Throwback Thursday: Piedmont was "UFO Headquarters" in February 1973

Thursday, August 29, 2019

From Wayne County Journal Banner and Daily American Republic archive files.

Until February 1973, Piedmont's greatest claim to fame was its location near Clearwater Lake. All that changed Feb. 21, 1973 when Reggie Bone and a group of basketball players sighted a silent craft hovering in a field while returning from a basketball tournament in Dexter. That sighting touched off a flurry of world wide media attention for several weeks in 1973, making Piedmont "UFO Headquarters."

Daily American Republic March 24, 1973 (DAR/Archive)
Daily American Republic March 24, 1973 (DAR/Archive)
This bright ball of light beneath the moon caused quite a stir among Southeast Missouri residents in early 1973. No one could explain the light, which was seen frequently the first few months of that year. This image was taken in early April 1973 by Ben Baron of Olivette at the Piedmont city dump. Baron said, "It was pitch black and suddenly there was this glow climbing to the sky in the east." (AP/DAR Archive Monday, April 23, 1973)
Daily American Republic April 6, 1973 (DAR/Archive)

Media interest in the Piedmont UFO sightings sparked again in the summer of 1987. Shown in this July 9, 1987 image is Charles Crawford (left) former CNN science editor and Dr. Harley Rutledge, as an interview is taped for a weekend science report. Rutledge was one of a handful of legitimate scientist who visited Piedmont during the 1973 "UFO flap." Rutledge's visit led to a seven-year research project and publication of a book on his experiences studying UFOs. (Wayne County Journal Banner Thursday, July 9, 1987)