MMMMaaaayyyy 2222000000009999 MUFON’s Star Impact Project – Exciting Stuff! K R Words From the State Director O W MUFON’s Star Impact Project (SIP) is now T underway and there are already cases in other states E N being investigated. Exciting stuff! As a refresher (or for those who haven’t O heard), SIP is MUFON’s trial collaboration with Bige- F U low Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), a group run by entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, possibly L best known as the founder of the National Institute of A U Discovery Sciences (NIDS) that investigated the Utah T ranch as recorded in the “Hunt for the Skinwalker” U book. Basically, BAASS will provide MUFON with M funding to deliver quality sighting research to them N for further scientific study. MUFON and NIDS have A historically had amicable relations and this should be G a good fit. The BAASS website is bigelowaerospace. I com. H C I Unfortunately, I don’t anticipate on hearing much in the way of details on this en- M deavor, though, until the formal overview at this year’s MUFON Symposium. The event will again be in Denver, August 6-9, and the speaker list this year is excellent. Please con- E H sider making the trip (find out more at mufon.com). T Our upcoming Michigan MUFON meeting will be May 3 at Walli’s East in Flint. F Chief Investigator Gary Golem will conduct our morning Field Investigator Train- O ing. Our afternoon presentation will be ghost investigator of 37 years (and newly appointed MI- R MUFON field investigator!), Tom Maat, demonstrating tools of the trade shared by ghost E T T On page 3 E L S Inside this issue: P a g e ( s) W How the Mainstream Press Avoids UFO Stories 4 – 7 E N Galaxy Has “Billions of Earths” 7 L MUFON 2009 Symposium - August 6-9, 2009 Denver, Colorado 8 A Bill Murphy’s Column: Two Fascinating “Michigan Wave of 1966” Reports 9 – 10 I C UFO Enthusiasts May Sue NASA for Fraud 11 I F YouTube Leads To Capture Of N.J. UFO Pranksters 11 F O Former Astronaut: Man Not Alone in Universe 12 Canada Opens Secret UFO Files 13 Recent Michigan Sightings 15 From The Editor’s Desk 18 wwwwww..mmiimmuuffoonn..oorrgg Michigan MUFON P.O. Box 8532 Kentwood, Michigan 49518-8532 State Director: Bill Konkolesky Email: [email protected] Asst. State Director, NNOOTTIICCEE Administration: Robert Wagel The Michigan MUFON Newsletter is issued for the Mutual UFO Network (269) 782-6111 and Members of Michigan MUFON. Articles in this newsletter do not neces- sarily reflect the official views of the Mutual UFO Network nor its general Asst. State Director, membership. Unless otherwise specified, articles from this newsletter may Treasury: be reprinted in other newsletters. We would appreciate you crediting this Wendy Smith newsletter as the source, and sending us a copy of your newsletter. (616) 261-0690 Thank you. Newsletter Editor/Public Relations Director. David Twichell MMMMUUUUFFFFOOOONNNN’’’’ssss mmmmiiiissssssssiiiioooonnnn iiiissss tttthhhheeee sssscccciiiieeeennnnttttiiiiffffiiiicccc ssssyyyysssstttteeeemmmmaaaattttiiiicccc ccccoooolllllllleeeeccccttttiiiioooonnnn Email: aaaannnndddd aaaannnnaaaallllyyyyssssiiiissss ooooffff UUUUFFFFOOOO //// AAAAbbbbdddduuuuccccttttiiiioooonnnn ddddaaaattttaaaa,,,, wwwwiiiitttthhhh tttthhhheeee uuuullllttttiiiimmmmaaaatttteeee [email protected] ggggooooaaaallll ooooffff lllleeeeaaaarrrrnnnniiiinnnngggg tttthhhheeee oooorrrriiiiggggiiiinnnn aaaannnndddd nnnnaaaattttuuuurrrreeee aaaannnndddd ppppuuuurrrrppppoooosssseeee ooooffff tttthhhheeee UUUUFFFFOOOO //// AAAAbbbbdddduuuuccccttttiiiioooonnnn pppphhhheeeennnnoooommmmeeeennnnoooonnnn.... Photographer: Gary Golem Michigan MUFON on the Internet: AAAAlllliiiieeeennnn AAAAbbbbdddduuuuccccttttiiiioooonnnn www.mimufon.org EEEExxxxppppeeeerrrriiiieeeennnncccceeee aaaannnndddd RRRReeeesssseeeeaaaarrrrcccchhhh MUFON International on the Internet: WWWWoooorrrrlllldddd’’’’ssss llllaaaarrrrggggeeeesssstttt wwwweeeebbbb ssssiiiitttteeee oooonnnn aaaalllliiiieeeennnn aaaabbbbuuuuccccttttiiiioooonnnnssss,,,, ffffeeeeaaaattttuuuurrrriiiinnnngggg www.mufon.com bbbbuuuulllllllleeeettttiiiinnnn bbbbooooaaaarrrrdddd ssssuuuuppppppppoooorrrrtttt ggggrrrroooouuuupppp,,,, eeeexxxxppppeeeerrrriiiieeeennnncccceeeessss aaaannnndddd rrrreeeesssseeeeaaaarrrrcccchhhh hhhhttttttttpppp::::wwwwwwwwwwww....aaaabbbbdddduuuucccctttt....ccccoooommmm and UFO hunters alike. He will also present on reported phenomena that blurs the boundaries between these two fields. As always, with regards to our meetings, if you see someone you don’t know, please take a minute to intro- duce yourself. Especially if you know that it’s that person’s first meeting. Coming to a UFO meeting can under- standably