Saturday 23 May 2020

UFO Magazine Issue:
“Skylook”


September 1967
Publisher: John Farrell Kuhns, Kansas City, Missouri
Editor: Mrs. Norma E. Short, Stover, Missouri
Assistant Editor: Mr. Ted R. Phillips, Jr., Sedalia, Missouri

Source: Archives For the Unexplained (AFU.se), Norrköping, Sweden
























(Democrat-Capital photo/newspaperarchive.com image)

UFO News Article:
“Magazine is based in Stover –
If you’re a UFO enthusiast, then turn to ‘Skylook’ ”


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. Kuhn asked Mrs. Short if she would consider editing a newsletter on UFO’s. Mrs. Short, who had several years of newspaper experience and was herself a UFO buff, accepted the proposal with delight.

Through the efforts Mrs. Short and Kuhn, ‘Skylook’ was born and served as a newsletter for a UFO study group in St. Louis. Mrs. Short assimilated the information and Kuhn, the ‘publisher,’ mimeographed 30 to 40 copies of the magazine.

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 this past June, the name was changed to Mutual UFO Network.

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:
The late Mrs. Norma E. Short is without a doubt one of the unsung heroes within the UFO field.

https://newspaperarchive.com/Sedalia-democrat-aug-05-1973-p-13/

Related posts:


realtvufos.blogspot.com/search?q=Skylook























(Democrat-Capital photo/newspaperarchive.com image)