Radford News Journal May 13, 1949
The Strange Object seen traveling across
the heavens just after sundown last night has caused widespread
speculation here in Radford as well as in other sections of
Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Tennessee.
Exactly what the mysterious traveler was, no one here seems to know,
and the number of contacting reports have only added to the
confusion.
This much seems to be certain: the object appeared over the
Southwest Horizon shortly before 8 PM and was moving Eastward. Also,
it was black, or at least part of it was.
A Radford man, living in the east end section, asked that his name
not be used, but gave this version:
"I was working in the yard when I glanced up and saw a long black
thing flying across the sky. It came from the direction of Pulaski.
It looked a great deal like a rounded stick of wood which was
burning in front. The object was trailed by either vapor or smoke
and faded from view when it seemed to be directly overhead."
Mrs. Alfred Tolley of 1702 Seventh Street, west, reported her 12
year old son Albert, was playing next door and noticed the object.
She said her son had been studying comets in school and called her
attention to the phenomenon, thinking that it was either a comet or
a meteor.
The "strange looking object", she said "was long and black with a
light on the front end. It seemed to follow the air route from the
direction of Pulaski, later turning and heading toward Blacksburg.
There was a light on the front end and great long streaks of fire.
We saw it for about ten minutes."
Miss Joe Stewart, of the Radford College biology department said she
saw the object but assumed it was the exhaust from an airplane. She
added that she was in 'no way alarmed.'
Fred W. Hurt, of Fourth and Harvey Streets, gave this version: "At
the first appearance it looked like a comet. I recall Halley's Comet
and it resembled that. There was, at first, a bright spot ahead of
the stream of fire, but the trail didn't look so bright when the
object reached its zenith.
"It appeared to be moving slowly at first, and later very fast,
which indicates that it was quite a distance away when I first saw
it. The object seemed to follow a straight path, however it veered a
little once -- in sort of an arc -- and then straightened out again.
I heard no noise.
Mrs. James D. Heinline, of 60 Jackson Street, Monroe Terrace, said
she and her husband were watching it with some neighbors.
"It looked like a long black cigar which was on fire," she stated.
"We heard a faint sound, which might have been a small motor. At
times it looked like an airplane 'way 'way off. I thought at first
it might be a comet or meteor, but it seemed to be traveling too
slowly that it appeared in the southwest and traveled toward the
east. There was a kind of reddish looking smoke about it."
Miss Dody Jones, of Harvy Street, reported watching the phenomenon
with a group of children in the neighborhood. She said it looked
like "what I think a comet would look like."
"It was a red flare," she continued, "which was light on the front.
It moved slowly from the Southwest and traveled what seemed to be
straight up. It curved toward the east and then fire streaks
trailing it got long as they began to fade out."
L.B. Graybeal of Christianburg, a former Air Force Pilot estimated
that the altitude of the object at 8,000 feet. He said there was a
light from the object as it passed over and a 'roaring sound.'
Other reports have been received from as far west as Kingport,
Tennessee, and as far East as Bedford.