be a big step outside the comfort zone for many and a friendly face and welcoming attitude much appreci- ated. Thanks so much. Speaking of presentations, my April 16th presentation at Glacier Hills Retirement Community in Ann Arbor went well with about 30 residents in attendance, including a gentleman who was a prominent employee of the Ann Ar- bor Press at the time of the 1966 Hillsdale sightings. At the request of several libraries, I’ve posted a page at the mimufon.org website which outlines the UFO pres- entations that I give and my applicable background in delivering them. I generally feel awkward when I promote my- self so directly (and this is no exception), but the presentations have been drawing favorable attention to our organiza- tion and cause. So, if you are agreeable, please ask your local library if they’d like a UFO presentation and, if so, point them my way. Thank you. Also, on a personal note, I am currently finishing up a book about my personal UFO close encounters. I actu- ally began writing this in 2003 and got a healthy start on it before setting it aside when I became State Director. After discussing my experiences with Craig Lang in March when he presented for our group, I revisited my old material and was surprised at how far I’d gotten with it. Then I found myself editing some clumsy grammar in what I'd written... then fleshing out some details, here and there...then adding more stuff...and then I came to the realization that I guess I'm somewhat actively writing it again. I didn't expect that would happen but, if and when I finish it, I may explore possible publishing avenues. Don’t forget, Michigan MUFON Newsletter subscribers, if you would prefer to download a printable elec- tronic MIMUFON Newsletter to your computer in full color, rather than receive a printed black and white copy in the mail, please let our Newsletter Editor David Twichell know and provide him with an email address where he can send you a link to download your newsletter off the internet in PDF format. To contact David by email, write to [email protected]. See you Sunday, May 3 at Walli’s for our morning Field Investigator Training by Gary Golem and afternoon presentation by Tom Maat. Monthly Statistical MUFON Report - for March 2009: CMS continues to amass sighting reports from around the globe. In March 2009 there were 559 sightings reported to MUFON through CMS worldwide. Of these, 439 were in the United States, of which 21 were in Michigan. Most impressively there were 30 Landings, Hovering, or Takeoffs reported and 40 Entities observed worldwide. To review the CMS data yourself go to www.mufon.com and click on "UFO Case Files" to 1.) Easily look at the Last 20 Sightings, or 2.) Do a customized search of the CMS database by date and/or location, or 3.) Logon to CMS for even more detailed UFO sighting information about your State and the World. Mystiques~West Psychic Reading & Metaphysical Center. 36356 Ford Rd. Westland, MI 48185 Local Phone: (734) 729-8019 Nationwide Toll Free Number: 1-888-FORTOLD (367-8653) www.mystiqueswest.com May. 2009 PPaaggee 33 How the Mainstream Press Avoids UFO Stories by Tim R. Swartz On November 26, 2002, North American Aerospace Defense Command began receiving reports of a contrail of un- known origin in the air over the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. Fighter jets were scrambled from several bases to intercept the unknown that was heading northwest toward the U.S., but reportedly, nothing was spotted. Commercial airline pilots later reported the contrail over Florida and later over Indiana. This fascinating report received scant attention in the U.S. press, which is unusual considering the zeal for "national se- curity" that has been rampant since 9/11. The thought is disturbing that an unknown aircraft could fly with impunity over the United States and receive only a few paragraphs in local papers. What could possibly explain this odd lack of curiosity by the national media? Actually, the failure of the press to respond to this story is no surprise considering that the mainstream press has devel- oped the attitude that UFO reports are strictly for the tabloids. This position has become so pervasive that when some editors and journalists have attempted serious, well researched, UFO investigations, they found themselves isolated by their peers. The popular misconception is that UFOs are seen only by the uneducated, the mentally ill, or hoaxers seeking personal gain. Because of this, many think that any reporter interested in handling such a story must also be so inclined. Heaven help a journalist who has had a personal UFO experience and attempts to report on it. He may face severe