Fayette County paranormal expo delves into the unknown
People came near and far for the daylong First Annual Fayette County UFO, Bigfoot and Paranormal Expo at the Greater Connellsville Area Community Center in Connellsville on Saturday.
They heard speakers who presented background on UFOs, bigfoot and paranormal sites.
The keynote speaker was Stan Gordon of Stan Gordon Productions of Greensburg. Gordon told the audience, which varied from 50 to 200 people in the auditorium, that Fayette County is one of the active areas for bigfoot sightings, especially along Chestnut Ridge.
Gordon said the time around 1973 seems to be when a large number of sightings were made.
“A group of boys was going to the (Greengate) mall when they saw something strange in a nearby field,” Gordon said. “They found strange footprints where they saw large hairy creatures.”
That was just one of many sightings Gordon recounted. Another was near Uniontown.
State police got a call of a sighting of a large globe of light in a field on Oct. 28, 1973. Callers reported a large red globe in a field near a barbed-wire fence with several tall hairy creatures nearby. They were lit by a large glowing white stone, Gordon said. When approached, the creatures vanished.
In another case, a man with a rifle fired on similar creatures, Gordon said. The man thought he hit one, but it seemed to have no effect. He fired a second time, and the creature disappeared.
Nearly all of the people who have made bigfoot sightings describe the same type of creature,7-9 feet tall with shaggy hair, often white. The creatures often leave odd footprints that have three to five toes.
Gordon believes the creatures may be interdimensional, possibly not from outer space.
Some people have reported their dogs do not bark, but seem paralyzed in fear.
Other people report unique animals in the area — mountain lions, which are supposed to be extinct in the area, and black panthers, which are not native to this area.
Some people have reported “thunderbirds,” huge birds with no feathers and leather-like skin. Wingspans can reach 16 feet or more.
John Ventre, director of the Pennsylvania Mutual UFO Network, also spoke.
He reviewed statistics that suggest life in other parts of the universe is probable.
“Last year, NASA said that, just in the Milky Way, there are probably 8.8 billion earth-like planets,” Ventre said. “So there is life in space.”
Ventre disputes much of the history students are taught in school. He believes the first nuclear weapon was set off in what is now Pakistan about the year 6,000 B.C., based on texts written down about 1,100 B.C. in India. He said the descriptions of the side effects are similar to those described from the atomic bomb detonations over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
Ventre spoke about other finds in the ancient world, such as a plaque with five pieces of art that appear to be a helicopter, a plane and a submarine.
Ventre listed more instances from the past that point to extraterrestrial or interdimensional beings. He reviewed the history of UFOs in the modern world and said that history began with the battle of Los Angeles in February 1942, when a saucer-like object was shot down by antiaircraft fire and crashed into the ocean. He found a note about the incident in the papers of Gen. George C. Marshall.
Ventre claimed the government has continually worked to cover up the incidents, saying they're weather balloon crashes.
Fred Saluga, state director of the Mutual UFO Network, talked about his experiences with sightings in Fayette County, West Virginia and Ohio.
Diane and Jim Trick of Goosebumps Paranormal and Dave Dragosin of the PA Bigfoot Society spoke about their organizations.
A concert was presented by Walter Shrum.
Debbie Harmon and James Coldren of Little Summit said Saturday was the first time they had attended an expo of this kind.
“It's pretty interesting,” said James Coldren, adding he found the expo full of information he had not heard before.
Tom Howlin and son Alex, 12, came from Shippensburg for the expo.
“We love this stuff,” said Tom Howlin, adding this was a birthday gift for Alex, who will turn 13 later this month.
Ann Nicholson, who with Shirley Rosenberger, operates the Project Talent Theatre Workshop, said there were nearly 200 people who paid the $15 fee to attend.
They thanked sponsors, Bryan Kisiel & Associates, Molinaro Law Offices and others for their support, along with the volunteers who staffed the expo.
Karl Polacek is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at kpolacek@tribweb.com or 724-626-3538.
