UFO UpDates Mailing List
From: Jan Aldrich <jan@CYBERZONE.NET>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 19:02:13 -0800
Fwd Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 23:21:05 -0500
Subject: Project 1947 - 1909-10 Accounts
From: <legion@werple.net.au>
Subject: PJ-47 - 1910
To: jan@cyberzone.net (Jan Aldrich)
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 07:28:18 +1100 (EST)
*Willimantic (CT) Chronicle 1 Jan 1910
THAT MYSTERIOUS AIRSHIP
(From the New Haven Journal-Courier)
Where does it come from? What is it? Who does it belong to?
These are the questions which have come to the mind of newspaper
readers all over New England and in New York during the last
fortnight. From a score or more localities reports have come of a
wonderful mechanism, which has been seen skimming along, high in
the air, above out cities. It has invariable come in the night
time, when big searchlights of tremendous power have gleamed from
out of the darkness like the eyes of some monster living creature of
the imagination. It is quite impossible to believe we are all
suffering from a common hallucination.
If the wonderful flying apparatus is the product of the brain of
Wallace Tillinghast of Worcester, as the public tends to believe,
then that gentlemen has good reason to be secretive about it.
Apparently, as compared with this creation, the flying machines of
the Wright brothers, who have been generally recognized as being
the leaders of the world in aeronautics up to the present moment,
seem very crude. Mr. Tillinghast, presuming him to be the owner
and inventor, undoubtedly has in mind a thorough perfection of this
airship before giving the public more than an inkling about it. He
may realize that this or almost any government would pay a
fabulous sum for airships as successful as this one is, provided
their details have been kept in strict secrecy. On the other
hand, it is scarcely to be believed that such a phenomenal
invention could be successfully and continually kept secret.
The Springfield Republican suggests a gigantic hoax in this
connection. "The idea suggests itself," it says, "that the
Worcester Telegram is trying to emulate the New York Sun by
bringing out a sort of semicentennial edition of Edgar Allan Poe's
celebrated balloon hoax. in that story, it will be remembered, Poe
pictured a "dirigible balloon's voyage across the Atlantic ocean
with a party of seven or eight men." But the stories of how this
strange craft of the air had been seen have come from so many
different localities that it is well-nigh impossible to be believe
there could be any hoax back of it. Indeed, as the Republican says,
undoubtedly referring to the recent Cook affair: "it will be
observed that hoaxes are not popular just now."
===================================================================
*Willimantic (CT) Chronicle 22 Oct 1909
WAS IT A METEOR THAT STRUCK STORRS?
Terrific Explosion Heard and Big Ball of Fire Seen Early This
Morning -- House Damaged.
Willimantic people heard a heavy peal of thunder, accompanying
which was a sharp of lightning, at 12:35 o'clock this morning. There
was only this one report but at Storrs it was so terrific as to wake
nearly everybody up, many people getting up to see what happened.
Mr. Beebe, the store-keeper at Storrs, says the report was like a
great explosion and according to him some of the people at Storrs
believe a meteor exploded although no pieces of anything like a
meteor have been found. There are several big holes in the ground,
however, that may have been made by the pieces of the meteor, if
that is what it was, burying themselves.
F. C. Guenther, clerk at the agricultural college, and Frank
McLean, the football coach, happened to be up during the storm and
when the explosion occurred they looked out and saw what looked
like a huge ball of fire descending. This struck a telegraph pole
near Mr. Beebe's store, splintering and twisting the pole, and
then entering F. M. Chadwick's house, going in near the ground and
working up towards the roof, tearing off base-board, breaking
glass, making holes in ceilings and passing out over a door, but not
setting the house on fire.
Dr. R. C. White was at Storrs today and said that whatever
caused the damage was some terrific force. There are four or five
big holes in the ground, all within a radius of 25 or 30 feet. It
may have been a meteor that struck Storrs, and then again it may
have been just lightning.
===================================================================
*Willimantic (CT) Chronicle 23 Oct 1909
'TWAS NO LIGHTNING DECLARES MCLEAN
What Football Coach at the State College Saw Was Probably a
Meteorite.