questions concerning his credibility as a journalist. There had been some hope within the UFO community that the subject of UFOs would be given fair treatment when ABC ran the special Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs - Seeing Is Believing on February 24 2005. However, the program had little to do with objectively reporting on the UFO phenomenon and instead dealt more with debunking the extraterrestrial hypothesis, treating the subject as if this was the only explanation for UFOs. For those who have been active over the years in UFO research, the ABC show was just more of the same when it comes to the media's mind-set towards the phenomena. According to the current attitude with the news media, there has never been anything mysterious about UFO sightings; they can all be easily explained away with glib, uninformed blanket statements. However, this has not always been the case. In the late 1940's the mainstream press regularly covered UFO reports. At that time UFOs were a relatively unknown phenomenon and had not been tainted by the "lunatic fringe" that would surface in the 1950's and 60's. By then, most media outlets had be- come discouraged by the lack of progress in explaining UFOs and little, if any, verifiable evidence. By the time the seventies had rolled around, UFO stories were permanently consigned to the back pages next to the horo- scope column. Except for local, small town papers, the news media rarely reports UFO sightings. When they do, the subject is presented as a "feature story," not to be taken seriously. In large metropolitan newspapers, the occasional UFO report that does gets printed is usually restricted to the paper's entertainment section. There has been one recent exception to this trend and that was the November 7, 2006 sighting of a UFO over O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Although it was not until January 1, 2007 that the Chicago Tribune decided to run a report about the O'Hare incident, when the story did finally hit the Tribune's pages, the story was intelligently written with none of the condescending atti- tude or editorializing that usually accompanies UFO reports. Michigan MUFON T-shirts! Want to show your support for your outstanding Michigan MUFON organization? Michigan MUFON T-shirts and sweatshirts are available now! ⇒ T-shirts only $13 (M, L, XL) (natural or soft green short sleeve shirt with blue, red, white, & green quality screen print) ⇒ Sweatshirts (natural, same print) only $18 (M, L, XL) Shirts available for purchase at all meetings, or email [email protected] or phone (248) 515-9568 to inquire how to order. Page 4 MICHIGAN MUFON NEWSLETTER A Few Brave Souls Some journalists have taken on the challenge of serious UFO investigations. Unfortunately, many have suffered setbacks in their careers as a result of their research. Others have been ignored or permanently ostracized. One such journalist, who was not afraid of the stigma of reporting on UFOs, was White House correspondent Sarah McClendon who covered the White House beat for over 50 years. As an independent freelance reporter, McClendon provided a strong and assertive role model for journalists by asking controver- sial and provocative questions. In 1998, McClendon reported in her newspaper column, newsletter and radio commentary about the call from Ufologists and enthusiasts for government disclosure on UFOs and the establishment of a global scientific conference on the subject. McClendon said, "The lid on UFOs is gradually coming off. There is a national drive to get one million signatures on a petition calling for an open Con- gressional hearing for government employee witnesses." A March 30, 1998 press release from McClendon stated that, "Unidentified Flying Objects, a term given for many years to un- explained sightings of craft in the skies over every state in the Union, are actual visitors from other worlds, believe a community of sci- entists and technicians employed by government. "The real danger to the U.S. and perhaps this whole planet is the government has placed such a heavy blanket of secrecy upon this issue. So much secrecy, those in government who have knowledge showing UFOs are identifiable feel the subject cannot be dis- cussed by those in the know without serious repercussions. Others are afraid their friends and co workers will think they are crazy if they even so much as insinuate that UFOs are identifiable as manned craft from outside the earth. This particularly applies to newspaper editors and publishers, reporters and analysts. Thus the U.S. is denying itself the chance to learn more about UFOs or to encourage re- search despite the fact the United States stands to gain from