Nearly 50% of very rare 1950s "Kalamazoo Flying Saucer Study Club" bulletins (Michigan, USA, 1950s)

The "Kalamazoo Flying Saucer Study Club" bulletin was published in the 1950s in Michigan, USA. Copies of that bulletin are now so rare that the massive UFO archive of the AFU in Sweden doesn't have a single issue. (Fans of the AFU will know that is means it's pretty darn rare...).

Bradley W Plaisier (@bpleasies on Twitter) has now helpfully provided me with scans of 9 out of 20 issues of that bulletin (being issues 12-20), combining material from the collections of Barry Greenwood and the Kalamazoo public library.

The material is from pre-1964 so I think, under the relevant USA copyright rules, this material is in the public domain unless their copyright was renewed by registration. 

I have therefore added these issues of "Kalamazoo Flying Saucer Study Club" bulletin therefore uploaded them to my USA folder.

I'll contact some of the usual suspects to see if they can locate any further issues in their collections, to try to complete this collection (or at least get over the 50% mark...).  Of course, anyone can contact me if they are ever able to fill in any gaps in the material I upload, without waiting to be asked individually.

  

 

Rare 1970s UK newsletters - "South Lincs UFO Study Group Newsletter"

A few days ago, I posted a single issue of the "South Lincs UFO Study Group Newsletter" (1970s, United Kingdom). I have now obtained 25 issues of this rare newsletter, thanks to the AFU, and added them to my online archive.

The "South Lincs UFO Study Group" was a "member society" of BUFORA, which formed from the merger of numerous British UFO groups.  Many of the small local UFO groups that made up of BUFORA ceased to exist in the 1960-1970s as BUFORA became more dominant in Britain.  The South Lincs UFO Study Group was one such group.  It isn't feasible for me to get permission from anyone that was involved in such small groups (that sometimes only published a total of a few pages of newsletters), not least because everyone involved in some of those small groups has probably died.  I've contacted BUFORA about uploading scans of the small newsletters of some its older "member societies" and Heather Dixon has kindly indicated that she cannot see any problem with my uploading such small newsletters from those local groups.   

I'll continue trying to fill in some gaps.

40 issues of "Skeptical Eye" and 105 issues of "Shadow of a Doubt" - NCAS [National Capital Area Skeptics]

The Board of Directors of NCAS [i.e. the "National Capital Area Skeptics"] yesterday gave me permission to add its "Skeptical Eye" and "Shadow of a Doubt" publications to my free online UFO / Fortean archive.

Overnight, the AFU in Sweden has scanned various issues to fill in most of the gaps in the collection previously available on the NCAS website, particularly most of a relatively large gap in the online copies of "Skeptical Eye" between the middle of Volume 6 and the middle of Volume 11 . (The NCAS is, of course, obviously free to use these new scans to fill in those gaps if it wants).   

If any skeptics or other researchers have any of the few missing issues of Skeptical Eye, I'd welcome a copy which I will promptly add to the online collection.

Indeed, if any skeptics or others can think of any worthwhile skeptical newsletters not yet in my online archive which I may be able to get permission to add, then just let me know and I'll try to sort out a permission request and (if permission is granted) relevant searchable scans.  

For ease of reference, the skeptical material currently in my online archive now includes the following:

(1) "Skeptic UFO Newsletter" by Philip Klass 

(2) John Rimmer's "Magonia" 

(3) Ian Mrzyglod's "Probe"  

(4) Tim Printy's "SUNlite" 

(5) "Tampa Bay Skeptics Report"

(6) "North Texas Skeptic"

(7) "South Shore Skeptic"

(8) "Arizona Skeptic"

(9) "Phoenix Skeptics News" 

(10) "Georgia Skeptics" newsletter

(11) "Bay Area Skeptics Information Sheet" 

(12) "Cincinnati Skeptic"

(13) "REALL News"  (Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land)

(14) "Skeptical Eye" (National Capital Area Skeptics, NCAS)

(15) "Shadow of a Doubt" (National Capital Area Skeptics, NCAS)

(16)   a PDF archive of about 10,000 pages of Tweets by skeptics Mick West and Charlie Wiser

Catalog/database, and analysis, of pre-1947 "UFO-like phenomena" - report by Dr Louis Winkler, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University (1982-1984)

Dr Winkler prepared an 86-page report entitled "Analysis of UFO-Like Data before 1947" for the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR) in 1982-1984. (FUFOR was one of several UFO groups that subsequently received funding from Robert Bigelow).

Dr Louis Winkler was an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University. He was listed as a noteworthy Astronomy educator by Marquis Who's Who.

Dr Winkler passed away in 2001. Rob Swiatek of FUFOR kindly indicated to me that he does not see a problem with my uploading a copy of that report, which I have now done.