Frank McLean, the football coach at the Connecticut Agricultural
college, in talking with a Chronicle reporter today in relation to
the alleged meteorite that burst over the village of Storrs early
yesterday morning, said that he had seen a lot of lightning, but
none of it was like what he beheld yesterday morning as he stood at
his bed-room window at the college.
From over the hill, back of the dairy barn, there suddenly came a
ball of fire leaving a trail of light behind, some thirty or forty
feet long. There was no zig-zagging, but a direct course. The ball
of fire in its movement made a sizzling sound and there followed a
terrific explosion such as he had never heard before. "Words cannot
describe the sight nor the nature of that explosion," said McLean.
F. M. Chadwick, whose house was struck, said that when the
report came he and his family were stunned. The house seemed to
rock and they were thrown to the floor. As soon as they recovered
they got up but found no evidence of fire. A telegraph pole in
front of Chadwick house was splintered in fine pieces and there was
a large hole in the ground.
====================================================================
*Willimantic (CT) Chronicle 11 Aug 1909
METEOR EXPLODES, AROUSES WINSTED
Night Policeman Saw the Ball of Fire Pass Over the Methodist Church
Steeple
Winsted, August 11.--Hundreds of citizens of this vicinity were
awakened by a terrrific explosion early this morning. As soon as
daylight appeared telephone and telegraph wires were busy to
ascertain what had caused the explosion, but the first solution of
the mystery came from Lyman R. Woodworth, night policeman, who
stated that it was caused by a meteor. He said that at 2:30 the
heavens were lighted up by a ball of fire which came out of the
northwest and disappeared over the Methodist church steeple. A few
seconds later he heard the sxplosion. His story is corroborated by
J. L. Dewey.
====================================================================
*Willimantic (CT) Chronicle 7 Jan 1910
THAT MYSTERIOUS AIRSHIP
A Number of Norwich People Believe it to be a Large Paper Balloon.
A number of Norwich people, who saw sailing over the city what
was supposed by a few to be the mysterious airship which has been
reported so often of late declare now that in their opinion it was
nothing but a large paper balloon, the kind that is put up on
Fourths of July. It traveled with the wind, which strengthens
their belief. There was a ribbon of smoke in its wake, such as the
burning torch of a paper balloon gives forth. It would be
surprising if someone is trying to hoax the public in this way.
===================================================================
*The Willimantic Chronicle 24 Dec 1909, Page 1
CRAFT OF MYSTERY FINALLY TRACKED TO ITS LAIR--PERHAPS!
Home of the Worcester Aeroplane Located in west Boylston,
Massachusetts, it is Believed.
SHED IS IN DENSE WOODS ON J. B. GOUGH ESTATE
While Trying to Get Close to the Place United Press Representative
Was Captured, Haled Before Justice of the Peace and Fined for
Trespass.
Worcester, Mass., Dec 24.--The home of the mysterious aeroplane
which has been cruising at unheard of altitudes over Massachusetts
for the last two nights and causing wonderment to thousands, it is
believed has been found.
Scouring the country about Worcester in a search for the home of
the Tillinghast machine a United Press representative discovered at
West Boylston, six miles from this city, that fourteen men in the
employ of Paul B. Morgan of the Morgan Construction company of
Worcester were busy in some secret occupation on the old estate of
John B. Gough, the old-time temperance lecturer. On this estate,
and situated in dense woods, there is a shed more than 100 feet long
which, it is believed, contains the aeroplane that is to startle
the world. No aeroplane was seen by the United Press representative,
however. As he was advancing through the woods to reconnoiter he
was captured by some of the men employed on the estate, haled
before a justice of the peace and fined for trespass.
This, so far, is the only clue to the aeroplane. That it is
pregnant with possibilities, however, is certain from the fact that
Paul B. Morgan is known as an intimate of Wallace E. Tillinghast
and is also known to be interested in aerial navigation. Two years
ago Morgan spent $15,000 on the aeroplane of a Swedish aviator but
later abandoned it as unsatisfactory. It is now thought that with
Tillinghast he has perfected the machine which has been sailing
over New England, the same that Tillinghast declares he used in a
flight from here to New York and return on September 8.
