Elliott’s Park in Clearfield: John Crissman’s love for his dog and his community

Along River Road in Clearfield, within the I-80 Frontier landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds, sits a narrow park that overlooks the West Branch Susquehanna River. Decorated with a Bigfoot statue, a totem pole, wooden carvings, a stone Ford truck, a cabin used for storage and lots of images of a labrador, the park is one man’s testament of his love for his dog and his community.

Photo: A small cabin sits at Elliott’s Park, which serves as a photo landmark as well as a storage space for decorations and equipment

And whereas S.B. Elliott State Park is named after the Honorable Simon B. Elliott (a conservationist and member of the PA General Assembly), Elliott’s Park in Clearfield is named after a loyal chocolate labrador retriever.

The story begins in 2007 when John Crissman and his loving partner Carol Turner decided to dedicate a piece of land to Elliott, the chocolate lab that had steadfastly been by John’s side as he battled cancer.

“That dog knew,” says Carol. “Dogs just know stuff, and Elliott had the intuition that he needed to stay close to John.”

Elliott sadly passed away during John’s recovery from stage four cancer. John himself has since passed away as well, in September 2019. He left behind a legacy for the Clearfield community, with one of his proudest accomplishments being the development of Elliott’s Park.

John and Carol made all of the picnic tables and park benches by hand. The park is a true labor of love. Now that the tables and benches have been out in the weather for many years, some are needing to be replaced. Since John’s death, the community has pulled together donations to continue the maintenance of the park and pay for replacements so that visitors can enjoy the park for years to come.

Photo: Carol sitting on the porch of the small cabin at Elliott’s Park

“The park made him stronger. It took his mind off of things,” says Carol. “He never liked to dwell on anything bad that was happening. John was always just doing things that he wanted to do, even if it was hard work.”

John loved decorating Elliott’s Park for the holidays. Oftentimes, visitors would find the Bigfoot statue wearing a Santa Claus hat during winter. John’s favorite holiday to decorate for was Halloween, and he and Carol would place pumpkins and spooky decor throughout the small park. Skeletons playing checkers could be seen through the windows of the cabin that is used for storage.

Bigfoot was also a big part of John’s life, and the Sasquatch became a sort of mascot for Elliott’s Park along with Elliott the dog. John’s fascination with Bigfoot began when he saw something in the woods.

“’I saw something. I saw a big furry something walking upright,’” Carol recalls John saying.

When John lost his jaw to cancer, he bought a Bigfoot costume as a way of regaining some normalcy in his life. John would appear in parades and events in the Bigfoot costume, and he especially liked interacting with the elderly and children to bring some joy and surprise into their lives. The community could tell it was him by his walking stick and his Ford truck.

John was a Ford man through-and-through, and that love of Ford also appears in Elliott’s Park. A Ford truck made out of thousands of flat stones sits to the right of the cabin. John created it himself by hand, after seeing a similar project online. Although the stones are cemented together and have remained sturdy for more than a decade, there is a sign that warns visitors to keep off the truck to keep it in good condition.

Elliott’s Park has dozens of large and small wooden carvings. Carol says one of the largest, a bear that stands near the roadway, was purchased at the Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous in Ridgway one year from a carver named Sarah Winter. John named it Jonas the Bear for Dr. Jonas Johnson, one of his cancer doctors in Pittsburgh.

Another large wooden carving is the totem pole, shooting high into the skies overlooking the West Branch Susquehanna River. The totem pole was commissioned work from Jeff Pinney. 

“I don’t know how the heck we transported that thing!” says Carol with a laugh. The totem pole had to come from near Pittsburgh on a flatbed since it was so large.

Carol is proud to see that the Clearfield community is still using Elliott’s Park and enjoying the area that John and Elliott loved so much. In nice weather, families will have picnics there in the afternoon. Workers on their lunch breaks sit at the picnic tables and enjoy some fresh air. Companies and organizations often use the park as a meeting place. There have also previously been some geocaching boxes at Elliott’s Park for visitors to search and find.

“John and I took multiple trips down the river in a canoe, and you get a different perspective of the park and of Clearfield from the water,” says Carol.

Students also like to use Elliott’s Park and its many decorations and statues as a photo op. It’s a popular location for graduation pictures and prom photos.

“Honest to God, we had a wedding at Elliott’s Park once!” says Carol. “A bride and groom approached us and brought a preacher to get married there.”

Even with all of the visitors throughout the years, Carol says that people have mostly been responsible when using the park.

“Enjoy and respect: that’s our motto,” says Carol. “And people do enjoy and respect.”

For anyone planning to make a visit to Elliott’s Park, you’re reminded to be considerate. One need not be on public lands to follow the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace.

“People don’t know the work that goes into it. They don’t always know the backstory and the love that went into building the park,” Carol says.

“Keep loving it. Leave a note on the notepad at the cabin. Pick up the litter. Garbage in, garbage out. Bring a bag with you, and pick something up and it’s not supposed to be there. We need to keep this place clean and nice.”