The legend of the Hodag is more than 100 years old, but it is still very prevalent in Rhinelander. Then there would be all this screaming and shouting andВ he would jump back out, only this time he ran back to see the folks and he would be wearing this shreddedВ suitcoat,В ' he said. 'What he would do is enlist the help of his sons.В вЂ¦ He would give a whistle or some kind of gesture to his children who would then hide in the back of the barn and began making all of these noises. 'Gene Shepard was really quite the showman,' Hollars said. The description of the creature has varied throughout the years, but according to Hollars, it is generally describedВ as having the head of aВ frog, face of an elephant and body of lizard.Д®ventually, the folklore attracted visitors to the small city. Not only was would ShepardВ help lumber companies when they visited, but he also wanted to increase tourism in the area and encouraged people to stick around.ДЄround 1893, he began to tell people that heВ and some of the best hunters in Rhinelander had trapped a terrifying creature and brought it back to town. The story of the Hodag, as explained by Hollars in the episode, was started by a man named Gene Shepard, who was a timber cruiser in Rhinelander in 1890s. 'The Hodag is sort of unique in that everyone knows it's entirely made up, and yet a good portion of the citizens of Rhinelander will go out of their way to assure its existence, with a wink,' Hollars said. His book tells the stories of nine different monsters, Martians and more in the Midwest. 'It all seems pretty wild,' Hollars said about being on national television. Hollars, a UW-Eau Claire English professor and author of the book ' Midwestern Strange,' was selected by 'Inside Edition' to tell its story. 21,В delvedВ into the history of the mythical creatureВ and the influence it has on Rhinelander today.Д«.J. Lauded as a fearsome creature thatВ (sort of) terrorized a small Wisconsin town, the Hodag in Rhinelander was the topic of a segment in the nationally syndicated show 'Inside Edition.' вЂњI have heard so many people who are now paying attention to lumps on their necks who had been previously ignoring.Watch Video: Hodag legend: The mythical creature that made Rhinelander famous вЂњI am so glad that I was vain enough to think better and tell people,вЂќ Norville said. But she finally had an issue last year and decided to tell the world about her surgery - in part because otherwise, her absence would fuel speculation she had plastic surgery, she said. Last year, Norville made headlines when she had surgery to remove a thyroid gland in her neck as a precaution against cancer.ДЄbout 20 years ago, a viewer noticed Norville had a bump in her neck so she ended up getting it checked regularly. ItвЂ™s dispiriting to see.вЂќ She also likes the WHO site. She said she likes the Johns Hopkins website for updated info as opposed to the CDC, which вЂњis not up to par. She said at this stage itвЂ™s difficult to report given the void of definitive information. The last time I spoke to Norville, in 2014, the Ebola virus was the big story. 11 attacks, did a music video, interviewed Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Michelle Obama and spent five days in a prison for a special report. She then worked in Chicago, NBC News in New York and the вЂњTodayвЂќ show as Jane PauleyвЂ™s successor.Д«ut вЂњInside EditionвЂќ will be her legacy. Norville worked in Atlanta from 1979 to 1982.

вЂњI remember a co-anchor after a particularly hideous telecast in Chicago shrug his shoulder and say, вЂItвЂ™s already halfway to Pluto.вЂ™ ThereвЂ™s always another day.вЂќ After her daughter and third child was born, she decided to do her show from the maternity ward nine hours later.ДЄnd she said she just laughs off all the bad hair and wardrobe choices over the years. Not that Norville hasnвЂ™t been a hard worker. вЂњI couldnвЂ™t pick them up but I could get home, cook dinner and put them to bed.вЂќ Most of her fellow journalist friends couldnвЂ™t do that. вЂњI could drop the kids off at school,вЂќ she said. Norville said joining вЂњInside EditionвЂќ in 1995 was a godsend for her as a young working mother and journalist because the hours were relatively kind.

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We give you a few detailed insights or sidebars. вЂњWe donвЂ™t pretend weвЂ™re telling you everything that happened,вЂќ said Norville, 61. вЂњInside EditionвЂќ has for years been an unusual hybrid of regular news shows and entertainment-only shows. If you look at whatвЂ™s happening with ratings erosion, flat is the new up. вЂњI am proud of where this show is in this landscape. вЂњIвЂ™m feeling happy and good with this lovely celebration,вЂќ Norville said in a recent interview. Deborah Norville is celebrating her 25th anniversary on вЂњInside Edition.вЂќ

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