by
Mark Cheaney, Editor, The Mountain Echo, Ironton, MO February
23, 2000
(We are very sad to report that our friend
Mark Cheaney was taken away from us by cancer on September 8th, 2007
~ He will be missed in our community. His "straight from
the heart" editorials in the Mountain Echo were informative, moving
and sometimes very amusing. He loved this river with all his heart.
I'm certain there's a Black River in heaven, and I'm sure that
he's already found it! Save us a good spot friend. God speed,
Mark, we miss you already.)
Unidentified
Flying objects, or UFO's, is a subject that brings conspiratorial smiles
to some and a shaking of the head to others. There is no fine line on
the existence of UFOs - you either believe them or you don't. That is
why I titled one of my weekly columns for The Mountain Echo newspaper
in Ironton, Missouri, "Unidentified Flying Objects!"
This column, appearing in the March 3, 1999 edition, explained my beliefs
in UFOs, and the reasons why. Back in December of 1999, five of us cigarette
smokers, upon the request of our host, went out to the front porch to
smoke. As we imbibed, one of my friends, who has witnessed countless
UFO encounters in Reynolds County over a period of several years, calmly
asked the rest of us if we would like to see a UFO. Naturally, we all
turned and said yes.
As we did, "Doc" pointed his hand and forefinger skyward (it was dark),
and there it was - three lights in the sky, above the horizon, not moving
at all. All five of us pointed and shouted and stared in amazement at
the lights. Then, one by one, the lights were extinguished, and not
a sound was heard.
Because of the position of the lights, bright white, we knew they were
not caused by swamp gas, a low-flying jet, a helicopter, a weather balloon,
or anything else that might explain the existence of the lights. It
was a UFO, no doubt about it.
At the end of my column, I asked my readers to share any similar stories
about their encounters with UFO's, and that I would keep their identities
secret so they would not have to face ridicule from their contemporaries.
Over a dozen people responded, both by letter and by word of mouth.
Most of the
stories involved sightings and/or encounters north of Reynolds County
in Iron County, running the gauntlet of mysterious, unidentified lights
in the sky to one woman's eye witness account of watching an alien ship
take off from the earth and disappearing into the atmosphere.
The thing of it is, I know each and every one of the people who told
me their tales. Most of them were in their fifties to seventies, and
all of them were respectable, responsible citizens who had no need to
lie. And, after each had told me their tale, they said they hadn't told
anyone else about their experience out of fear of being called a crackpot.
But the premier UFO observing is the man I referred to earlier as "Doc."
Doc has seen every kind of UFO imaginable, from flying saucers to blimp-like
crafts to rocket-shaped and more. Doc can tell you what kind of fuel
the alien ships require, the physics required to arrive in Earth's atmosphere,
the structural design of the ships that would be needed to travel great
distances in space, the different kinds of space travel, and anything
and everything else necessary to understanding and believing in UFOs.
Doc (Ronald Henson) has lived all his forty-plus years in or near Lesterville
in Reynolds County, and he knows just about every person in Reynolds
County who has seen UFOs, complete with their descriptions. And Doc,
who spends a lot of his time in the woods hunting or along the river
fishing, has had UFO sightings every year, several per year.
These UFO sightings, by Doc and myself and by many others, including
stories in the local newspapers, date back to the early 1970s, and continue
to this day. If a person wanted to see a UFO, all he or she would need
to do is to visit Reynolds County for a day, a weekend or a week, and
gaze at the stars. It doesn't matter if you believe in UFOs or not.
Just come to Reynolds County and you'll walk away a believer.
Come to Bearcat Getaway and join us in
a little sky watching! It's a great place to watch the annual
meteor shows too! To learn a little about Falling Stars and Meteor
Showers, click the link below! See you on the river!
Here's
another interesting link that we ran across regarding Taum
Sauk, Clearwater Lake and UFO's!
Strange Sightings in Reynolds County Missouri
