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Info-ParaNet Newsletters Volume 1 Number 023
Info-ParaNet Letters Volume 1 Issue 23
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Date: 24 Aug 89 23:17:00 GMT
From: paranet!mcorbin
Subject: Exploding Common Ufo Myths #1
> ___ __
> /__ /_
> The ___/peiser / ile
> ___________________________
> ________________________________________________
>
> Ubiquitous UFO Untruth #1: Astronomers
> Don't See UFOs
>
> < o o o >
>
> The following astronomers, AMONG OTHERS, have sighted UFOs:
>
> Dr. C. D. Shane, Lick Observatory, California
> Seymour L. Hess, Lowell Observatory, Arizona
> Frank Hastoad, head of Darling Observatory
> Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto
> Dr. H. Percy Wilkins, former director of British
> Astronomical Association
> Dr. Bert Bok, Nobel Prize Winner, Mt. Stromie Observatory,
> Australia
> Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Dearborn Observatory, Michigan
> Dr. Muammer Dixer, director, Kazdilli Observatory, Istanbul
>
> < o o o >
>
> "I doubt that the phenomenon was any terrestrial
> reflection,
> because...nothing of the kind has ever appeared
> before or
> since...I was so unprepared for such a strange
> sight that
> I was really petrified with astonishment."
> -- Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, on
> his 8/20/49
> sighting of a UFO over
> Las Cruces, NM
> --- QuickBBS v2.04
> * Origin: -=<ParaNet Zeta Reticuli [sm]>=- Scottsdale, AZ
> (1:30163/20)
My compliments to the Speiser File! More to come, or film at
11:00?
Mike
--
Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: ...!scicom!mcorbin
INTERNET: mcorbin@paranet.FIDONET.ORG
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Date: 25 Aug 89 03:33:12 GMT
From: paranet!f1.n304.z1.FIDONET.ORG!Jim.Torson
Subject: RE: Gulf Breeze Photos
I will try to answer your questions and clarify a few things. Yes, I
am a member of MUFON. My only "capacity" with the organization is that
I sent in my $25 about a year ago and I read the MUFON Journal every
month. I also attended the last two MUFON conferences and quietly
watched what was going on. Ray Jordan is a friend who shares my interest
in UFOs. We often discuss the subject. My only "real" UFO investigation
experience is on a single local case here in Arizona. This investigation
has not been completed. However, I am an avid "armchair" investigator
and read nearly everything on the subject I can find. My only connection
with the Gulf Breeze case is that I have read many things that other
people have written about it. My interest in your Gulf Breeze
investigation is purely personal. I do not officially represent any
organization or any other person. In a separate message to Linda Murphy
I attempted to clarify why I felt Willy Smith's statement about the CUFOS
files is a serious accusation. If indeed the files are not accessible to
anyone, then it would damage the scientific credibility of CUFOS.
I must admit that I don't understand how most of the questions answered
above relate to my inquiries about your Gulf Breeze investigation. I
will apologize ahead of time if I have misinterpreted the intention of
your questions. However, they left me with the feeling that you may
suspect that I am a MUFON representative whose purpose is to attack your
Gulf Breeze investigation and to advocate the authenticity of the case.
I would like to clarify that this most definitely would not be a correct
assumption about my motives for raising questions. I have absolutely no
interest in trying to convince anyone either to accept or reject the
validity of the case.
However, I was disappointed that the official ParaNet hoax conclusion
was not accompanied by a more detailed explanation. So far, the
explanation that has been provided adds very little new information that
can be substantiated. I assumed that you had valid unstated reasons for
making your conclusion, and my questions were merely directed at learning
more about your investigation of the case.
Unless further information is provided, my personal rating of the Gulf
Breeze case must remain the same as it has always been: indeterminate.
It is not possible to reach a conclusion one way or the other.
