4/13/50 - Potter, Salinas, CA

Report Summary	From Larry Hatch on the Project 1947 e-mail list... Loren Gross recently released his second booklet for 1950, April thru July. 18 years ago, he released his first booklet for that exact same four months...I stumbled upon a curiosity: Namely, a sighting in Salinas,CA of a " long rooted sweet potato " which sounds a bit like the Vins object; one which I had compared to a hairy turnip or a fat carrot. Here's Loren's account from the 1982 booklet: " .. A Mr. Potter of Salinas motioned to four co-workers to join him outside the plant building where they all worked. Mr. Potter was standing on the loading dock while engaged in his duties as chief engineer when he first laid eyes on the 'thing' in the sky, shiny in appearance, and as he termed it, looking like " one of those long rooted sweet-potatoes [?]". NB: Salinas is now and always was prime farming land. The plant was probably produce related. The boxed question mark is Loren's, not mine. Having seen all sorts of sweet potatoes at the food store, there are some that look more like turnips, the kind with "long roots ". -LH " .. He (Potter) reckoned that it was just pulling out of a dive he first spotted it. He immediately contacted the sheriff [who] visited the plant and questioned the witnesses. The CAA (now FAA -LH) was phoned but authorities said there were no aircraft in the vicinity at the time. Subject to merciless ribbing by those who failed to catch a glimpse of the object, Mr. Potter refused to back down .. but he also refused to claim a 'flying saucer sighting.' " Loren Gross cites two newspaper articles: 1) San Jose Mercury-Herald: 14APR50. 2) Salinas Sun: 13APR50. Apparently, Potter and the Sheriff's office took this sighting seriously.
Hynek Classification	DD
Original Vallee Classification	Type IV
Current Vallee Classification	FB1
Minimum Distance	Unknown
Object Appearance	"Long-rooted sweet potato" - possibly "hairy" cone shape.
Object Behavior	Fly by
Physical Effect	None
Medical Effect	None
Comments / Conclusion	Possibly similar to the Vins incident, which occurred almost exactly seven years later (a day or two before).