Greenbrier County UFO Model (1969)

On the evening February 19, 1969, US Mail Carrier, Mrs. Helen Scott, along with her two children, was traveling between Neola and Alvon, Greenbrier County, WV. As she was driving, she noticed a flying object in the sky, very high above her. However, after a few moments, the object swooped down and flew alongside her car at ground level for a few moments. It then zipped across a field towards the direction of Little Creek, and out of sight of Mrs. Scott.

Mrs. Scott described the flying object as being 18 to 20 feet in diameter and shaped like two soup bowls put together, with a raised portion on top. Yellow-orange lights surrounded its perimeter, and they brightened and dimmed simultaneously. A red light was seen rotating on top, while a blue light, rotating in the opposite direction, was observed below the craft. She heard no sound coming from the craft, but that may have been due to the fact that her children had become frightened and were screaming. 

Andre Hooper, the nationally known head of Union Carbide’s model division, took Mrs. Scott’s description of the craft, and created the replica you see above. It took over 50 hours to construct the plastic model of the Greenbrier UFO. It was put on display at the 6th annual meeting of the The Congress of Scientific Ufologists, held in Charleston that June. On Friday, June 20th, the scientists/ufologists met for their meeting at the Daniel Boone Hotel. Saturday was followed up with an event open to the public, featuring vendors and lecturers at the Charleston Civic Center, where Hooper’s model was given a place of honor for all to see. 

This event was hosted by UFO Investigators, a local group of well, ufo investigators in West Virginia. Ralph Jarrett, president of the group, worked with researcher Gray Barker to petition the Congress to hold their annual meeting here in West Virginia, which was being considered as being quite the hot spot for ufo activity. Mr. Jarrett also worked at Union Carbide, so presumably that’s how Andre Hooper got involved in the field of ufology as well. 

A newspaper article that came out on Wednesday before the event mentioned that the model prepared by Hooper would not only serve as an attraction at the convention, but also a prize as well! It was to be awarded to the lecturer who gave the most outstanding performance at the public event. I couldn’t find any follow up as to who actually won and was awarded this unique piece of art from West Virginia’s weird and wonderful history and I can’t help but wonder if this flying saucer is still out there somewhere! 

Source: The Charleston Daily Mail. 18 June 1969. Article by Charlie Connor

*Want to know more about St. Albans-based UFO Researcher, Ralph Jarrett?*

Ralph Jarrett: West Virginia Ufologist