--
Jim Torson - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: ...!scicom!304!1!Jim.Torson
INTERNET: Jim.Torson@f1.n304.z1.FIDONET.ORG
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Date: 24 Aug 89 16:26:00 GMT
From: paranet!f19.n19.z1.FIDONET.ORG!Bryon.Smith
Subject: Re: Corrections
> I really would like a detailed report of your encounter. I
> find it interesting and would like to examine it more
> thoroughly. (Then again you are an interesting figure here
> on Paranet and it fits...)
Well, back about 1968-9 my friends and I would be driving around the area
and would often stay out late as Teens do even yet today, and we would often
drive the river road. I also had some friends who lived at the fish market
on the river and we would go down there sometimes and visit. One night we
were just standing around and we saw this large bright light coming down the
Ill river from the North and we thought it looked really strange. At first
we thought it was a barge coming down the river, but the problem with this
light was that it wasn't shining all around like a barge light will as they
search the banks of the river, and watch for other smaller boats and such.
This was bright as if it were shining right directly on us constantly.
Living in a river town we were all used to watching barges & tugs come and
go quite often, but this light was odd. I said if it's a tug the light is
really high up on it. The closer it got the larger and brighter it got
until we were certain it was not the light of a tug boat. It came withen
about a 1/4 mile of us on the river and then it just lifted up and went
right up over the mine hill and stopped. We were really interested in it
now and several of us jumped in the car and drove toward the mine hill,
which was about 1/3 mile from where we were then. Off and on we could see
it between the trees and had a good idea it was not a conventional aircraft
because of the constant brightness and no sound, and it certanly wasn't a
tug boat !
We came to the mine hill and could see the object hovering in the sky
directly above the mine hill and it was then that I realized that it was
hovering directly above the power lines that ran to the power plant which
was about a half mile down river from here. I remembered the road that ran
up the side of the hill that went to that tower, which was more of a path
than a road but one could get a car up it if one was careful. We headed
toward that path and started up the hill. The trees were overhanging the
road so we could not get a clear look at the object while driving but, we
could see it off and on through the tree limbs. As we got to the top of
the hill the object was gone without a trace.
Several times we saw it after that and tried to get close enough to it
to discover what it was, but were not successful. After awhile we gave
up on trying to get close to it because every time it would be gone before
we could get there. We would set and watch it as it would hover over the
power lines over that mine hill (there was a quarry at the bottom of the
hill), and then after about 5 min it would move toward the south west, cross
over the south east side of Pearl, and it would be gone from sight.
Sometimes it would look as if it had stopped over the Old Pearl Hill (where
the town used to be) and then go directly down. We thought it was landing
and several times we raced up that way hoping to see what it was, but again
it would always be either gone, or something but we couldn't find it. I
remember one time when we looked up to see it moving on toward the south
but we never got very close to it that time either. I would have bet it
had either landed up there or was doing something because it should not
have still been there during that time if it had not stopped for some
reason.
Needless to say we saw it a number of times off and on for a year, maybe
more.
The Shanks's lived at the fish market, that's where they worked, and they
had a house right beside the floating fish market. One day I said something
to them about the UFO and they said that it always came down the river
on certain nights almost without fail. I know they said on Mondays, and
I think the other two days were either Thursday, & Friday, or Thursday, &
Saturday nights. The times were between 11:30 pm to 12:30am. They told me
to come down on one of those nights and we would most likley see it, which
we did and sure enough it came down the river just as they had said, it
hovered over the mine hill over the power lines and then it crossed over
to the Old Pearl Hill and was gone from sight.
