God’s Celestial Ambassador: The Life and Times of Dr. Frank E. Stranges - Part XXXIII
By Raymond A. Keller, PhD, a.k.a. “Cosmic Ray,” the author of the international awards-winning Venus Rising Series, published by Headline Books and available on Amazon.com, while supplies last.
Venus Rising: A Concise History of the Second Planet
Final Countdown: Rockets to Venus
Lady Columba Venus Revelations
Flying Saucers and the Venus Legacy
At the Canadian Border
Dr. Frank E. Stranges strategically chose the city of Massena, New York, in October 1966, to carry on with his promotional tour for the blockbuster UFO documentary film, Phenomena 7.7. Massena is located on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, and the Three Nations Crossing point of the United States border with Canada. Massena is important because it is the largest American city in closest proximity to Canada’s capital of Ottawa, which is only 121 kilometers away if entering it via Ontario Route 417.
Following the presentation in Massena, Dr. Frank would detour north into Canada to meet with Gene Duplantier of Willowdale, Ontario, the publisher of Canada’s then premier UFO publication, Saucers, Space and Science, who would share with him some of the up-to-then classified files of the Canadian government’s top secret UFO investigation, Project Magnet, which was conducted by radio engineer Wilbert Brockhouse Smith (1910-1962) during the period of 1950-1954 at the Shirley’s Bay, Ontario, UFO monitoring station situated just to the west of Ottawa.
Project Magnet was officially operated under the auspices of Canada’s Transport Department for the purpose of determining the propulsion system utilized in the flying saucers, whether they be American, Soviet or even extraterrestrial in origin. For a concise account of the goings-on of Project Magnet at Shirley’s Bay, please see Chapter 1, “Turning Over a New Maple Leaf,” in the third book of my Venus Rising series, Cosmic Ray’s Excellent Venus Adventure (Terra Alta, West Virginia: Headline Books, 2017). The same information that was relayed to Dr. Frank by Gene Duplantier was also passed on by Gene to my dear friend and associate at that time, Earl J. Neff (1902-1993), the director of the Cleveland Ufology Project (CUP) in Cleveland, Ohio, of which I was a member. In any event, much of this information was also disseminated to the public through Dr. Frank’s UFO Confidential Newsletter, the official publication of his National Investigations Committee on Unidentified Flying Objects (NICUFO), headquartered in Van Nuys, California.
Coverage of the Massena, New York, Movie Debut
It was Anthony J. Romeo, the Massena Observer journalist responsible for the “Our Town” column of that newspaper, who reviewed the Friday, 21 October 1966 premier of Phenomena 7.7 in the Tuesday, 25 October 1966 edition, where Dr. Frank was himself present to be interviewed by Romeo and also to answer sundry questions put to him by the audience, following the showing of the documentary. After reviewing a binder of various editorial reviews from across the United States presented to him by the evangelist, Romeo was startled to learn that Dr. Frank had so many thousands of energetic, enthusiastic and honest fans from throughout the entire nation. There were even hundreds packing the local theater, coming in from the Upper New York area, including some who had crossed over from Canada, to see this important film.
At first, Romeo thought that Dr. Stranges would turn out to be just as “strange” a character as his last name implied, considering the subject of his documentary, UFOs. “When I first heard of Dr. Stranges,” noted the reporter, “I was inclined to take a dim view as to the authenticity of his name. However, as time went on, I got closer and closer to this unusual man. Then came the day I was introduced to him. Now I have an excellent opportunity to determine the strange appellation of Dr. Stranges.”
Romeo was initially of the opinion that most ufologists were hoaxers and publicity seekers. But after interviewing Dr. Frank, he had a definite change of mind in this regard. “I found him to be rather reserved, and at the same time, a great conversationalist,” wrote the journalist. He added that, “I came to realize the extent of his scholastic, spiritual and secular education; and I also know now that all that I had heard about the doctor had a definite ring of down-to-Earthiness and that he was not another opportunist seeking to get rich at the expense of a gullible public.”
