MUFON Massachusetts PIPEline - 1985 01

Magazine Overview

Title: P.I.P.E. LINE
Issue: #5
Date: January, 1985
Publisher: Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)
Country: USA
Language: English

Content Summary

This issue of the P.I.P.E. Line newsletter focuses on updates from MUFON State Organizations regarding their preparedness for the upcoming National UFO Information Week (August 18-25). It provides summaries of questionnaire responses received from various states, detailing their activities, resources, and willingness to participate in public outreach.

State Organization Updates:

• Rhode Island: Reported no meetings, no members, and no display. They have a hotline and access to a VCR.
• Florida: Holds monthly meetings in counties, has 51 members statewide, and a hotline. They are working on a UFO display and are willing to do press releases, guest appearances on radio/TV, and UFO displays, but have no source of income for the organization.
• South Carolina: Has no PR Director, no meetings, and an unknown number of members. They have access to a VCR and are willing to do guest appearances, press releases, and posters. They desire to do a UFO display but lack funding.
• Delaware: Has 3 members, no meetings, and no hotline. They will not be able to participate in National UFO Info. Week activities.
• Wyoming: No questionnaire was received, but Ken McLean indicated he would send one soon, noting he is a full-time graduate student with a hectic schedule.

The newsletter includes a request for any missing state questionnaires to be forwarded to Marge.

Reach Out and Touch Someone:

The editor encourages states that have not yet responded to the questionnaire to do so, aiming for a goal of 40-45 states. The current list of states that have not been heard from is categorized by region:

• West Coast: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Minnesota.
• Southwest: Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas), Arizona, Oklahoma, Nevada.
• Central States: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio.
• Southern States: Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi.
• East Coast: Vermont, Washington, D.C., West Virginia.

Contact information (names, addresses, phone numbers) is provided for regional representatives: Dan Wright, Paul Cerny, Tom Gates, Tom Deuley, Doug Labat, and Dennis Stacy.

P.I.P.E. Committee Directory:

Contact details are listed for committee members: Marge Christensen, Walt Andrus, John Schuessler, Barry Greenwood, and Walt Webb.

Clear Up the Mystery of UFOs (Letter to the Editor):

This section features a letter from Robert H. Bletchman, Connecticut State Director, discussing the history of official UFO investigations. He notes that a 1969 U.S. Air Force project concluded further study was not justified, and the American press generally reported this favorably. However, he points out that in 1983, the Congressional Research Service stated UFO reports could be explained as extraterrestrial, a finding largely ignored by the American press. The letter highlights a recent report from the Soviet newspaper Izvestia and the periodical Trud about the USSR Academy of Sciences forming a UFO study commission and a specific sighting near Gorky involving a large, wingless, cigar-shaped object that exhibited unusual speed and maneuverability. Bletchman questions whether the press has a responsibility to explore such phenomena.

National UFO Information Week (August 18-25):

This section prominently displays the dates for National UFO Information Week and urges readers to mark their calendars.

Sharing the Wealth....Work Assignments:

This section outlines specific tasks assigned to committee members to prepare for National UFO Information Week:

• Walt Webb and Dennis Stacy: To publish monthly announcements in the Journal and prepare press releases for the news media.
• Dan Wright, Barry Greenwood, Tom Gates: To prepare slide packages for public information and investigator training, and to provide information on how to obtain these sets.
• John Schuessler, Paul Cerny, Walt Andrus: To consider ideas for media appearances (radio/TV), national wire service releases, and to send suggestions to Marge.
• Tom Deuley: To design a poster announcing National UFO Information Week, with space for state organizations to add their planned activities.

Work Assignments (continued):

• Marge Christensen: Will continue to liaunt with State Directors, publish the newsletter and P.I.P.E. Line, work with Fred Whiting on an ad in 'The Washington Post' and a UFO exhibit at the Smithsonian, and contact Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Mr. John Timmerman regarding a national TV documentary and public service announcements. She will also coordinate the Mass. MUFON UFO Forum.

The section concludes with a call for comments, suggestions, and feedback to be sent to Marge.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the organizational efforts of MUFON to prepare for National UFO Information Week and the importance of public awareness and media engagement regarding UFO phenomena. The editorial stance, as expressed in the letter to the editor, suggests a critical view of the mainstream media's past handling of UFO reports and advocates for more thorough investigation and reporting of such events, including those from international sources like the Soviet Union.