Through Tillinghast himself is belived to have been himself in
Worcester last night thousands all over Massachusetts today declare
the aeroplane associated with his declarations and probably manned
by his mechanics was winging its way through the skies up to last
midnight. Between six o'clock last evening until midnight its
flashlights were trailed from Marlboro to Fitchburg and back
through Worcester, thence to Boston via Natick, Wellesley, Newton and
Needham. From Boston the light passed to the northeast, circling
over Chelsea and Revere, through Lynn toward the Salem line, then
returning as far as Farmingham where it mysteriously disappeared
from the eager searchings of newspaper men who hoped to trail the
daring aerial navigator to his lair and unfathom the mystery which
has now perturbed the entire eastern part of the state.
Many of the 10,000 people who saw the light are positive in their
belief that made the outlines of the same aerial craft that closely
resembled a monoplane of the type used by Latham and Bleriot.
They say the machine was under perfect control and that it flew
close to the ground, coming as near to the earth as 100 feet in
Natick and later rising to fully 1,000 feet. Some say there were
two men in the craft. One was standing forward near the headlight,
which has been seen by thousands of people, and the second man was
in the stern, where a much dimmer light was burning. They say the
craft at times attained a speed of fully 80 miles an hour, while
again it remained stationary for fifteen minutes at a time.
===================================================================
*The Willimantic Chronicle 24 Dec 1909
"COME, RIDE IN MY AIRSHIP" INVITATION AWAITED BY MANY!
Bright Light in the East Had Willimantic Folks, Hundreds of Them
Guessing.
TWINKLING LITTLE STAR SOME SAY IT WAS.
Others, and Plenty of Them, Sure it was Tillinghast's or Some Other
Aerial Craft That Had All Eyes Turned Towards the Eastern Skies
Last Night.
----------------
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like an airship in the sky.
----------------
There was a bright light in the east last night and the wise ones
sized it up for Tillinghast's mysterious airship. It was about 7:30
o'clock that the light was first noticed and it was then in the
southeast, appearing to be above the tread plant as viewed from the
foot of Railroad street but a long way off--from a twenty to thirty
miles in the opinion of some of the people who saw it. Prosaic
policemen and some other matter-of-fact persons winked the other eye
when the airship was mentioned but there were plenty of people who
were quite willing to declare, and did so declare, that what they saw
in the eastern sky answered in all particulars the descriptions sent
out of the mystifying aerial craft that has been aerial craft that
has been creating such a sensation in Worcester and other
Massachusetts cities and villages.
There were several hundred in Willimantic who saw what they
believed to have been an airship and others said it was Halley's
comet. Whatever it was it caused considerable excitement for a
while and the curious ones spent several hours with their eyes
riveted on the heavens.
The light in the southeast looked like a powerful searchlight.
Because of its size and the rays it threw out it attracted wide
attention. It remained stationery for a few minutes and then
seemed to shoot upwards, then circle around as though the person
manipulating it was trying to get his bearings.
As usual Mayor Dunn's store was crowded about that time and
Benjamin Murphy, time-keeper on the New Haven road, came into the
place calling the men out to see the airship. Mayor Dunn was
among them and he stated last night when seen by a Chronicle
reported //sic// that he would not swear it was an airship but it
certainly did look like one. Others who saw it were of the same
opinion.
The light was miles away apparently and quite high in the air.
It played in the east for about fifteen minutes and then vanished.
Later there appeared a brilliant star in the firmament and those
who had not seen the first light and saw this star were of the
opinion that both light were one and the same, but those who saw
the first light said it was no star.
People who had come down street to do their Christmas shopping
forgot what they had come for and stood on the sidewalk and even in
the middle of the street looking to the east, hoping to see the
return of the airship. Some of the skeptics ones just because they
did not hear the buzzing of the engine or get an introduction to
the man running the ship, laughed at those who claimed it was an
airship they saw. The skeptics could not account, though, for the
strange light and its peculiar accounts.
It was too bad that the airship, if it was one, did not come
nearer the city so that the people could inspect the machine. The
scoffers would then have had no ground for scoffing.
One of the skeptics had a lot of fun during the evening puting
the credulous ones "wise" to the "airship." Pointing to the bright
star he would say "See it? It's the airship, stopped for repairs.
The fellow running it dropped a monkey wrench overboard and it struck
a man on the head, and they've taken him to the hospital!" And
strange to say, to such a pitch of excitement had the crowd been
wrought up that even this story found believers.