such discussions." Other reporters have put their reputations on the line by trying to report on UFOs, only to find their efforts unexpectedly thwarted. In a recent article entitled: More Proof Of Media UFO Coverup, reporter Greg Boone recounted his UFO experience while employed at the Poughkeepsie Journal newspaper in New York State. On August 25 1985, Boone, along with 10 other newsmen, re- ceived word from a photographer that a huge, boomerang-shaped UFO was slowly flying over the area. The photographer stated that the craft was headed south and it might be visible from the third-floor office windows. The ten journalists rushed to the windows and watched in amazement as a dark shape with amber and red lights and about 100ft above the ground, slowly approached their building. "This thing got HUGE and believe it or not flew right over top of us by about 40 ft," Boone recalled. "It had to be 200ft wide and was jet black." Boone and his colleagues were certain that they had the story of the century. "We had access to AP, Gannett etc. and USA Today which we mainly put out. Nope. Word came down from on high that not one word was to be mentioned. Solid object, hovered, maneuvered, seen by tens of thousands, pictures taken, and no mention anywhere. "The next day, some 'menacing' chaps showed up in our editorial office. I got in trouble for staring back just as menacingly. That night at the local watering hole where I would sit and do sketches after work another big menacing fellow waltzes in with a stack of papers and pictures eight inches high. Slams them on the bar and bellows a threat: 'So! Somebody in here wanted to talk about UFOs?' "He made a big mistake. My high school and college chums were at the bar that night and were just as big and menacing. He was ceremoniously ushered out of the bar by about 3,000 pounds of very angry citizens." Press Blackouts Even thought it has been denied, there is no doubt that the military and other government agencies have been responsible at times for press blackouts concerning UFO sightings. Government orders to silence the press about UFOs are not, however, contained strictly within the United States. In 1996, a top-level BBC executive let slip that there is a D-Notice (black-out) on media reporting of black triangle UFOs. The executive, who has kept his identity hidden, is the former producer of a popular BBC science program. He told one investigator that the black triangle UFO has been "heavily D-Noticed" by the British government. Consequently the BBC will not be reporting on the strange UFO, no matter how many witness reports they receive. According to the former producer, the reason the government has seen fit to slap a restrictive notice on reporting about the UFO is because the government has quietly informed the BBC that the craft is part of a new secret military project and is protected un- der the secrecy laws. In the United States the press has become "self-policing" when it comes to serious, investigative reports on the UFO phenom- ena. Rarely will the larger media outlets in the major markets allow anything but the silliest UFO stories to reach the public. On the rare occasion that a legitimate UFO related story does make the headlines, more often then not, the reporter will add personal opinions to the piece in an attempt to save face and invoke the "giggle factor." It's All Just One Big Joke A good example of this was science writer Lee Dye's July 1, 1998 column on the ABC News web site. Dye's column dealt with the Laurance Rockefeller funded 50 page report that called for reexamination of UFO evidence. The report, issued by an interna- tional panel of nine scientists, focused on physical phenomena such as photographs, radar readings and biological effects of UFO inci- dents and was highly supported by astrophysicist Peter Sturrock of Stanford University. MAY. 2009 Page 5 Dye writes that, "No matter how carefully such a report is worded, it can't help but lend credibility to those who claim we've been visited by ETs. That isn't the point of the report, of course, but by calling for better scientific scrutiny of such claims, Sturrock and the other scientists have exposed themselves to the 'giggle syndrome.' The next time he attends a scientific sympo- sium; he can expect a few snickers when he walks in the room. "In interviews with reporters after the study was released, Sturrock said life probably abounds throughout the universe, but 'most physicists believe it is quite impossible to travel from one star to another.' Most physicists? What about him? All he's willing to say is let's take another look at the evidence. OK, but no giggling." Clearly, Dye has interjected his own personal opinions