One day a fellow student didn't show up for school and we all wondered
what was wrong. This guy didn't miss a day if he could help it, he wasn't
like the rest of us. He was a straight A student, and strived to do
everything else acording to the book. Real military sort of guy, you
know the type I am talking about. Well he missed a day of school and
the next day when he returned to school we asked him why he had not been
in school the day before. He turned white as a ghost and didn't want
to talk about it. Later on that day we heard rumors that he had a close
encounter with a UFO the night before. Naturally that really got me
curious because I was aware of the UFO but had never been able to get
close enough to see what it was. I cornered him and asked him about his
sighting and told him that I wouldn't laugh. He told me that he had been
coming home from a date about midnight and was nearly home, (he lived on
the Old Pearl Hill), and all of a sudden this thing darted down from
the sky and landed on the road in front of him. He said he nearly hit it
and his car died and would not start again. He was frantic and was
naturally trying to get away from it. He described it to us briefly and
the bell rang and we went back to class. Recently I located him and called
him (20 years after his encounter) and asked him about it. He was rather
surprised that I would remember it, but then he didn't know that I had
chased it many times, and had also had an encounter with it after his
encounter. He said there was no way he could forget that thing and he
described it as being metalic in appearance, he said it was like polished
metal. He said it wasn't shining at the time it landed in front of him.
He described it as being both domed on top and on bottom and had no other
distinguishing features. He said it was very large, huge in fact. He
sat there and watched it for a moment ( I got the idea he lost track of
time for a "moment") and then suddenly it darted back into the sky and
was gone from sight.
I thought about this and figured that he must have been withen 1/2 to 1/4
mile from his house when this happened. I know the area well and I know
the fields where something this size could come down without hitting
either trees or power lines.
...my own close encounter with the object......
One night Butch (Leslie O. Allen) and I had gone roller skating at Ralphs
Roller Rink in Pittsfield, Ill. 20 miles north west of Pearl, and we were
nearly to town (on Rt 100) when we saw the UFO over the power lines. We
watched as he drove and when we got just inside of the city limits I told
him to pull over on the side of the road where we would have clear view
of the object, and he did. We got out of the car and walked around and
stood in front of it. I remember it being about midnight because he had
to get his parent's car home at midnight, and no later than 12:30am. We
stood and watched the UFO for a few min. and then it looked as if it were
growing larger, in fact it was moving toward us but at first we didn't
realize that. As it came down over the town I wondered if anyone else
was withen sight of it, and watching but I couldn't see anyone. This town
usually folds up shortly after dark, with the exception of those of us
who liked to stay out late. The stores and stations were all closed up.
It was moving very slowly and directly toward us. I remember being amazed
by the size of it as it came closer and closer. It was brilliant white
and glowed all over with the exception of the 4 sided dark area that was
facing directly toward us. This dark area was like a door, but it was
narrower at the top than at the bottom. It was on the lower dome of the
craft.
The thing never made any sound at all and was totally blowing our minds.
We had never seen anything like this in our lives, at least not up close
like this. This was a chance of a life time, the object we had spent
so much time trying to catch and here it came right up to us smack in the
middle of town. Needless to say we were a might overwhelmed by the total
experiance.
As it came over the gas station in front of us it was very low to the ground
and I thought it might even land, but where could it land, it was far larger
than the area of the gas station, restaurant, parking lots, and highway,
from the trees to the north of it to the levey to the south of it. I thought
perhaps if the buildings and power lines were gone it might be able to land.
The object hovered directly over the power lines and right up to withen 50
feet of where we were standing in front of the car. It was the most amazing
thing I had ever seen in my life and I stood there with my mouth opened.
I looked all around the object and noted the brightness. This thing was
brilliant to look at and should have lit up the entire town, but it didn't,
and to me that wasn't logical. It was massive, I would guess at least 150'
across and 75' high, it moved with direct purpose, it was obvious it was
being contoled by something or someone who knew what they wanted to do and
what they wanted to see. There were no "wavers" in it's movements, it was
stable as a rock, it never tilted, it always set flat in the night sky.