As to Dr. Frank’s relation to the subject of ufology, Romeo commented that, “Though his interest lies in many directions, his singular passion is to give the world an insight into the great unknown, not the bizarre nor accidents of nature; nor is he inclined to take advantage of strange happenings which have been occurring over a great period of time.
“Dr. Stranges is of strong opinion that flying saucers are real. They are no figment of the imagination nor ‘flight of fancy,’ as one might say. Most of us are familiar with the flying saucer controversy. Some of us believe they exist; others that they are freakish occurrences, easily explained by authorities in Washington, D.C., who go completely on theory and on speculation from evidence gathered from viewers of such phenomena.”
Analysis of Sundry Aerial Phenomena
Massena correspondent Romeo remarked that the government authorities were referring to such phenomena as fireballs, weather balloons, swamp gas, etc., as possible natural explanations to explain away the UFOs. He also thought that the government might be accounting for a smaller percentage of the UFO cases in terms of outright hoaxes. “Still,” he wrote, “with all the assurance that most of the flying saucers are explainable, there still remains 7.7% which defy clarification of even the slightest of clues. We refer, of course, to the authorities who seem to have a distinct purpose in denying any existence of flying saucers whatsoever.”
Romeo mused that this 7.7% unexplainable area was voluminous enough to inspire Dr. Frank and others of his stature to explore, read, ponder and consider data which might point to the reasonable assumption that interplanetary spacecraft might actually exist, and even be arriving at our planet, being seen as UFOs in our skies, and maybe even with their occupants communicating with human beings telepathically or through real-life encounters, having emerged from landed ships.
On UFO Investigators, Government and Civilian
As to Air Force Project Blue Book investigators, Romeo continued, “They have interviewed people of account and those of high integrity who have actually observed these UFOs; and the sighters now number into the five-figure bracket. There are occasions when as many as a thousand people have observed a UFO, and many even taken pictures of it.
“Those individuals who seemed to be dedicated to the proposition that these flying saucers should be probed into, though in short supply at the outset, have increased in number an apparently an unhearing government is now making an effort to delve into the matter, or at least it has signified such a move.” Here Romeo was referencing the commissioning of the University of Colorado at Boulder to soon start a scientific study of UFOs, to make further recommendations to the Air Force. This was brought about by public pressure for a true and reasonable study of the UFO phenomena following the debacle of the so-called “swamp gas” UFO reports explanation coming out of Michigan in March 1966. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the UFO consultant for Project Blue Book, and astrophysicist from Northwestern College in Chicago, Illinois, was the first to proffer that the UFO sighted in Dexter, Michigan, outside Hillsdale College, was nothing but a manifestation of “swamp gas.” Michigan Congressman Gerald R. Ford, at the time that Hynek made this remarked, opined that the scientist was being “too flippant” in this flimsy explanation for a real phenomena of national security concerns.
Romeo concluded his analysis of the UFO phenomenon and possible actions that investigators can take with, “Whether the UFO is from outer space or an Earthly object, it has caused much conjecture and speculation; and I am fast becoming convinced along with the believers that even though their theories may lead to disappointment, they are at least making every honorable effort to bring to the attention of the public these theories. I hope that somewhere a new Columbus will arise who can successfully assemble that expedition which will bear out or dissipate the theories.”
An Unusual Theory Broached by Dr. Frank E. Stranges
Romeo admitted that the material he had garnered from his meeting with Dr. Frank E. Stranges and other ufologists would take-up a “good-sized volume.” He added that while, “I am not saying I am a firm advocate of those who are thoroughly convinced that UFOs are a proven fact, but I would be a fool to deny the data and acceptable theory that there is an answer to these flying objects which has not heretofore been admitted.
“Perhaps the greatest of all theories is the most comprehensive, plausible and intriguing. This, of course, is the nagging theory that the Earth is hollow and not only accessible, but has been visited by individuals whose names are revered by the public, scientists and government authorities.”
