5 August 1973
(The Sedalia Democrat, Missouri
Source: NewspaperArchive.com
The whole article:
“Wherever there is a group of people who share a common interest, you
are likely to find a special interest magazine. Now there’s one for people
whose hobby or science (depending on their degree of involvement) is hunting
unidentified flying objects (UFO’s). It’s a 20 page ‘ufozine’ called ‘Skylook.’
The editor and publisher of ‘Skylook’ is a mild-mannered retiree named
Mrs. Norma Short, Stover. She spends about six hours a day editing and rewriting
reports of UFO sightings received through daily correspondence.
Mrs. Short explained that the ‘Skylook’ policy ‘has always been to ‘tell
it as it is,’ and to separate fact from fantasy in investigating and reporting
UFO sightings. We do not carry reports of little green men from Mars or
messages from outer space relayed through ‘contactees.’ We don’t build up a
story for greater reader interest. We believe
the truth is exciting enough in itself and needs no embellishment.’
Though most of ‘Skylook’s’ material reports UFO sightings, it does
include other articles, such as [‘Astronomy
Notes’] which informs the reader of where to look each month for planets
and stars.
To
avoid confusion
‘Learning
to recognize these planets and stars prevents confusing them with UFO’s,’ Mrs.
Short said.
The
magazine even has a column which previews books and other magazines that
contain UFO-related material. There also is a regular article titled ‘UFO’s
Bahind the Iron Curtain.’ The writer gets his information by corresponding with
people in communist countries.
‘Skylook’
was conceived in 1967 when Mrs. Short received a letter from John Kuhn, a
student at the University of Missouri , Kansas
City
Through
the efforts Mrs. Short and Kuhn, ‘Skylook’ was born and served as a newsletter
for a UFO study group in St. Louis
The
first few issues of ‘Skylook’ endured a period of severe labor pains and its
growth was marked with subsequent, sporadic ‘now-and-then’ issues.
In
1969, college responsibilities forced Kuhn to resign as publisher. But Mrs.
Short was too involved to give up the cause or the publication. She promptly
bought her own mimeograph machine (which she soon dubbed ‘the Monster’) and
undertook the task of printing the publication herself.
First
issue difficult
‘I
cried over that first issue. I didn’t know how to operate the mimeograph
machine or apply the ink,’ Mrs. Short said.
It
was a product of ‘blood, sweat and tears,’ she added.
While
Mrs. Short carried on her duties as editor and publisher of ‘Skylook,’ that St.
Louis UFO study group expanded and organized the Midwest UFO Network (MUFON).
Ted Phillips, 1104A West Third, an inspector for the State Highway
Department, is also a field investigator for MUFON. He says the purpose of
MUFON is ‘to inform the public of UFO sightings, encourage reporting of UFO’s
and conduct scientific studies of the phenomenon.’
Phillips became involved with ‘Skylook’ when it began publication in
1967. He was one of the first UFO enthusiasts to contribute to the magazine.
In 1969, MUFON’s officers named ‘Skyllok’ as their official publication.
From then on, Mrs. Short published regularly and has not missed an issue.
Since its establishment as a statewide organization in 1969, MUFON has
mushroomed into an international group. So, at the MUFON Symposium in Kansas City
MUFON also has enlarged its staff to include several reputable scientists
such as Dr. David Saunders, a nuclear physicist at the University
of Colorado ; and Dr. Allen Hynek,
director of the Lindheimer Astronomical Research
Center , Northwestern
University , Evanston , Ill.
Magazine grows, too
As MUFON has grown in the past four years, so has ‘Skylook.’ Its
circulation climbed from 30 to 70 copies a month. Mrs. Short abandoned her
mimeograph machine a year ago in favour of offset printing by Morgan County
Printers. Readership has expanded from a small group of UFO students to MUFON
members (covering 29 states and parts of Canada, Europe and Australia) and
other UFO enthusiasts not associated with MUFON.
‘I really get much more material each month than I could possibly use
and I don’t even push it here in Stover. You might say that I’ve grown because
MUFON has grown.
‘The first few years, I was ‘in the hole’ and had to pay the balance out
of my pocket money. But for the past year and a half, ‘Skylook’ has been paying
for itself.’
Though Mrs. Short is interested in UFO’s, she is not the type to tramp
through woods and cornfields in search of physical traces. For the past year,
‘Skylook’ has been flying high with success and Mrs. Short is content with her
role as editor and publisher.
‘This is something I have built up and I enjoy doing. It gives me a
chance to write,’ Mrs. Short said. ‘I guess I’m a newswoman at heart. I worked
on the Salem Post when I was younger and at that time I would have rather been a
reporter than President.’
As editor, Mrs. Short has faith in what she publishes. She does believe
there is more to our universe than Earth, and that it is possible for
extraterrestrial life to land here.
‘Most of the things people think are UFO’s are really just stars,
planets, plane lights or fireflies. But there are too many other ‘sightings’
that are unexplained.
‘We’re going to the [Moon] and will soon land on Mars. So, if there is other
intelligent life in the universe, why shouldn’t they come and look at us?’ she
said.”
My comment:
My comment:
The late Mrs. Norma E. Short is without a doubt one of the unsung heroes
within the UFO field.
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(Democrat-Capital photo/newspaperarchive.com image)
