The Morning Call
Paterson New Jersey, Saturday, July 3, 1954
Phone Lineman On Pole Sees Fast Flying Disc.
John A. Caulley, of 128 South Maple Ave., Ridgewood, a telephone
lineman with the New Jersey Telephone Company for 23 years has seen a
lot of strange sights from his lofty perches but nothing stranger than
the object that went flashing across the sky over the Hudson River,
yesterday afternoon.
Caulley desrcibed his experience to the Morning Call and James H. Cox,
Paterson Civil Defense Disaster Control director last night.
At about 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon Caulley was was working with
another crewman on a pole at East River Dr. and the Boulevard, in West
New York when he spotted the strange object against the sky, that was
deep blue at the time.
"Ity was round and disc-like in appearance and traveled at an angle to
the ground, heading in the direction of Edgewater and Yonkers," he
said. "I saw it for eight seconds and when I moved to the other side of
the pole for a better view, it disappeared behind a cloud bank."
Caulley says the object appeared to be of some translucent material.
Asked how fast it was traveling he estimated "so fast a jet would have
a hard time trying to catch up with it."
At the U.S. Air Force, White plains Filter Center, a spokesman said
that the center had received no reports of strange flying objects from
any of its area Ground Observer Corps. Ground Observer Corps sky
watchers are directed to report unidentified objects to the
center.
The fact that the object was not reported does not nessarily preclude
its presence, since nearly all Ground Observer Corps posts are
undermanned, C.D. Director Cox said last night. Intensive recruitment
campaigns have failed to bring enough shywatchers to main the corps at
effective strength and to provide the 24-hour skywatch that is
America's only safeguard from sneak enemy attack.
The Flying disc was reported over Paterson about 11 o'clock last night
by three Paterson police officers.
SEEN OVER PATERSON
Patrolmen William Gibbons, Anthony Ignoffo and Henry Fiduccia
were making a patrol call to the Eastside section when they
noticed a crowd standing at Madison Ave. and Market St. They stopped
the patrol and alighted to learn the reason for the gathering and then
in the sky saw a bright disc moving in a westerly
direction.
From APRO Files