural Resources. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2008-11-16
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