The UFO Phenomenon

UFO festival in Oregon marks 75th anniversary of infamous case

By T.K. Randall
May 11, 2025 ·  0 comments

The two Trent photographs of the 'UFO'. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Paul Trent At 7:30pm on May 11th, 1950, Evelyn Trent had been walking to her farmhouse near McMinnville, Oregon when she reported seeing a metallic disc moving slowly across the sky.

She called for her husband, Paul Trent, to come outside and see what he thought it could be.

Keen to take a photograph, he returned to the house briefly to fetch his camera. He managed to take two shots before the metallic disc sped up and disappeared toward the west.

The following month, the two photographs - alongside the headline "At Long Last - Authentic Photographs Of Flying Saucer[?]" - appeared in the local McMinnville Telephone-Register.The images would go on to become two of the most heavily debated pieces of UFO evidence ever captured, with UFO investigators, scientists and photography experts all weighing in on their authenticity.

While many believed that the couple had captured something unusual, others were more skeptical, instead insisting that the photographs had been faked.

One popular theory is that the 'flying saucer' was in fact the wing mirror from a vehicle that had been suspended with fishing line from the overhead cables to make it look like it was floating in the air.

Whatever the case, 50 years later, the town of McMinnville began to celebrate the incident by holding an annual UFO festival that continues to this day, with this year marking its 75th anniversary.

As usual, the town will play host to various festivities including guest speakers, fancy-dress, the screening of a new documentary covering the incident and much more besides.


Source: News Register | Comments (0)

Tags: UFO