Mysterious UFO Crash

We all know the story about the unidentified flying object that crashed in a small Southwestern town, and how remains found in the debris of the crash were buried, and then the whole thing was hushed up, right?

Oh, did you think I was talking about what happened in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947? No, this happened 50 years before the Roswell incident in the small town of Aurora, Texas, 50 miles west of Dallas. But it was just as newsworthy in its time, and the mystery of what really happened, if anything, lives on to this day.

The story broke with an article in the Dallas Morning News dated April 17, 1897, six years before the Wright brothers ever made their first flight over on the other side of the country at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

According to the article, numerous citizens of Aurora reported seeing a cigar-shaped object passing over the public square and then colliding with a windmill owned by Judge Proctor on the north side of town. They said there was a massive explosion that destroyed the windmill and its water tank, along with the judge’s carefully tended flower garden.

According to news reports, a single occupant was found dead in the mysterious vehicle, having been terribly disfigured in the crash. All those who reported seeing the body claimed it was not human. Whatever it was, they buried it in the local cemetery, where a headstone was erected over the grave.

Over 20 years ago the History Channel did a story on the mystery, claiming that in 1897 there were many reported sightings of airships over the Midwest. Producers of the documentary said that people in Aurora would not cooperate with their investigation and refused to allow them access to the cemetery.

So, did all of this really happen? Nobody living today can say for sure. There are skeptics who say it’s just local legend, and others who are convinced it really happened. Until someone can invent time travel and go back to that day in tiny Aurora, I guess we’ll never know.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a Camping Journal & RV Travel Logbook donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day. Note: We have several of these books, with different covers. The cover displayed may or may not be the one received.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high cost of shipping printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – The fact that hemorrhoids aren’t called asteroids is a major missed opportunity for science, health, and the English language.