Wacky UFO fest supports good cause

Aztec symposium offers forum for debunked 1948 alien crashing

Sue Vorenberg | The New Mexican

3/20/2008 - 3/18/08

Even Katee McClure, organizer for The Aztec UFO Symposium, admits her event can be sort of "wacky" at times.

McClure, vice president for the Friends of the Aztec Public Library, says she's undecided in the debate over whether an alleged UFO crashed in Aztec in March 1948.

But that doesn't really matter, she said.

What matters is that the event brings in much-needed funds for the Aztec Public Library, and is a forum for discussion on both sides of the issue.

"Basically we open up the floor for people to talk," McClure said of the event, in its 11th year.

The two-day symposium is based on the notion that a UFO crashed in the area, complete with charred alien bodies, and all evidence was subsequently covered up and removed by the Air Force.

It includes speeches by, among others, Scott Ramsey, an author and supporter who has spent 18 years investigating the incident, and James Carrion, International Mutual UFO Network director, who will discuss hoaxes.

Dave Thomas, president of New Mexicans for Science and Reason, isn't planning to attend the event, but in the past he's attended and discussed the swindle that led to the Aztec UFO story, he said.

In his investigation, Thomas found that two con men, Silas M. Newton and Leo A. GeBauer, came up with the story as a way to sell the "doodlebug," a device that could supposedly locate oil or gold.

"Before they got into UFOs, they would try to get people to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in their gadgets, which they said could detect oil," Thomas said. "Although actually it appears they would pump oil into a well at night so they could impress investors into thinking their gadget found it in a search the following morning."

When the two con men heard of the alleged Roswell UFO incident in 1947, they decided to fabricate their own crash in Aztec as a means to sell their gadgets — by claiming that they were made using alien technology developed by government scientists, Thomas said.

As part of that, GeBauer would pose as the mysterious government Ph.D., "Dr. Gee," who would support the claims.

Actually, though, GeBauer maintained shop equipment in Arizona and had no connections to any government agency, Thomas said.

"In 1952, in fact, the two were convicted of fraud," Thomas said. "And that certainly should have been the end of all this, but it has continued."

Of course, the UFO-loving crowd often argues that Thomas' story was fabricated by the government to cover up a real incident, and that's the part McClure says she finds interesting.

"I am so undecided," McClure said. "There are a lot of things that are compelling that came out in 1948."

And either way, the symposium, which brings in about $5,000 annually, has helped her group build a new library with better computers for residents of Aztec and the surrounding area, she said.

"Go ahead, you can say it, it can be wacky," McClure said. "But it's for a good cause."

Contact Sue Vorenberg at 986-3072 or svorenberg@sfnewmexican.com.

• What: Aztec UFO Symposium
• When: March 28-30
• Where: Aztec Masonic Lodge, 1020 N. Aztec Blvd.
• Cost: $30 for both days.
• For Information: Call Katee McClure, Friends of the Aztec Public Library, 330-4616.