After reading about Joe’s story in recent editions of the Villager,
two Hiram residents were moved to relay a similar experience they
shared. “My mom and I were reminded of an experience we had when I was a
child,” Willow*, now in her early 60’s, shared recently. “We lived in
Parma, Ohio in a neighborhood composed of tightly placed bungalows and
modest ranch homes separated by fences surrounding tiny yards,” she
explained. The year was 1967. “My parents were playing cards with
neighbors on our patio late one summer night,” she began. Willow and her
older sister were inside watching TV with some neighborhood friends.
Her
mother, Rose, recalled their neighbor saying, “What the H is that?!”
prompting them all to turn and see a UFO, silent and stationary,
hovering 200-300 feet above them. The craft was hovering over a utility
pole located at the side of their driveway. “I remember them calling us
outside,” Willow explained, sharing that the neighbor and his teenage
son climbed on top of the detached garage to get a better look.
“They sent me in the house to get the camera, but it had no film,”
Willow reported. They sent her back inside for the Polaroid camera, with
the same results. “All the while, it hovered, unmoving and silent,”
Willow noted. “I remember standing under it, gazing up,” she noted. “It
was large, round, aglow and silent.” Her mom recalled trying to memorize
its details. “From the underside it was round and about the same size
across as our bungalow (approximately 50 feet across). It had a low,
saucer shaped profile that bumped up in the center.” Rose explained. “It
was symmetrical, with a rim of lights around the perimeter.” Willow
confirmed these details, sharing that overall, the object had a soft
glow. She explained that the underside appeared to have a honeycomb-type
appearance, with each of the geometric shaped cells aglow with soft
light. She noted that she’d never seen anything like it before or since.
When the object finally moved, they explained that it moved straight
up, and then immediately to the side, “like a drone moves today”. Willow
noted it then sat hovering over a group of abutting back yards a few
doors down, and explained that the group then hopped the fence and
called those neighbors out of their house to see it. She noted that
those neighbors were entertaining company, so the whole group entered
the backyard and observed the craft some more. Willow noted the
saucer-shaped craft was quite a bit higher by then. While they watched,
the craft suddenly headed north, stopped, came back toward us, giving us
one last look before it headed north and was gone from sight. They
estimated that the experience lasted roughly an hour.
A day or two
after the strange event, Rose noted hearing a report on the radio
addressing the multitude of similar sightings of a potential UFOs called
in that night. According to the report, the craft was reported to be a
small plane, advertising Mars Pennsylvania, with lights under the wings.
“Of course, this was a totally ridiculous and absurd explanation,”
Willow exclaimed.
“You know, I don’t know why we weren’t afraid,” Rose, now in her 80s,
remarked. Willow concurred, adding that no one in her family has seen
anything remotely similar since that summer evening. She added that her
sister, who was present that night, saw a program that aired last year
about Project Blue Book, the US Air Force investigations into UFO
sightings. She noted that in the credits, they referenced a Plain Dealer
article, which she looked up. The story indicated that in 1967, there
were several unexplained sightings in the Parma area similar to the one
they had witnessed in their neighborhood.
Willow noted that although they’ve each talked about the experience on occasion over the years, their purpose in sharing their experience today is simply to highlight the fact that, in spite of all the advances made since that time, there’s still much we don’t understand. They share this conclusion with Joe, which is what prompted them to come forward to share their story.
*Names have been change to protect the privacy of the individuals.
Stacy Turner
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.