The abstract for that report states the following:

"A catalog of several hundred descriptions of ufo-like phenomen~ occurring before 1947 has been constructed. Entry headings include time and place of occurrence, classification, and sources for the data. One portion of the catalog consists of chronological data from varied sources while another portion consists of data grouped by ufologists. The luminous atmospheric· phenomenon class and Martian accounts allow some definitive conclusions which appear under separate cover as PART II of this report".

The "Conclusions" section includes the following:

"An analysis of early ufo-like data has advantages compared to the analysis of modern data because it comes from a simpler technological era and covers a much longer time period. For the study here, the most revealing statistic of the report is the date of occurrence. The first two dated accounts occur in Aug of the years 1015 and 1133, and are associated with the onset of: the meteor shower season.

...

Laps, like magnetic storms .and auroras are geomagnetic phenomena that are linked to cometary streams. The streams originate in twelve, short-period comets whose orbits pass through the plane of the ecliptic within or near earth's orbit. Laps and storms have similar statistical correlations, while laps and auroras are often seen simultaneously. They occur when earth encounters a solar-comet mixture embedded in a stream during a shower or when the sun sprays the mixture into earth's path. The mixture is apparently entrained by the geomagnetic tail and is transported into the geomagnetosphere.

...

There is no compelling evidence that any of the accounts of the catalog are due to extra-terrestrial intelligence. However, the extra-terrestrial intelligence hypothesis is adopted by many to suit a need in their life. An examination of post 1947 data in the light of solar-comet mixtures will probably further develop the scenario offered here. The most challenging problem remaining is to explain the evolution of the mixture in the geomagnetosphere".

New UFO uploads today - from the USA, UK, India, Israel, USSR, Norway (and, if I get some more time later, some other countries)

New uploads today (from the USA, UK, USSR, India and Norway) to my free online UFO/Fortean archive kindly hosted by the AFU are:

(1) From the USA (thanks to Barry Greenwood):

Flying Saucer Review (Rockmore) - appears to be in the public domain, as pre-1964 material not subjected to renewal of copyright by registration



(2) From the United Kingdom:

South Lincs UFO Study Group Newsletter (1970s) - 

This group was a "member society" of BUFORA, which formed from the merger of numerous British UFO groups.  Many of the small local UFO groups that made up of BUFORA ceased to exist in the 1960-1970s as BUFORA became more dominant in Britain.  The South Lincs UFO Study Group was one such group.  It isn't feasible for me to get permission from anyone that was involved in such small groups (that sometimes only published a total of a few pages of newsletters), not least because everyone involved in some of those small groups has probably died.  I've contacted BUFORA about uploading scans of the small newsletters of some its older "member societies" and Heather Dixon has kindly indicated that she cannot see any problem with my uploading such small newsletters from those local groups.  I've uploaded a single issue of this newsletter for now, pending any thoughts from anyone else. 

(3) From the USSR (thanks to Igor Kalytyuk for scans and help getting permission from Eastern Europe)

(a) Novosti
(b) Fenomen almanac

 

(4) From India: 

Indian Skeptic - This magazine was made freely available online and some issues indicated that the copy could be duplicated.



(5) From Norway (thanks to Ole Braenne for scans and help getting permission):

(a) Astronytt - permission granted by Hogne Kile.
(b) Den Flyvende Tallerken - Now have 15 issues (previously just 6 issues)

Huge collection of Norwegian UFO newspaper clippings (1978-1995) added - "Klipprunden" [Odd-Gunnar Roed]

Further to my earlier post about further Norwegian UFO/Fortean newsletters and magazines being added to my online archive thanks to work by Norwegian researcher Ole Brænne, a huge collection of scanned Norwegian newspaper clippings about UFOs has now also been added to my archive.

For almost 20 years (1978-1995), Odd-Gunnar Røed collated copies of the previous week’s Norwegian UFO press clippings in a weekly publication called "Klipprunden".  

146 issues of those collections of newspaper cuttings have now been added to "Klipprunden" section of the Norway folder, thanks again to help from Ole Braenne and with the permission of Odd-Gunnar Roed.

Other folders in my archive already contain similar publications from other countries, notably the "UFO Newsclipping Service" (1969-2011) in the USA folder [uploaded with permission from Rod Dyke].

150+ further issues of Norwegian UFO/Fortean magazines now online - "UFO", "En Gal Gal Verden", "Ad Astra" and "Alpha Star Base"

In 2020, Norwegian researcher Ole Brænne provided me with scans of numerous UFO magazines and newsletters from Norway and also helped get permission for me to add those scans to my online archive. That collection included UFO newsletters from Norway in the English language, including the European UFO-UAP Newsletter, the Nordic UFO Newsletter, the Norwegian UFO Newsletter, the Project Hessdalen Bulletin, and UFO-Norway News.

Since 2020, Ole Braenne has continued work on the scanning of Norwegian UFO material and obtaining relevant permissions. 

