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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

Fall 1930, Chatham, Virginia, USA, Mr. and Mrs. Collins:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

US ufologist Richard Hall apparently told of a case that occurred in Chatham, Pittsylvania county, Virginia, USA, in the Fall of 1930, at about 2 p.m.

Someone named Collins, a military man, reported that with his wife, also a military person, they heard a loud humming sound coming from behind a knoll. Upon investigating, he spotted a large aluminum-colored domed and disc-shaped object on the ground about 70 feet away.

The craft glowed slightly. He could also see two 3.5-feet-tall beings, wearing green coveralls and helmets, apparently collecting soil samples.

Soon the beings disappeared onboard the craft, and with an increase level of the humming sound, the craft rose straight up and disappeared into the distance.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Pittsylvania, Virginia, in the Fall of 1930, at 02:00 p.m., "A witness named Collins reported hearing a loud humming sound coming from behind a knoll. Upon investigating he spotted a large aluminum-colored domed disc shaped object on the ground about 70 ft away. The craft glowed slightly. He could also see two 3-½ ft tall beings, wearing green coveralls, apparently collecting soil samples. They also wore helmets. Soon the beings disappeared onboard the craft and with an increase level of the humming sound the craft rose straight up and disappeared into the distance."

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is "Richard Hall in UFOCAT".

He adds: "High Strangeness Index: 7", and "Reliability of the source is 10" ans he comments "Early CE3 report unknown until recently."

[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The source is indicated as "Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database".

[Ref. ud2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that in the Fall of 1930 at 15:00 in Chatham, Virginia, USA, "Domed disc on ground behind small knoll, 70 feet away, glowing slightly. Two 3.5' tall beings, wore green coveralls, collecting soil samples, wore helmets. Humming, craft went straight up."

And: "An object was observed. It departed by rapidly flying straight up until lost to sight."

And: "One aluminum domed disc, about fifty feet away, was observed by two military witnesses, a married couple, on a highway for over 15 minutes (Collins). A humming sound was heard. Two 3.5-foot-tall dwarves, each wearing a green coverall, were seen."

The sources are indicated as "Hall, Richard H., From Airships to Arnold: A Preliminary Catalogue of UFO Reports in the Early 20th Century (1900-1946), UFO Research Coalition, Fairfax, 2000, ISBN:1-928957-01-3"; "Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".

[Ref. js1:] JEAN SIDER:

The author indicates that in 1930, in Autumn, at 02:00 p.m., in Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA, there was a close encounter of the third kind.

He indicates that one Collins first perceived a purring noise that seemed to come from a place behind a mound, then going to see on the spot to check what was happening, he found that there was a disc-shaped object with a dome, a gray aluminum craft that glowed slightly, and was about 70 meters away from the witness.

Collins also contemplated two little beings about 3.5 feet tall, wearing clothes like mechanics' suits, but green in color. They also had a helmet on their head, and apparently they were busy collecting soil samples.

They soon disappeared aboard their craft and in an intense purring noise, the craft climbed in a straight line and was lost from sight in the distance.

Jean Sider says that the source is "Rosales, according to Richard Hall in UFOCAT, sap."

Jean Sider comments that Richard Hall "is also an early American ufologist known for his seriousness."

[Ref. ta1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

[Ref. pr1:] PETER ROGERSON:

Points to consider:

Chatham is in the Pittsylvania county, Virginia, USA.

I had exchanged an email with Richard Hall on this matter and others in 2007, and he told me that the witness had told this story to the NICAP in the 1960s. So it was reported only after such reports became almost commonplace, and not in 1930.

The credibility of Richard Hall is certainly "high" as Albert Rosales and Jean Sider point out. But that is really not the problem. What matters is the credibility of the story. As it was apparently only filed and not investigated or checked, the credibility of the story is unknown.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Extraterrestrial visitors or hoax.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [rh1] ? "From Airships to Arnold: A Preliminary Catalogue of UFO Reports in the Early 20th Century (1900-1946)", book by Richard Hall, UFO Research Coalition, USA, 2000.
• [lh1] ? "*U* computer database", catalogue compiled by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
• [ar1] * "1930 Humanoid Reports, compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2006, at www.aforteanosla.com.ar/albert/anuarios/1930%20Humanoid%20Reports.pdf
• [ud1] * "Fall 1930 - Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA", case record on the UFOdna website, USA, circa 2009, at https://thecid.com/ufo/uf19/uf4/194802.htm
• [ud2] * "In Fall 1930 - Chatham, Virginia , USA", web page by the UFOdna website, circa 2009, at thecid.com/ufo/uf13/uf7/137691.htm
• [js1] * "Les 'Extraterrestres' Avant Les Soucoupes Volantes - Catalogue Mondial de 370 Cas de Rencontres des 3e et 4 Types Avant 1947, book by Jean Sider, Jean-Michel Grandsire publisher (JMG), France, page 265, 2007.
• [ta1] * "1930: UFO & Alien Sightings", web page of the www.thinkaboutitdocs.com website, USA, last update June 22, 2012, at http://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1930-ufo-alien-sightings
• [pr1] * "INTCAT - International Catalogue of close encounters and entity reports", compiled by Peter Rogerson, U-K., not dated, circa 1971-1972, updates 2005-2018, available at http://intcat.blogspot.com/2012/08/intcat-1930-1939.html

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This page was last updated on September 10, 2018.