In the time I had to observe it at this close range I noted that I could
see a slight glow on the leaves of the tree just north of the highway. The
object was hovering so close to this tree that I thought it might even
brush up against it, and I could see a slight glow on the leaves that were
nearest the object. It was then that I noticed the slight silver blue glow
that surrounded the object, and I said " Isn't it beautiful." But Butch
didn't answer, I remember that I didn't take my eyes off of the object, but
swung my left arm around toward where Butch had been standing, but he wasn't
there. Suddenly I heard the driver's door of the car slam and it was then
I realized that Butch had seen all he wanted to see. I ran and jumpped in
the car also. Butch was so excited that he slammed the car in drive instead
of reverse and hit the gas. By the time he realized what he had done we
and slammed on the breaks we were setting directly under the object and I
was forced against the dash when he hit the breaks. I looked up and saw
the UFO directly above us, it would not have been more than 35 feet above
the car at this point. He slammed the car in reverse and started backing
up, it was then that I looked back and saw the lights of another car coming
up behind us. I was expecting that car would come right on up to us and
would also get a close view of the UFO, and I looked back at the UFO to
see it was lifting up into the night sky again and moving on toward the
South, and the Old Pearl Hill. I looked back again and saw the car that
was coming up behind us had turned off on a side road and was moving to the
north. Butch backed the car up a bit and stopped. We watched the UFO until
it was over the Old Pearl Hill where it looked like it stopped, then it
looked like it decended. I thought it must have landed and asked Butch to
drive up there and let us have another look see at it. He refused and said
no, he had to get the car home, that his parents would ground him for sure
if he wasn't home by 12:30, so he took me on home to my house. I asked
him to come into the house and tell my folks what we had seen and he did.
When we entered the house we heard my dad and little sister telling mom
about the strange light they had just seen going up over the Old Pearl Hill.
I smiled at Butch, I just knew they had to believe us now. We told our
story and my Sister believed me, but Dad said, no it had to have been
something else. He didn't know what but it couldn't have been a "flying
saucer."
I had not seen Butch for 20 years, but I saw him just the other day when
I went back home for a visit. He said that if he had it to do over again
that he would have gone up that hill to find out what was going on with
that thing, and what it was up to. He remembers it very much as I do
even to this day.
Dad gives me the benefit of the doubt now that it was something other
than an airplane or helicopter, and says that perhaps it was a "flying
saucer." Gina (my little sis) stands by what she believes, and none of
us have changed our story otherwise to this day even after 20 years. I
guess Dad thinks that all of us could not have imagined the same thing.
After all he did see it and was close enough to see that it was a very
strange looking bright light in the sky that was moving.
A good number of other people still live in that area who remember this
thing, but people up there don't care much for outsiders coming in and
asking questions. There are a few who would talk about it to someone
under the right conditions.
To my knowledge to this day no one ever took a picture of that UFO, or
any of the others that have been seen in that area. This big white one
is the only one I remember seeing, but I understand (after interviews
with some people this year) that some people have sighted UFO's in that
area they describe as...
(1) Small, brilliantly white lighted saucer shaped objects 10-15 ft. dia.
(Object seen hovering withen 60 ft of house, over freshly planted
corn field, was viewed through window from south side of house by
the woman who lived there.)
(2) Very Small brilliantly lighted blue objects that move very quickly.
(Sighting was shortly after the sighting of the above UFO, and was
seen by both this woman, and her brother, while she was describing
the first object. Small UFO's came over their heads from the north,
dipped down in front of them in the field to the south where the
first one had been sighted, and then went up over the hill to the
south and one went East and one went West).
(3) Large UFO having rows of lights underneath it followed the same
woman home one night while she was driving her car. She was afraid
to turn into her house and so passed the house, drove on down the
road, turned around and started back to the house. She was able
observe the UFO out her drivers window by looking up into the night
sky. She said the object were very large but was not able to tell
aprox. how large. She observed it as it crossed over the field to
south of the road and was gone from sight.
None of the above UFO's made any sounds that could be detected by the
witnesses.
These sightings were this year and about a mile north of Pearl in the
country and about a mile west of the Ill. River.
I have been intending to write up a file on my interviews but have not
gotten around to it as yet.
Hope that helps.
...Bryon
--
Bryon Smith - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: ...!scicom!19!19!Bryon.Smith
INTERNET: Bryon.Smith@f19.n19.z1.FIDONET.ORG
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