on the subject rather than reporting on the story objectively. This is the real underlying problem when it comes to impartial reporting on UFOs. Many journalists feel that the subject is just "too weird" to warrant real investigation. Instead, most take the low road of journalism and turn their stories into humorous pieces that ridicules everyone involved, no matter how impressive their credentials are. Taking Responsibility Tom Burch, in his article: Opinions Disguised as News, writes, "The UFO phenomenon is newsworthy and deserves pro- fessional news coverage. There are many more angles to the UFO subject than the news media seems to recognize. This in itself is weighty evidence to suggest that the news media is fundamentally ignorant of the facts relating to the UFO issue. For example, the media fails to sense that there is more substance to the UFO controversy than just the question of whether or not extraterrestrials are visiting our Earth. While the answer to this question has a most profound significance to us all if the answer is 'yes,' it is not the only question being asked by UFO investigators." Burch goes on to write that the very persistence of the UFO controversy is newsworthy in itself. "The UFO debate merits news coverage because both sides of the UFO dispute are articulated by highly credentialed spokespersons from science, industry, and academia. Each side in the dispute has something to say. Each side has inherent strengths and weaknesses in its argument. Both the proponents and opponents in the UFO controversy deserve equal time in a public forum, and the American people deserve access to it. The public does have a right to know." To be fair, the study of UFO reports is fraught with problems for the media. In order to present a story fairly and accu- rately, a journalist must have concrete, verifiable evidence. As any responsible UFO researcher will tell you, solid evidence for the physical reality of UFOs has been hard to come by. Despite the thousands, maybe millions, of UFO sightings over the dec- ades, the evidence that has been uncovered so far has been mostly anecdotal. Even when solid evidence has been brought for- ward, such as the mysterious metal parts said to be from a crashed flying saucer and sent to radio talk show host Art Bell, there are still many unanswered questions that would prevent most journalists from taking on such a controversial story. Perhaps the time will come when a courageous newspaper editor or national television news director will decide to take the time and effort to conduct a real, objective investigational report on UFOs. Until then, the press will continue to avoid their responsibility by bombarding the public with soft, silly stories about little green men from outer space and the interesting people who always seem to encounter them. Sources: McClendon News Service, Inc. Project Moondust by Kevin D. Randle, 1998 Avon Books New York Secret Black Projects of the New World Order by Tim Swartz 1998 Inner Light Publications/Global Communications The UFO encyclopedia Edited by John Spencer, 1991 Avon Books New York More Proof Of Media UFO Coverup By Greg Boone, www.rense.com/general42/coverup.htm How the TV Networks Treat UFOs by Robert Barrow, 1977 Argosy UFO Special KEEPING IT LIGHT Special thanks to Connie O’Very of Mi- MUFON for the “musical aliens” Page 6 MICHIGAN MUFON NEWSLETTER About the Author: Tim Swartz is an Emmy-Award winning television producer and videographer. As a photojournalist, Tim Swartz has traveled the world investigating paranormal phenomena and other unusual mysteries. Swartz is also the author of a number of popular books including The Lost Journals of Nikola Tesla, and is the writer and editor of the Internet newsletter Conspiracy Journal. Source: http://uforeview.tripod.com/ufosandpress.html Galaxy Has “Billions of Earths” There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard. Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple life forms. He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System. Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter, and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures. But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet. This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life. "Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited," Dr Boss told BBC News. "But I think that most likely the nearby 'Earths' are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago." That means bacterial life forms. Dr Boss estimates that NASA's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years. Recent work at Edinburgh University tried to quantify how many intelligent civilizations might be out there. The research suggested there could be thousands of them. