"An Old Washing Machine which Vibrates."

By: Heather N. Gibson

A glowing white ring with a crusty surface was found by the Johnson family on their farmland in Kansas. A red arrow points to the ring.

Sixteen year old Ronald Johnson was tending sheep near Delphos, Kansas. It was November 2, 1971 Ronald was with his dog on his father's farm. Suddenly a mushroom-shaped object covered with multicolored lights appeared.he UFO was only 25 yards away and was hovering two feet above the ground.

Ronald estimated the diameter of the object to be about 9nine feet. The UFO sounded like " an old washing machine which vibrates." When the UFO started to leave a blinding light came out of the base and Ronald couldn't see.

After a few moments he regained his sight and ran into his house to get his parents. His family came out of the house and caught a glimpse of the UfO which was," now high in the sky." before it vanished.

The UFO left behind, " a glowing ring on the ground." and luminescence o parts of the surrounding trees. An investigator reported that the texture of the soil " felt strange, like a slick crust, as it the soil was crystallized." Ronald's mother who is a nurse stated that her finger's ere numb, " as if a local anesthetic had been applied." after touching the ring the UfO left. Her numbness persisted over the following two weeks.

A month later snow fell and melted everywhere, except the ring which stayed white. Upon close examination it was found that the ground beneath the ring wa impermeable to water and " dry to a depth of a least one foot." A sample of the soil contained a n unusually high concentration of a primitive organism of the genus Nocardis, this organism is usually found growing with a fungus that is at times fluorescent.

For two weeks after the encounter the sheep and the dog would jump out of their pen and run into the house at sunset. Ronald suffered from eye irritation, headaches and recurring nightmares from which he always woke up screaming.

The theory is if energy emanating from the UFO had triggered their coincidental growth, this could explain the glowing ring.