MUFON Ohio Newsletter

History

The MUFON of Ohio Newsletter began publication in November 1992 from Box 162, 5837 Karric Square Drive, Dublin, Ohio 43017, under the umbrella of the MidOhio Research Associates. William E. Jones directed operations throughout the newsletter's life, later relocating to PO Box 517, Sunbury, Ohio 43074. Frank Reams served as Director of Investigations, Rick Hilberg as treasurer, Jennifer Thomas as secretary and newsletter editor, and Paul Althouse as Internet Information Director. The chapter also published the companion Ohio UFO Notebook, which ceased publication around 2005 as the newsletter expanded to absorb its content.

The newsletter ran quarterly by the mid-2000s (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter issues) at 20 to 30 pages per issue, with a board of directors including Pete Hartinger handling publicity, Terry Hamilton managing sales, and Phyllis Budinger as newsletter assistant. Northern Ohio meetings were coordinated by Richard and Kathy Lee, while Donnie Blessing ran the Southern Ohio programme. The chapter maintained connections to other Ohio UFO groups, including the Roundtown UFO Society in Circleville (which ceased its own newsletter in 2003 and moved to a website) and Kenny Young's research operation in Cincinnati.

The chapter's editorial stance could be provocative. The very first issue (November 1992) opened with an essay on "The UFO Unspeakables," addressing topics the broader UFO community avoided discussing: human mutilations and missing children in connection with UFO reports. William S. English's claims about Project Grudge/Blue Book Report No. 13 received detailed treatment. That readiness to tackle uncomfortable territory characterised Ohio MUFON's editorial voice throughout its publication run.

Archival stewardship mattered to the Ohio chapter. The Fall 2008 issue documented the Earl Neff Clipping Collection: over 2,000 unsorted press clippings from the 1960s, primarily from the Cleveland Free Press and Cleveland Plain Dealer, which Ohio MUFON member Richard Lee had inherited from the late ufologist Earl J. Neff. Bill Jones donated the collection to Archives for UFO Research (AFU) in Sweden, where Clas Svahn catalogued them into twenty binders. The chapter also deposited sets of the Roundtown UFO Society Newsletter at Ohio State University Main Library and the Ohio Historical Society archives.

The Spring 2005 issue carried an obituary for Kenny Young, a 38-year-old Cincinnati-based UFO researcher whose investigation reports "resembled legal briefs and police reports." His work on the Lebanon Correctional Facility UFO case exemplified the rigorous documentation standards Ohio MUFON valued. Young had hosted UFO Update Live on local cable access television and contributed to the broader Ohio research network from 1994 until his death.