Here the journalist continues with information he received from Dr. Frank regarding the polar expeditions of Admiral Richard E. Byrd (1988-1957). In the Massena Observer article, Romeo explains that, “Admiral Byrd did not attempt to explain the strange things he saw in the polar regions. He reported them fairly and honestly, leaving it to others to scientifically probe and explore. The formation of icebergs which threaten the ship at sea are never fully explained to the fledgling as he/she studies in their classroom. The Aurora Borealis is still in the are of simple explanation with little or no scientific proof offered. The comparison of the globe, known as Earth, with the other planets in the heavens, leaves one cold. But with a study of the theories of these dedicated individuals, I feel they are closer to the truth.”
With the death of the esoteric writer Raymond W. Bernard, Ph.D., Education (1903-1965), born Walter Isidor Siegmeister from Russian immigrant parent in New York City, the most famous proponent of the hollow Earth theory at the time of his demise, Dr. Frank E. Stranges took over as the most noted advocate for this unusual theory, i.e., that flying saucers originated from paradisiacal cities built long ago by extraterrestrials in the vast caverns of the hollow Earth which have access and exit points at the polar regions as well as in the Brazilian Amazon region. This is touched upon in the film.
True to Dr. Frank E. Stranges’ theory, UFOs continue to be reported over the poles. Here spherical UFO appears over Neumayer Station III in Antarctica on 10 August 2012. Photo source: https://www.businessinsider.com/spherical-ufo-spotted-over-south-pole-2012-8.
To this, the hollow Earth advocates and their theory, “Our Town” columnist Anthony J. Romeo concluded, “Even if they are not putting forth proof, they certainly are raising questions of such interest that an unheeding government is hard put to answer. Wherever the truth lies could still be in the realm of speculation; but Dr. Stranges and his adherents certainly must be commended for their gallant efforts towards further knowledge of the universe and its mysteries. Perhaps we are looking for flying saucers too far out in space, when it could conceivably be under our very noses.”
From Massena, Dr. Frank went on to introduce his film, Phenomena 7.7, in the greater Rochester, New York, and New York City areas, then on to New Orleans, Louisiana; Las Vegas, Nevada, and back to Southern California, where by 1967, he and his NICUFO team were producing their own television series for broadcast on the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) affiliates, Flying Saucers Here and Now!
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(Editor’s Note: Stayed tuned to this website for Part XXXIV, where the Cosmic Ray takes you behind the scenes in the production of Dr. Frank E. Stranges’ television program out of Chicago, Illinois. - Lon)
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LISA O'HARA - Extraterrestrial Abductee, Experiencer, & Author, 'Abducted & Furious' - P&M Radio
Phantoms & Monsters Radio welcomes extraterrestrial abductee, experiencer, & author Lisa O'Hara to our show.
Lisa O'Hara has a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University in California where she lived until 2011. She worked for many years in law firms, starting as a floater legal secretary and ending up in Information Technology and went on to work for engineering companies in Silicon Valley and also in a Department of Defense company that had ties to SRI. She is now enjoying retirement. Since retiring, she discovered she was a psychic medium and that knowledge was the catalyst for many discoveries about herself, one of which was that she was an ET abductee. After reading Terry Lovelace's book, 'Incident at Devil's Den,' she wrote to Terry Lovelace and he encouraged her to write her own book, detailing her ET experiences as an abductee. The book is titled, 'Abducted and Furious: How I Fought Back and How You Can Too.' She now lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and two Maine Coon cats. Website: www.lisaoharaonline.com
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'CHIRPING, RED-EYED' WINGED HUMANOIDS / BIGFOOT / BEKs - LIVE Narrated P&M Personal Reports
Welcome to Phantoms & Monsters 'Personal Reports' - cryptid & unexplained accounts directly from the archives of Phantoms & Monsters. Narrated by Lon Strickler.
Featured in this edition:
A truck driver at work in Bensenville, Illinois, just southeast of O'Hare International Airport, encounters a red-eyed winged humanoid that was heard making 'chirping' sounds. That same night, approximately a quarter-mile away, there is another sighting of the same creature. Is there more than one? Are they coming from nearby O'Hare International Airport? Many more personal eyewitness reports are included.
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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
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