UFO Potpourri No 421

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO POTPOURRI
Issue: No. 421
Date: December 1998
Publisher: John F. Schuessler
Contact: John F. Schuessler, 9862 West Unser Ave., Littleton, CO 80128; E-Mail: [email protected]; Web Page: http://home.mho.net/schuessler/

This issue of UFO POTPOURRI, dated December 1998, presents a collection of intriguing UFO-related accounts and resources. It begins with a list of recommended cartoon websites on the internet, featuring sites with 'Roswell' collections, 'Mr. Invader' cartoons by Justin Stahlman, and unique cartoons by D.K. Glebe.

Diary Records 1808 UFO Sighting

The main article details a UFO sighting from July 22, 1808, discovered by historian Dr. Judith Becker Ranlett while researching women's history. The account comes from the diary of Cynthia Everett, a Massachusetts-born school teacher who lived from 1785 to sometime after 1815. Everett, who taught in Maine in the early 1800s, described a strange light in the sky. She initially thought it was a meteor but its unusual motion, darting quickly, appearing in the atmosphere, lowering towards the ground, and moving around the horizon, convinced her it was not. Dr. Ranlett finds the sighting significant because Everett was well-educated and knowledgeable about the night sky, suggesting she would have identified it as a natural phenomenon if it were one. The diary entry is noted as being on yellowing rag paper and in good condition.

1941 Cape Girardeau, Mo. UFO Crash

Leonard H. Stringfield recounts the story of Charlotte Mann, whose grandfather, Rev. William Huffman, a pastor in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, from 1941 to 1944, witnessed an event at an alleged airplane crash site. Huffman was called to the scene, where he observed wreckage of a rounded, metallic object. More strikingly, he saw "three bodies, not human," described as being about 4 feet tall, covered head to foot in what looked like wrinkled aluminum foil. These beings had large, oval-shaped eyes, no noses, small slits for mouths, and longer arms. Huffman was reportedly warned by military officers at the scene not to speak about what he saw for security reasons. He told his family, but never spoke of it publicly. The story was later recounted by his wife and then by Mann. A photograph of two men holding one of the corpses was apparently taken but later lost.

Another UFO on Gun Camera Film

Peter B. Davenport, Director of the National UFO Reporting Center, received a telephone report on March 14, 1997, concerning UFO sightings over Phoenix, Arizona. The report, from a pilot involved in a "Ready Alert" mission with two F-15s from Luke Air Force Base, described an encounter that occurred around 8:32 a.m. The F-15s were launched after a report from Prescott Valley Airport about an object that had a near miss with a small Cessna. The pilots encountered an object over Phoenix, which they described as having a visual on it and possessing gun camera film, though no radar tape. The pilot who reported this was described as a "real professional" who was visibly scared, an unprecedented reaction for him. The encounter involved what the report suggests might have been "white noise" blanking out radar. The base went into a complete "lock down" after the incident. The article notes that aircraft gun cameras have been used extensively since WWII, and many pilots claim to have captured UFOs on film, which are often not released. It suggests that gun camera films are an untapped resource for UFO information and that a study of numerous cases could be valuable if researchers pooled their reports.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

This issue of UFO POTPOURRI focuses on historical and contemporary UFO accounts, emphasizing documented evidence such as diary entries and witness testimonies. The editorial stance appears to be one of presenting intriguing cases for the reader's consideration, without explicit sensationalism but with an clear interest in the unexplained. The inclusion of gun camera film as a potential source of verifiable UFO data suggests a leaning towards evidence-based investigation within the field. The magazine also acknowledges the internet as a resource for related content, such as UFO-themed cartoons.