APRG Reporter - Vol 7 No 05 - No 77 - 02 1969

Magazine Overview

Title: APRG REPORTER
Issue: No. 77
Volume: Vol. 7
Date: February 1969
Publisher: Aerial Phenomena Research Group (APRG)
Editor: Robert J. Gribble

This issue of the APRG REPORTER focuses on UFO sightings reported in the Northwest Territories of Canada, particularly along the Mackenzie Highway. The publication, from the Aerial Phenomena Research Group based in Seattle, Washington, details several accounts from individuals who claim to have witnessed unidentified flying objects.

Canadian UFO Sightings in the Northwest Territory

The lead article details startling sightings of UFOs in the Northwest Territories, around Great Slave Lake and Fort Rae. Robert Webb recounted that several persons had seen UFOs in the Yellowknife area, with similar descriptions provided by witnesses. The UFO was described as having a "long, tubular shape with a fin at the back." Witnesses could not observe anything inside it, and there was no noise. The object was reportedly capable of changing its speed rapidly.

Robert Webb, who was visiting his daughter in Fort Providence in December 1968, had not personally seen the UFO but relayed accounts from others. The principal of the local school, Allan Goller, had observed an odd thing in the sky for a couple of nights. Webb, Goller, and two members of the RCMP investigated using a telescope, and the settlement was alarmed as the object was visible for about five or six nights, particularly on clear nights.

Goller, also an area administrator, initially considered the object might be a planet or satellite due to its regular appearances. Webb presented a list of individuals who claimed to have seen a UFO near the Mackenzie Highway. Among them was Edward Heron, an employee of the Department of Northern Affairs from Fort Simpson. Heron reported seeing a UFO while driving on the Mackenzie Highway at night. He described it as appearing from nowhere, passing his car, and then turning around to come back towards them before disappearing. Heron thought it looked like a very long car with wheels, though airborne. He noted it was lit with "sort of running lights" when close, and appeared festooned with lights like a "Christmas tree" at a distance.

Further Witness Accounts

The UFO sightings continued. Two truck drivers, employed by Grimshaw Trucking Co., reported seeing the object the following night. They were about 12 miles north of Fort Providence when the object came over their truck. They stated it passed them at about 200 feet over their truck, then pulled into a service station. The UFO made a real close pass and then took off at high speed, disappearing in seconds. The service station operators confirmed the truckers were "absolutely terrified."

George Muller, a supervisor of a highway maintenance crew at Stag River, south of Fort Rae, also reported the object had been sighted above his crew's camp, performing aerial maneuvers. Another UFO was sighted above a mining site near Yellowknife on December 31, with descriptions reportedly consistent with the other sightings.

International Sightings

The report also includes sightings from outside the Northwest Territories. Mrs. Earl Hill of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, reported seeing 16 UFOs on January 15. She described them as silver discs flying in a V formation across jet trails from southeast to northwest. She noted they were "silver cylinders, and they fluttered and wobbled." She estimated they looked about 15 inches across from the ground but were very high and did not seem to be going as fast as the jets. The incident occurred at 4 p.m., and the objects were in sight for about five minutes.

Two disc-like flying objects were seen at Norval, Newfoundland, Canada before Christmas. Jim Clark, part owner of Clark Brothers Farm, noticed two mysterious lights while checking his barn around 8 p.m. on December 11. He described one light as bright and the other less so, appearing like a "saucer with light shining up from it, giving a plastic, dome effect." The lights would disappear behind clouds and reappear, maintaining their distance while sweeping in wide clockwise circles at a speed faster than conventional aircraft. Clark watched for half an hour, noting the circuits took one to one and a half minutes each. He described the lights as "a light color," shaped like half a sphere, with an intensity similar to a "sun beam," and without any connecting ray to the ground.

Linda Madill, whose husband works on the Clark farm, confirmed the sighting and watched the lights from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. She noted the bright light flew fast while the dim one was slow. They were coming from the south and going east, circling the barn for two hours. The lights had an oval shape and went in and out of cloud. At one point, one light stopped before the other.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the prevalence and variety of UFO sightings across Canada, with a particular focus on the Northwest Territories. The articles present witness testimonies without overt skepticism, suggesting a serious interest in documenting these phenomena. The APRG REPORTER positions itself as a source for reporting on aerial phenomena, serving the public since 1955. The editorial stance appears to be one of open investigation and reporting of unexplained aerial events, relying on the accounts of credible witnesses and officials.