Thanks to Ole's further work, I have now added over 150 further issues of several Norwegian UFO / Fortean publications to the Norway folder of my online directory. These additions include:

(1) "UFO",

(2) "En Gal Gal Verden",

(3) "Ad Astra" and

(4) "Alpha Star Base".

A lot more UFO material from Norway will be added very soon (possibly today). 

Also, I hope to start uploading material on the Ariel school UFO today, if I get some time.

"Ground Saucer Watch" Bulletin - 1970-1980s - Early FOIA battles, early Travis Walton investigation, allegations of a CIA agenda "to promote a pro-saucer viewpoint" (the "Federal Hypothesis")

The "Ground Saucer Watch" group is best known for its involvement in early Freedom Of Information Act legal battles seeking the release of UFO documentation and a very early investigation of the Travis Walton "abduction" (which concluded that the purported abduction was a hoax.

Other matters covered in issues of a bulletin published by Ground Saucer Watch in the 1970s-1980s include computer analysis of UFO photos and also discussion of allegations of a CIA agenda "to promote a pro-saucer viewpoint" (the "Federal Hypothesis").  For example, the April 1981 issue of the Ground Saucer Watch Bulletin contains a relatively lengthy article by William H Spaulding (Bill Spaulding) entitled "The Federal Hypothesis" which contends that "With each new month of researching the perplexing UFO phenomenon more information and logic is surfacing to seriously consider that the CIA involvement with the subject is one that was established to promote a pro-saucer viewpoint rather than suppress interest".

Issues of the Ground Saucer Watch Bulletin have now been added to my free online UFO archive, thanks to my recent collaboration with CUFOS (particularly liaison with CUFOS researchers George Eberhart and Mark Rodeghier).

125+ issues of REALL News (skeptical "Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land" newsletter) - Martin Kottmeyer et al - SOME ISSUES CURRENTLY MISSING

The "REALL News" newsletter of the skeptical "Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land" included quite a few articles on UFOs by under-rated researcher Martin Kottmeyer, in addition to material by other skeptics on a wide range of topics.  

(Martin is a veteran UFO researcher. He has worked tirelessly within ufology for many years, doing in-depth research and giving insightful views. He is, however, rather skeptical - which probably is the main reason why he doesn't have a much higher profile within ufology...).

Various issues of the "REALL News" newsletter contain a statement granting permission for material to be reprinted, so I have added over 125 issues to my free online archive.

A few issues remain missing. I hope that the missing issues (particularly several issues from Volumes 11 and 12) will be available soon. 

I'll paste below an updated list of some of the skeptical publications now in my online archive. I'm waiting for permission to upload some further skeptical newsletters (but in some cases I've been waiting for a response from the relevant skeptical editors/groups for a few years).

(1) "Skeptic UFO Newsletter" by Philip Klass 

(2) John Rimmer's "Magonia" 

(3) Ian Mrzyglod's "Probe"  

(4) Tim Printy's "SUNlite" 

(5) "Tampa Bay Skeptics Report"

(6) "North Texas Skeptic"

(7) "South Shore Skeptic"

(8) "Arizona Skeptic"

(9) "Phoenix Skeptics News" 

(10) "Georgia Skeptics" newsletter

(11) "Bay Area Skeptics Information Sheet" 

(12) "Cincinnati Skeptic"

(13) "REALL News"  (Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land)

(14)   a PDF archive of about 10,000 pages of Tweets by skeptics Mick West and Charlie Wiser

50+ issues of Cincinnati Skeptic newsletter, aka Association For Rational Thought newsletter, aka Ohio Valley Skeptics newsletter (USA, 1991-2004)

I've now added 50 issues of the "Cincinnati Skeptic" to my free online archive.

This publication was originally known for a few issues as the "Ohio Valley Skeptics" newsletter. It was also published under other titles during its publication in the 1990s to early 2000s, including "Association For Rational Thought News" and as "Newsletter of The Association for Rational Thought". 

Various issues contain a statement this newsletter can be copied "for skeptical, non-profit educational use", so I have added it to my folder for UFO / Fortean newsletters from the USA. My online archive already contains numerous other skeptical publications that I have uploaded with relevant permissions - including:

(1) "Skeptic UFO Newsletter" by Philip Klass 

(2) John Rimmer's "Magonia" 

(3) Ian Mrzyglod's "Probe"  

(4) Tim Printy's "SUNlite" 

(5) "Tampa Bay Skeptics Report"

(6) "North Texas Skeptic"

(7) "South Shore Skeptic"

(8) "Arizona Skeptic"

(9) "Phoenix Skeptics News" 

(10) "Georgia Skeptics" newsletter

(11) "Bay Area Skeptics Information Sheet" 

(12)   a PDF archive of about 10,000 pages of Tweets by skeptics Mick West and Charlie Wiser