BROOKLAWN: My Encounter With A UFO

By Steve Flowers

My name is Steve Flowers.  I played baseball for Gloucester City High School 1973 – 1974. Lived in Brooklawn for most of my life until I moved to Texas in 1982.  I still receive the Gloucester City News and I am still very proud to have grown up in Brooklawn.  For a living I'm a successful heavy equipment trailer manufacturer. I am the owner of Interstate Trailers.  This year the business is celebrating our 25^th anniversary; you can visit our site at www.interstatetrailers.com.  Credibility is always a constant in life!

It's funny, I don't care about any "self glorification" for I am happy and at peace with myself. This is more like a burning desire to share with people and what gives me a sense of pride is that in 42 years my description and story have NEVER changed. TRUTH is the number one quality in good character.

In the September 6th edition of the Gloucester City News in an article about the Wiffle Ball Reunion my Brooklawn buddies were quoting stories of me and Mike Burkhardt seeing ALIENS.  It is time to set our story right.

Mike Burkhardt, Larry Burkhardt and I were sitting behind the Brooklawn apartments between 4^th and 5^th streets smoking cigarettes in August of 1966. It was dark out so the time was probably 9:30 – 10:00pm, (before curfews) and all of a sudden a flying spinning saucer appeared to our right hand sides, EXTREMELY low altitude, (300') with red, green and white halogen color lights.

The vehicle was spinning very rapidly and virtually noiseless outside maybe a slight humming. It stopped about two houses down the street and then came back towards us. At this time we took off as fast as we could back down 4^th streets to our houses yelling "flying saucers flying saucers!" The McKibbon's and Murphy's were outside but to our surprise everybody that was outside did not see it. Matter of fact everybody thought we were nuts. We talked about the sighting for a few days but were ridiculed into silence.

 

Here's what doesn't make sense. We lived in the flight path to Philadelphia airport and at 9 and 12 years old had seen every type of aircraft know to man. What we saw that night I personally had never seen before or after. My family talked me into accepting the UFO as a helicopter but that never made sense. In 1979 or 1980 my father Francis Flowers, my brother Mike Flowers and I were at an electric vehicle/energy show in Toronto. One of the nights we were out to dinner with three Canadian Scientists and they mention ties to the Canadian UFO council.

Mike couldn't resist saying "hey Steve tell them about the flying saucer you saw!" Immediately I told them what I saw was probably a helicopter because of the red, green and bright white lights; all UFO's I had seen on TV were just white blurs. To my surprise they were fascinated, took notes of my descriptions, and then said that is the closest sighting they had ever heard outside of a remote Canadian farmer's sighting. Colorful lights are common in close sightings according to them. I was on their mailing list till about 1985.

As for the photos of the Alligator Snapper.

In June of 2004 I was out jogging around our neighborhood pond and lying across the road was what I thought was a giant iguana. I got up close to it and it was about 41/2 – 5' long with a shell on its back! The head was as big as a football and when it casually walked back into the water its legs were as big as my arms from elbow to fingers. Turned out to be an Alligator Snapper or Loggerhead but they are not indigenous to this area.

Gave the description to the zoo and they said it was probably well over 100lbs. The one pictured was over 20lbs. which took me 45 minutes to catch on August 12^th.

My point in telling you this is for three years of telling this story I've put up with all these Texans thinking I'm just another crazy Eagles fan. (Note the Eagles banner) I have been vindicated and now if that UFO would just show back up!

All I'd like to know is has anyone else ever contacted you about UFO's in the area? You can google UFO's in Jersey 1966 and there is a lot of "activity." Also, Mike and Larry Burkhardt are still alive and unlike most sightings at least there were three of us. I'd be curious how they're memories of that special night would be. Got to be some type of explanation or maybe not?

Steve's email address: is sflowers@interstatetrailers.com

Comments

[Concerned for Steve]

Why does everyone have the same concern for Steve. Just look at Burkie, you can tell they never touched the funny stuff. All of us Brookers believe in Steve. Did you leave out the alien abduction LOL?

[john krimmel]

yo steve you sure that was just cigarettes you were smoking lol it was the 60s lol

[Scott MacAdams]

Yeah Steve anyway the Burks will probably be online when they get home from work. We can ask them then.

[Soles]

Steve you can tell you been gone for awhile. Asking Michael and Larry about UFO'S now a days they would probably tell you that they have traveled in one more than once.
It was nice seeing the photographs,good health to you and yours.

[Scott MacAdams]

Steve - All alcohol & related substance considerations aside, I will say that when you graciously hosted us at your Arlington,Texas suburban ranch that whether or not that indeed was a UFO that day in the tiny hamlet of Brooklawn (A.k.a. Mayberry),there is no disputing the fact that that is what you HONESTLY believe you saw. And again Steve, not enough was said about how you were the best host to us that memorable Oklahoma-Texas weekend. Thanks again, Scott Mac & family & friends.