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/7891132.stm Published: 2009/02/15 10:25:15 GMT WWWWEEEE AAAARRRREEEE NNNNOOOOTTTT AAAALLLLOOOONNNNEEEE Tune in to David Twichell’s one-hour radio talk show, “We Are Not Alone” on WHFR, broadcast from Henry Ford Community College (89.3 FM). James Gilliland (The Gilliland Ranch in Trout Lake, WA) will be the guest on May 2, 2009. Author and MUFON Consultant Dr. Joye Jeffries Pugh will be the guest on June 6, 2009 . Tune in on the first Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM (EST) with a new show each month. Out of the area? Go to: http://whfr.fm/index.php and click on “Listen Live now”. The latest shows are now archived. Click on “The Forum” button on WHFR’s Homepage and click on the earliest date of each month. MAY. 2009 Page 7 MUFON 2009 Symposium - August 6-9, 2009 Denver, Colorado Schedule of Events - (Silent Auction: All Weekend) Thursday, August 6, 2009 Field Investigator Training Workshops all day 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Workshop Registration 8:45 AM - 9:45 AM Jan Harzan – MUFON’s 10 Step Investigation Process in Detail 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Jude Talaba – CMS Basics 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Debbie Ziegelmeyer and Chuck Zukowski – Field Work Basics 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM LUNCH - ON YOUR OWN 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Marc D'Antonio - Photo and Video Analysis Basics Every Investigator Should Know 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM Chuck Modlin - Field Investigator Equipment—Far Out Gadgets 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Richard Lang - Witness Interview Techniques 4:45 PM - 5:45 PM Marc D’Antonio - Astronomy 101 for Field Investigators Friday, August 7, 2009 Friday, August 7 – Morning/Afternoon 8:00 AM Registration starts 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM State Directors Meeting 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM MUFON Business Board Meets with State Directors 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Press Conference 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM MUFON Business Board Meets 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Benefactor Reception 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Cocktail Hour (cash bar) Friday, August 7 - Evening 6:00 PM Symposium Opening 6:15 PM – 7:15 PM Stanton Friedman—Pseudoscience of Anti-Ufology Dinner and Program (Meal requires advance reservation) MUFON 40th Anniversary Celebration Party! 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM Dinner/Speaker: 8:45 PM – 9:30 PM Awards Program: MUFON Award for Excellence in Ufology Saturday, August 8, 2009 Saturday, August 8 – Morning 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Dr. Frank Salisbury—Reflections of an Old UFO Chaser 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM John Ventre — UFOs Over Pennsylvania 12:00 Noon – 1:30 PM Luncheon – (Meals by advance reservation)-John Greenewald Project Preserve History Saturday, August 8 – Afternoon 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM Dr. Jeffrey Bennett— Beyond UFOs: The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Life 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM Ted Phillips—Dramatic Changes in Trace/Landing Events 4:45PM – 7:00 PM Dinner Break (On your own) Saturday, August 8– Evening 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Marc D’Antonio—How to Talk to a Skeptic About UFOs 8:30 PM – 9:45 PM Dr. Kevin Randle - Moving Ufology into a Scientific Arena Sunday, August 9, 2009 Sunday, August 9 – Morning 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Peter Robbins—Politics, Religion and Human Nature: Roadblocks on the Path to Disclosure 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM Chris Rutkowski—20-year Longitudinal Study of Canadian UFOs 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM Lunch Break (On your own). MUFON State Directors Luncheon Sunday, August 9 – Afternoon 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Bruce Maccabee–A 35 Year Perspective on UFO Photo Investigation 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM James Carrion- New Research Avenues for Ufology 4:00 PM—5:00 PM Speaker Panel - moderated by John Greenewald 5:00 PM—5:30 PM 2010 MUFON International Symposium Announcement and Closing Go to http://mufon.com/symposia.htm to make reservations. Page 8 MICHIGAN MUFON NEWSLETTER Two Fascinating “Michigan Wave of 1966” Reports Bill Murphy’s Column Recently I was scouring old N.I.C.A.P. and