Flying Saucers in Elk County

W. Gray · July 19, 2007, 08:32:04 AM

If anyone has anything to add to the below or has heard other Elk County stories, please chime in.

It has been mentioned several times that Waldo Gray was the town barber, coon hunter, dog owner, etc. He also was great on donating to civic activities. He was known to grow "crops" in a miniature hole in the sidewalk in front of his shop. Over the years, he was featured in several newspaper articles including one full page spread. One story mentioned that a lot of tall tales came out of his barber shop. Once, he had me send a Howard citizen an anonymous postcard from halfway around the world saying the fish were biting big time and he ought to bring his pole. He appeared as an extra in the 1972 Jeff Bridges western movie Bad Company filmed in Severy. He always said your eyes had to be quick to see him.

Sometime in the late sixties, I went home to Missouri on leave and then came down to Howard for a visit. Waldo asked if I would like to see an evening Patriots basket ball game. I did. First, we walked down to Freddie's, next to the theater, for a hamburger. Must have been the best one I ever ate. Then we drove somewhere fairly close, Longton, I think, to watch the game.

After the game, he wanted to go fishing. We drove around Elk County stopping way out in the middle of nowhere. He said this place belonged to so and so and he would not mind. It was dark with no moon. Using a lantern, we managed to climb over a fence and walk to a good-sized pond. I was concerned about trespassing but later learned he had standing verbal rights at several places to fish and hunt.

Fish were not biting and we ended up jawing quite a bit. Out of the blue, he mentioned he had seen and was chased by a flying saucer. I was stunned, even flabbergasted, at what he was saying. I managed to steer the conversation into another topic and the flying saucer was dropped. Until his death in 2000, he never mentioned it to me again and I never brought it back up.

After he passed away, I mentioned it to my Dad. Stone faced and quite serious my Dad said it was true. He could not remember much about it but Waldo and another person ran and hid under their pickup to get away from a flying saucer.

Wilma · July 19, 2007, 08:38:00 AM

Let's see now. Your dad and Waldo were brothers, were they not? Were they known to back each other up on stories they might tell? Is your tongue in your cheek while you are telling this?

W. Gray · July 19, 2007, 08:47:59 AM

They were brothers and I could not answer whether they backed each other up. They probably did, though but I think my father would have told me it was a joke.

I was just curious if anyone had heard about this.

Wilma · July 19, 2007, 08:54:51 AM

My husband never told me about this one and he was pretty good about repeating Elk County stories. Maybe some of the true Elk Countians will remember. By the way, Waldo, would you correct the spelling of saucers in your heading? I can't stand mispelled words.

flo · July 19, 2007, 08:57:12 AM

I don't know about what Waldo seen, but I do know what I seen in the early 70's and it was also seen by several others in in the Severy area, some south of town in Elk County. And that's all I got to say about that.

W. Gray · July 19, 2007, 09:23:39 AM

If this did not correct the spelling, someone let me know how to do it.

flo · July 19, 2007, 09:36:03 AM

like that's the only mispelled word in this forum

Wilma · July 19, 2007, 09:36:47 AM

It corrected the spelling in your last post but not in the beginning post and I don't know how to tell you to do that. Maybe someone else can.

Flo, I will tell if you will. Flo says sometime in the early 70's and she is right as to the time. Ruth Henderson was taking an evening class in Emporia and she got back to Severy about 10:00 that night. She called us and said she was seeing funny lights over Severy on her way home.(no cell phones then). My husband and Janet went out to see what was going on and couldn't really find anything. The wind was blowing funny that night and I don't know how to describe it, just funny. I found out later that there hadn't been any wind around Howard or Moline. A couple of ladies that lived south of Severy had seen what they thought was fire between their homes. Actually, they each thought maybe the other's house was on fire, but there wasn't any sign of there having been a fire in the field between them. 4th daughter was sleeping in the east bedroom upstairs in the south alcove and she saw what she thought was a train out to the south. This was after the railroad had been discontinued and might even have been torn up. It was there for a long time. There were other reports of unusual occurrences but none that I remember clear enough to relate. Maybe there is something to Uncle Waldo's story.

flo · July 19, 2007, 09:56:43 AM

AND NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY

Thank you Wilma, I was afraid if I told this story, everyone would think I'd lost my marbles.

My husband at the time was working evening tower on an oil rig and I always waited up for him. About midnight I seen his lights as he pulled into the drive. He didn't come right in, but the wind had come up and thinking it was probably an approaching storm I went out to watch with him. HE WASN'T HOME YET. I immediately went back inside and locked the doors. When he came home I mentioned this to him and he just blew it off. The next morning at work (at the school) Mrs. Ruth Henderson told me this "strange" thing that happened at her house. Betty Courter was custodian at the time (she is one of the 2 ladies living south of Severy that Wilma mentioned), and she told us her story and now I know what I seen was true and not just my imagination, I'm thinking. After work I went to my in-laws who lived east of town and started to relay these stories to my father-in-law (Floyd "Red" Smith) and he stopped me abruptly and began saying "this was about midnight, light as day out, wind was blowing real hard" and I was stunned. He seen these same things. He lived just 1/2 mile south of Mrs. Henderson. Now, people, tell me that this didn't happen. This is not my only experience and I certainly do believe in UFO's and I believe Waldo's story.

Wilma · July 19, 2007, 10:02:49 AM

With as many witnesses as we have, how can anyone discount our story? But plenty did. Ruth was seeing things. Betty Courter was told a story about electrical discharges causing things like she saw. There was no explanation for the light that my daughter saw and watched for quite some time. But we were there, weren't we, Flo?