CFM,
A few people in the area say that Ray Wallace kinda borrowed the idea (actually the carved footprints)from a guy named Rant Mullins).
When I was about 12 years old Rant told me about carving the footprints that Ray ended up with. In a letter to the editor of the Longview Daily news,That apeared after all the hoolabaloo about Ray was printed.A guy named Glen Thompson,another Toledo guy.Related the story about Rant carving the prints.Ray wouldnt give them back.Rant wanted to sue to get them back but was on such a limited income he never could afford to.
It was a pretty interesting letter,that pretty much confirmed what Rant had told me 30 some years earlier.
Ray was a pretty colorful character and had a lot to do with promoting the bigfoot legend.But my understanding is that he wasnt the one responsible for giving it the beginning that he was credited with.