Eisenhower was President
The Cat in the Hat was published
The Bridge on the River Kwai won Academy Award
West Side Story on Broadway
Love Letters in the Sand was a popular song by Pat Boone
Bobby Fisher was chess champion at age 13
Sputnik I and II launched by Russia
Tuesday, Nov. 5,
1957 – R. O. Schmidt a hay,
feed, & grain buyer from California had lived in Kenesaw 20 years earlier
Came into
Kearney late Tuesday afternoon and reported to Deputy Sheriff Dave Drage
that he had seen a space ship near Kearney on the south side Platte, on the
sandy shore
The
two went to the site
Returned to town and conferred with the Kearney
Police Chief, Thursten Nelson
The 3 men + City Manager, Ray Lundy & Hub editor,
Ed Chittenden went back to the scene
No imprint of the space ship in the sand but there
was a pool of green oil.
Schmidt thought that was the spot where one of
four legs had rested on the sand
Samples of the oil were brought back to town
Schmidt’s
story How he found the spaceship Schmidt had been
in Kearney several weeks, to buy feed and grain
This Tuesday afternoon he
was inspecting grain in a milo field across the river about 2 miles south &
a mile east of Kearney.
Then he got into his car and, being on a narrow
side road, he drove down the road toward the river to find a place to turn
around
Ahead he
saw what looked like a wrecked balloon on the river bank
His car suddenly stopped
so he got out and walked the 60 or so feet to the river bank
What he saw Object was about 100’ long, 30’ wide,
and 14’ high; silvery in color
About 30’ from the object he was stopped and
frozen in place by a beam of light coming from the object
Two men dressed in
business suits came out & asked him if he was armed They
spoke English with a German accent
Schmidt said no, he was not armed, but they
searched him anyway
Then they said since they would be there for a
time, he may as well come in and look around
Inside the
spaceship
2 women and some more men working on wires and
instruments They spoke in high
German – Schmidt understood to some extent since he took German in high
school
They
moved about by stepping on certain spots and being pulled along
magnetically; floor did not move
The spokesman for the group said they could not
tell him where they came from but meant no harm to the people here He did
say there might be an announcement in the near future
Schmidt left the spaceship
after about 30 minutes
He walked a short distance away when there was a
flash
The ship rose about 200’ and disappeared, blending in with the
gray sky
Schmidt
got in his car which started now & went in to Kearney to report to law
enforcement
Wednesday, November 6, 1957 – Police
officers returned to the scene
They found empty oil can some 60 feet from pool of
oil An identical type can
found in trunk of Schmidt’s car; green oil
Schmidt was questioned by
Kearney police
Two Air Force investigators came from Colorado Springs (Ft. Collins)
Following their examination of Schmidt and the alleged landing site,
declared it a hoax
In the evening he was examined by 2 psychiatrists He was
scheduled for a hearing before the Buffalo County Board of Mental Health
Later
The Board of Mental Health
committed Schmidt to the Hastings State Hospital
After two weeks he was
released; the hospital Superintendent said he could find no reason for
keeping him any longer.
Through it all Schmidt's story remained consistent