20th UFO Festival Celebrates 60 Years Of UFO Mystery In Kecksburg
Kecksburg, PA, JULY -- The following article by writer Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller appeared in the July 17 issue of the LaTrobeBulletinNews.com:
It will be 60 years on Dec. 9 since something mysterious did (or did not?) fall from the sky and crash into the woods in the village of Kecksburg in Mount Pleasant Township.
During the weekend of July 17-20, the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department marked that hometown fame with its 20th UFO Festival that draws local crowds and visitors from out of state. They come not only for the music, contests, food, fireworks and parade, but also for the UFO memorabilia and a Sunday speakers conference that focuses on the big question for the past six decades: What did land in Kecksburg?
That’s been a matter of debate, speculation and mystery, and this year speaker Stan Gordon of Greensburg will share some new information.
“Since this year is the 60th, I’m going to be talking about the history of the Kecksburg incident and some details that are not well known, and some of the more unusual details that I haven’t talked about much,” he said. “But I think it’s time to start talking about this now.”
Gordon was 16 at the time and following coverage on the radio. That was the beginning of his serious investigation into the incident that led him to other areas of the unexplained including UFOs, Bigfoot and other cryptids. He’s written books, given programs, and appeared in numerous documentaries and special cable shows about Kecksburg.
Gordon continues to receive information from people who had not previously reported what they saw. Some were silent because they didn’t think people would believe them. Or they thought that their input wasn’t important.
“Some people are elderly and now want to talk about it,” Gordon said. “People get in touch with me through my website and over the years, various independent witnesses have given me similar accounts of what happened.”
Although there are some locals who claim that nothing happened in Kecksburg — and the United States government said that, too — there have been many more who insist that an object passed over the sky shortly before 5 p.m. Some accounts say that it appeared to have changed course, as if it were being piloted, before it disappeared into the woods.
What Gordon learned from witnesses was that the armed military quickly showed up in Kecksburg and kept people out of the woods. One person who was a child at the time said that the military set up base at his parents’ house while on site. Others said that they saw a flatbed truck leaving with a tarp covering a round shape. There were rumors, too, that some people took photos, but none have ever surfaced. Gordon hopes that someday they do.
Witnesses described the object as acorn shaped about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, and that there was unidentifiable writing on it. Years later, a film crew reproduced that alleged UFO for a documentary and left it behind. It’s displayed on the fire department’s grounds.
After years of the government denying that there was even a military presence in Kecksburg, some information was eventually released but there was nothing conclusive.
The recent airing of “Beyond Skinwalker Ranch: Pennsylvania’s Roswell” on the History Channel includes Gordon and several local people with ties to Kecksburg. The documentary’s researcher crew used some laser technology to examine the ground beneath the surface where the object was said to have landed. They found an area that seemed to have been disturbed and could have been caused by an impact.
That’s one of the new things that Gordon will be talking about. Other new information came last year when he heard from a man concerning the documented reports that day of something being tracked over Canada, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The witness and his girlfriend at that time were in a parking lot in Detroit, Michigan, when they saw a big dark ball surrounded by red and yellow flames. It moved silently across the sky and lit up the area like a bright sun.
As it passed overhead, he observed an F-101 Voodoo military fighter jet in pursuit. Then it fired a missile at the object, and moments later the sky was again illuminated. The whole report and other information can be read on Gordon’s website, stangordon.info.
Firefighter Ron Struble organized the festival 20 years ago. He and his wife Donna, who then lived in Greensburg, drove to Kecksburg when they heard the news on the radio.
“We saw the military there but we did not see the acorn-shaped thing,” he said.
The couple later moved to Kecksburg where for 50 years Struble has served the community at different times as a firefighter, fire chief and emergency medical technician. Early on, he heard from some members who were there that “something definitely was going on, something definitely happened.”
So why not turn their fundraising festival into a UFO festival?
“We decided to go ahead, and it’s become a hometown gathering,” Struble said. “It’s a community thing and we really appreciate the help and support from the community. Whatever fell from the sky put Kecksburg on the map.”
Theories are that it was a top secret domestic or foreign experimental or advanced space probe. Some wonder if it was something extraterrestrial. Gordon keeps an open mind.
The conference includes Brian D. Parsons who operates the Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network ghost group and has hosted over 530 Paranormal News Insider radio shows. He’s the author of four books on ghost investigations and methodologies. His latest book, “Eastern Cryptids,” has recently been published.
His presentation, “The Best of Eastern Cryptids,” will examine some of the most interesting cases east of the Mississippi River, some of them tied to UFO and alien sightings. (briandparsons.com)
Eric Altman is a cryptozoologist and paranormal enthusiast specializing in researching the Bigfoot/Sasquatch phenomenon with a combined 43 years of study, field research and investigations. He is the founder and director of Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, previously hosted “Beyond the Edge” radio program, and investigated hundreds of alleged Bigfoot encounters in Pennsylvania and across the country.
He has written numerous articles and books and has been featured in documentaries, newspapers and magazines.
Altman will join investigator Dave Spinks in discussing recent sightings and mysterious encounters in Pennsylvania.
Spinks has been investigating and researching the supernatural since 1986, after having several personal experiences. He’s written books and articles and has been on various television programs, including “Terror in the Woods” and “Paranormal 911.”
See: kecksburgvfd.com.
