This “Design of the Week” features Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s UFO Museum!
Our Design of the Week is the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s UFO Museum, celebrating the “incident” that took place in this quiet Pennsylvania town on December 9, 1965.
On that winter evening, a fireball was seen streaking across the sky over six U.S. states and parts of Canada. Whatever it was landed in Kecksburg, PA, and was quickly removed in secret by the United States government. What really happened has remained an unsolved mystery ever since.
Every year alien enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists gather in this small town for their annual Kecksburg UFO Festival. It’s a celebration that started as a simple town festival but evolved into a weekend of events, conferences, and celebrations of otherworldly beings.
This year’s festival is this weekend, July 26-28th. “It’s really grown for us over the past five or ten years,” says Ron Struble, Chairman, and President of the Kecksburg UFO Festival Committee.
Friday kicks off the weekend with food and craft vendors, a corn hole tournament and games for the whole family.
Saturday’s events include a parade and the annual Bed Race in the afternoon, and a band and fireworks at night.
Sunday fully embraced the UFO themes, with the annual “UFO Hot Dog Eating Competition,” a hay bale toss, and the UFO Conference.
The weekend has become a yearly highlight for the local Kecksburg residents, many of whom can still remember what they were doing that fateful night in 1965. Ron Struble, himself, was present at the incident site, held back at a roadblock by authorities.
“My wife and I heard on the news about a streak in the sky, and of an object coming down in Kecksburg, according to reports from T.V. and radio. So we went to Kecksburg to see the incident. And we did see the military about a half a mile from here, down in the wooded area where the incident happened. There was something that fell in the hollow. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
There has been no official report from the government. Despite thousands of eyewitnesses across six U.S. states and parts of Canada, there has been no confirmation on what streaked across the sky that night, on what landed in Kecksburg, or if any government was involved.
There have also been many theories on what landed in Kecksburg. Theories and legends have grown over the years. Initial reports speculated that it was a meteor, but others claim to have seen a spacecraft being towed away on a government flatbed. Recent investigations make a point for the object to be a crashed spy satellite from the Russian government.
“That’s part of the fun of it. And that’s part of the reason that people come here,” says Strubel. “According to the military, you know, nothing happened. But we all know as residents of the town that something did happen here in Kecksburg. What it is, we still don’t know. I don’t know that we’ll ever know.”
The small town has embraced the UFO legend, knowing that the fame could help raise funds to maintain their volunteer fire department.
“All the proceeds from the UFO Museum go back to the Fire Department. As you know, we’re all volunteer,” explains Struble.
“Everybody here is not paid, we don’t make a dime. So the shirt design helps us develop income for the fire department.”
For more information, visit the Kecksburg VFD website or Follow them on Facebook.
You can also email them at kecksburgvfd@wpa.net if you have any questions or stories of your own.
This “Design of the Week” features Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s UFO Museum!
Our Design of the Week is the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department’s UFO Museum, celebrating the “incident” that took place in this quiet Pennsylvania town on December 9, 1965.
On that winter evening, a fireball was seen streaking across the sky over six U.S. states and parts of Canada. Whatever it was landed in Kecksburg, PA, and was quickly removed in secret by the United States government. What really happened has remained an unsolved mystery ever since.
Every year alien enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists gather in this small town for their annual Kecksburg UFO Festival. It’s a celebration that started as a simple town festival but evolved into a weekend of events, conferences, and celebrations of otherworldly beings.
This year’s festival is this weekend, July 26-28th. “It’s really grown for us over the past five or ten years,” says Ron Struble, Chairman, and President of the Kecksburg UFO Festival Committee.
Friday kicks off the weekend with food and craft vendors, a corn hole tournament and games for the whole family.
Saturday’s events include a parade and the annual Bed Race in the afternoon, and a band and fireworks at night.
Sunday fully embraced the UFO themes, with the annual “UFO Hot Dog Eating Competition,” a hay bale toss, and the UFO Conference.
The weekend has become a yearly highlight for the local Kecksburg residents, many of whom can still remember what they were doing that fateful night in 1965. Ron Struble, himself, was present at the incident site, held back at a roadblock by authorities.
“My wife and I heard on the news about a streak in the sky, and of an object coming down in Kecksburg, according to reports from T.V. and radio. So we went to Kecksburg to see the incident. And we did see the military about a half a mile from here, down in the wooded area where the incident happened. There was something that fell in the hollow. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
There has been no official report from the government. Despite thousands of eyewitnesses across six U.S. states and parts of Canada, there has been no confirmation on what streaked across the sky that night, on what landed in Kecksburg, or if any government was involved.
There have also been many theories on what landed in Kecksburg. Theories and legends have grown over the years. Initial reports speculated that it was a meteor, but others claim to have seen a spacecraft being towed away on a government flatbed. Recent investigations make a point for the object to be a crashed spy satellite from the Russian government.
“That’s part of the fun of it. And that’s part of the reason that people come here,” says Strubel. “According to the military, you know, nothing happened. But we all know as residents of the town that something did happen here in Kecksburg. What it is, we still don’t know. I don’t know that we’ll ever know.”
The small town has embraced the UFO legend, knowing that the fame could help raise funds to maintain their volunteer fire department.
“All the proceeds from the UFO Museum go back to the Fire Department. As you know, we’re all volunteer,” explains Struble.
“Everybody here is not paid, we don’t make a dime. So the shirt design helps us develop income for the fire department.”
For more information, visit the Kecksburg VFD website or Follow them on Facebook.
You can also email them at kecksburgvfd@wpa.net if you have any questions or stories of your own.