Blue Book cases from the 1965-1966 UFO “Wave” that really picked up in Michigan with the famous March 17-20, 1966 “swamp gas” cases. These much-less-known cases contradict one of the favorite themes of debunkers -- that spectacular initial cases shape what later observers will see and report. In both instances, the witnesses pro- vided carefully-drawn sketches of the objects that they saw, as well as the locales in which the sightings occurred. Case #1 – Northwest of Manistique, October 7, 1966, approximately 9:30 pm, a single wit- ness sighting, and October 8, 1966, about 8 pm, approximately 14 witnesses, of apparently the same object. Unfortunately, the initial letter to Blue Book of October 10, 1966, was misfiled for a year and a half, and we can imagine how chagrined Dr. Hynek was when he chanced upon this first re- port. Hynek wrote to the young man for more details, particularly about the second sighting (as Hynek always valued multiple-witness events far more than those by single percipients), and also whether his respondent had come to a satisfactory explanation for what he’d seen, such as a heli- copter. While coming home on evening of October 7, the single witness saw what looked like a helicopter hovering about 70 feet over the birch and pine trees. Yet, as the young man approached, he could detect no helicopter-like sound, and began to make out what looked like a bullet, but about 13 to 16 feet tall, and 12 to 14 feet wide. Its sharper end had a series of three rotating lights of red, green, and fluorescent blue. A yellow glow ringed the object about its middle. The lower half of the “bullet” had identical lights to those of the upper half, “except the lights rotated to the left”. This apparition in itself was highly unusual and unhelicopter-like, but then the object did something even more outrageous; “All at once the object took off at jet speed and disappeared over the trees past our house.” The next evening at about 8 pm a group of young people were gathered in front of a store at a corner where two roads joined to form one, when the reporter’s brother first saw the object, bobbing up and down and pulsating red, blue, and yellowish, at an altitude between 500 and 1000 feet. The thing appeared as about the size of a golf ball held at arm’s length. When the reporting witness tried to approach the object, he thought “it reacted as an animal would”, so he retreated, and he and his companions decided to stay still and observe the thing from where they were. Suddenly, one of the girls got so scared that she ran home, precipitating a general exodus from the scene. The young man said he maintained his vigil for about ten minutes more, then he himself ran home to tell his parents. In the meantime two other parents had been apprised of the situation and gone out to see the thing, one of them comment- ing “I don’t know what it is, but it sure isn’t a helicopter.” Another of the kids had come back outside, and watched the craft disappear behind the trees across the street from his home. He claimed that he then saw blue lights out in the woods, and heard what sounded like bird calls, and also sounds like dogs yelping and whining as if they had been hurt. This individual then went back into his house. Later on, the reporting witness says at about 9:30, he decided to see whether the object was still around, so he went back to the corner where all the excitement had started. Since he now saw nothing, the young man decided to return home, but, as he turned, he heard a loud crack from behind. Wheeling about, the astonished youth saw the object rise from out of the woods where his friend had seen the thing descend. The craft ascended about 20 feet above the trees, thus to a height of about 80 to 110 feet above the ground, then it passed over the road and hovered over one of the homes for about a minute. The family inside claimed that at that point their radio went completely to static. Finally, the main craft was joined by a smaller object coming from out of the west, and the two aerial objects left the scene. The family whose house was closest to these atmospheric cavortings claimed that new shingles on their roof showed signs of melting down the rain troughs of their home. The reporting witness also claimed that trees across from this house had been scorched on their upper branches. The witnesses and a State Policeman checked the area for further evidence, and learned from workers at the local airport that there had been no flights in or out during that night. While some residents thought the families may have seen heli- copters that were working on a pipeline across the lake, the witnesses were adamant that they had seen the objects on