1964: Conklin, Broome County, New York

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTING REPORT

Date:  July 16, 1964

Sighting Time:  

Day/Night:  afternoon

Location:  Conklin, Broome County, New York

Urban or Rural: – playing in an apple tree along Woodside Avenue, in a field they favored because of a proliferation of huckleberry bushes, 2 miles from their homes.

No. of Entity(‘s):  1

Entity Type:  humanoid

Entity Description:  humanoid creature in a tree about 150 feet away, the whistling sounds appearing to come from the general area of the creature’s stomach. They described this creature as about the size of a small boy, estimated to be about three feet tall, and dressed in shiny black pants and a black short-sleeved shirt. Its face had a humanlike appearance. It had a black helmet on the head, with two antenna-like wires protruding from the top and white wavy lines, or a white lettering, unidentified by the children, across the front. It had a transparent plate or lens covering the eyes; which was part of the helmet.

Hynek Classification:  CE-III (Close Encounter III) Close observation with animate beings associated with the object.

Duration:  

No. of Object(s):  1

Height & Speed:  

Size of Object(s):  

Distance to Object(s):  150 feet away

Shape of Object(s):  dome-like

Color/Description of Object(s):  strange dome-like object, shiny like a car’s chromium bumper

Number of Witnesses:  5

Source:  Article in the ufology magazine The UFO Investigator, NICAP, USA, page 6, August 1964.

Summary/Description:  On July 16, 1964, in the beginning of the afternoon, at Conklin, Broome County, New York, USA, five young boys, Edmund and Randy Travis, 9 and 7, Floyd Moore, 10, Billy Dunlap, 7, and Gary Dunlap, 5, were playing in an apple tree along Woodside Avenue, in a field they favored because of a proliferation of huckleberry bushes, 2 miles from their homes. They noticed a strange dome-like object, shiny like a car’s chromium bumper, resting in a field alongside the road, partially hidden by tall weeds. Their attention was then drawn to some sounds similar to someone playing a penny whistle or kazoo; which they said sounded as if it came from a pipe. The sounds appeared to come from a humanoid creature in a tree about 150 feet away, the whistling sounds appearing to come from the general area of the creature’s stomach. They described this creature as about the size of a small boy, estimated to be about three feet tall, and dressed in shiny black pants and a black short-sleeved shirt. Its face had a humanlike appearance. It had a black helmet on the head, with two antenna-like wires protruding from the top and white wavy lines, or a white lettering, unidentified by the children, across the front. It had a transparent plate or lens covering the eyes; which was part of the helmet. The boys started throwing apples and stones at the creature, but it was out of range. It continued to emit the weird noises. The creature fell backward out of the tree and appeared to fall slowly or float to the ground. It then headed toward the dome-like object and stepped on the top of it. The boys asked him if he needed help or water, but the same noises continued with no other response.

Other versions tell that the creature seemed to “fall backward” from the top of the domed craft, and at this point the children left the field and ran toward home. Three of the boys ran to the Travis home, and told Mrs. Edmund Travis that they were looking for a jar of water for the spaceman. They told they couldn’t understand what he said, but it sounded like he needed water. The grandfather of these boys was sent after the other two boys. He met them along the way, walking home from the field, and at first the boys denied seeing a spaceman for fear of punishment for lying, as they thought nobody would believe them. Later they admitted they had seen it. Mrs. Travis threatened to punish her sons if they did not tell the truth. They tearfully insisted they were not lying. The boys were then separated and required to tell what they had seen, and, in tears, each told the same story. None of them retracted their original claims. After that, Mrs. Travis said she believed the boys, especially since they did not change their story despite the punishment menace. The boys then went with Mrs. Travis to the field. The object and the creature were gone, but there was a perfectly circular area where weeds had been flattened and bushes broken. The moss appeared dry and yellow as if “intense heat had withered it”, and two depressions were found outside the area as though the object had been supported on legs. A newsman discovered a third depression later that day. The story then appeared in a local newspaper, and was apparently investigated by ufologist Walter Webb, who found no ordinary explanation for the episode.