Reserved seats for this evening's performance are now on sale.
A few choice ones left for the early comers.
A dispatch sent out from Boston says: Following the report from
Worcester Wednesday night of the discovery above the city of a
strange moving light, apparently the searchlight of a dirigible
airship, Thursday night brought stories from many points of the
observance of similar lights Thursday evening from villages east of
Worcester and even from Boston Common. People in the towns of
Marlboro, South Framingham, Natick, Ashland, Grafton, North Grafton,
Upton, Hopedale and Northboro turned out in throngs and viewed
a mysterious light in the heavens.
Many declared that the light had all the appearance of a strong
searchlight and while they could discover no framework behind it,
such as an aeroplane would have, they were positive that the light
could not be that of a balloon, as it moved as if under control,
and apparently against the wind.
If the lights seen last night were those of an airship, Mr.
Tillinghast was not the navigator of the craft, for he remained at
his home in Worcester.
It is estimated that fully fifty thousand people thronged the
streets of Worcester watching for the reapearance of the visitor in
the skies. The passage of trolley cars was seriously impeded by
the gaping crowds in the main thoroughfares. For most of the
curious the watch was unrewarded. People on the tops of buildings
told of seeing a light pass rapidly at some distance south of the
city, but it was smaller and much less brilliant than the one seen
Wednesday night.
===================================================================
NEW LONDON HAS A WILBUR CURTIS!
Story about a New London resident who has an aeroplane who plans
to test fly it Christmas day. It crashed. Later he said he would
repair it and try to fly it again in the spring.
===================================================================
*The Willimantic (CT) Chronicle, Tuesday, 28 Dec 1909, page 1
AIRSHIP PASSES OVER CITY OF NORWICH
Many People Saw it but They Were Unable to Tell How Many Persons Were
in it
That the "airship" that many Willimantic people saw or thought
they saw last Thursday night may have been an airship after all,
and that the stories sent out by local newspapermen were not such
complete "fakes" as some persons would have the public believe, is
indicated by the following account of an airship printed in the
"Norwich Bulletin" this morning in its Norwich news:--
"Between 7:30 and 8 o'clock Monday evening there were many in the
central part of the city who were watching an airship as it passed
over the city, going in a southerly direction. There was no noise
to be heard and no particular demonstration with the searchlight,
but the fact that the lights were moving attracted attention, and it
was wached //sic// until it disappeared. It was not very high,
but it was impossible to tell how many were in it. That it was not
a star is the positive statement of those who saw it.
"It was not a steady level flight like that of a bird, but there
was occasionally a dip to the airship and as it went along a second
light now and then bobbed into view. It was a fine, clear bright
night for a flight, but the operator must have been clothed like
Perry on his Artic trip, to defy the cold of the night."
The "New Haven" Palladium" says: it was on the Christmas day just
passed, that New Haveners witnessed for the first time in their home
city an exhibition of the aeroplane, the invention of which was the
real conquest of the air. A mysterious heavier-than-air machine
circled the city during Christmas day, and at such a height that its
real form, its pilot and its mechanics were not discernible, but it
was properly enough within our vision to leave no doubt as to what
the stranger was, it circled the air in a manner that is impossible
for the balloon or the dirigible, and it was too large for any of the
now known feathered inhabitants of the globe. Many of us have seen
the aeroplane on exhibition in trial flights at low altitudes, but
those who saw the mysterious stranger of Christmas were treated to
the real thing in air conquests. It was a great spectacle in the
skies. The aeroplane was genreally believed to be the one which has
been flying for many months past in New England, traveling incognito,
as it were, for the stranger, while owned in Worchester, comes to
earth and leaves it inparts unknown to the public. The owner claims
that it is the greatest of all heavier-than-air contrivances, and
after what we saw the other day we agree with him, if the Christmas
day visitor was really Mr. Tillinghast in his greatest of airships.
It was a stirring sight and encouraged our thoughts to the great
achievements of mankind. In all of the seriousness of the incident
there was also the humorous side to it, and no better shown perhaps
than in the statement of the little newsboy who exclaimed. "That is
nothing only Santa Claus going home after a hard night's work."
====================================================================
--
*------------------------------*
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