their side of the lake, and their description of what they had seen did not match that of a helicopter. In the two years since his sighting, the reporting witness had come to feel that the form of the primary object may have had more of an oval shape, with an extended cupola, and that the angle from which it had been observed had hidden its true form. Whether this was so, or whether the reconstruction had over time been unconsciously altered to that of a “classic” domed disc, is an interesting but likely unanswerable question. MAY. 2009 Page 9 In the close of his first letter to Dr. Hynek, the witness wrote “I have taken into consideration the swamp gas and the recent plasma theory, but as I think you will agree, [they] do not fit this object.” Sketch of object witnessed in the Plainwell, Michigan case (above) Case #2 – Southwest of Plainwell, October 22, 1966, 6:00 or 6:30 PM: A woman was returning her mother to the latter’s home at dusk one evening. Though the sun had retired, the clear sky still held a hint of blue and the horizon a tinge of orange. As they, along with the niece of the daughter-reporter, drove up the driveway, the daughter chanced to see two extremely bright “stars” rapidly descending and approaching from out of the east. Since the other half of the duplex house was owned by the mother’s son, the brother of the reporting witness, the younger woman called out to her nephew, who was outside, to get his father. For the aerial display was nearer and now included a small, sparkly and flashing light to the left of the bigger, brighter lights, tilting on descent, then leveling off, as if it were an airplane approaching for a landing. This pushed the object into the realm of the unusual, for there was only a small airport in the vicinity, and that was located north of town, well away from this phenomenon’s flight path. The brother was not home, but his wife rushed out and peered upwards, immediately identifying the apparition as a helicopter. A loud rumbling sound, like that produced by a low-flying jet, was also noted, and this may have contributed to the sensibleness of this first identification. But, while the two younger women were conversing, the older woman watched the display pass directly overhead, making a slight arc to the north as it passed over the house. The mother saw what she thought was no helicopter, but rather a boo- merang-shaped craft with about five bright lights running the length of its bottom, with the middle light in the point of the “V”. The reporting witness then turned her attention back to what was happening overhead, but the object had already gone past, curving back towards a dead-west course. The glimpse the younger woman now got was also of a boomerang or flat-spearhead-shaped solid craft, with about five very dim red and green lights across its rear. To her these lights seemed to be green, and steady, not blinking. While watching the craft disappear (the whole event taking an estimated 10-20 seconds), the witness thought she de- tected a grayish or bluish-gray hue to the thing, but she allowed that “watching something disappear against a sunset makes for un- certainty about the color.” She was certain that the object was not glowing, however, and maintained that the front lights she saw, and those that her mother noted on the bottom of the craft, were no color other than that of a star. The reporter demonstrated considerable discrimination in her handwritten report. She was seeking answers, rather than publicity – “to the contrary I even feel a little silly and embarrassed writing to you at all.” But her curiosity was piqued especially since “in all the articles I have read I don’t recollect one mentioning a shape like this and tho’t [sic] you want to know of any new information.” She asked whether this country (or any other, for that matter), had any new aircraft fitting that description, or whether she had actually observed a UFO. The woman included a sketch with her initial handwritten letter, and it appears that she followed up with an official NICAP report, including a rather impressive sketch, with views from several different perspectives, of the course of the object and its varied appearances. She allowed as how her time, distance, and speed estimates might be question- able – in fact, she did give an outside guess at up to two minutes’ duration for the entire episode, although she highly doubted that length. In all, five people saw something whose outline ran against the conventions of that era, but would become a common fea- ture in the 1970s and beyond. Thanks go to Linda Murphy for the heavy lifting of scanning and cropping of pictures in this article. Page 10 MICHIGAN MUFON NEWSLETTER