In January 2017 AFU received a rather unusual email from archivist Cheryl Brown and her assistant Gayle Tinnerman. It was an offer to buy the archive of the UFO Education Center, an organization active in the 1970s headed by former George Adamski co-worker and secretary Charlotte Blob. In an email to me January 29, 2017 Cheryl Brown mentioned that the archive included ”personal correspondence with the public, government, Presidential officials and military personnel; audio cassette tapes & 8 mm video, newspaper articles, lecture files, radio & TV files, many hardback & paperback books, Photos (with their negatives), slides, artwork, crystal wine glasses ingraved for G. Adamski & also his personal telescope… the list goes on and on.”
Photo of the UFO Education Center archive
The George Adamski telescope at the UFO Éducation Center archive
The offer had also been sent to several other people a.o. Glenn Steckling of the George Adamski Foundation. He contacted Cheryl Brown and informed her that she could not sell material that was under copyright protection by the GA Foundation. Steckling visited the archive and succeeded in retrieving documents that legally belonged to the GA Foundation. I later tried several times to contact Cheryl Brown as we were still interested in buying the archive but there was no reply and I still don´t know what happened to this unique collection.
Charlotte Blob (1936-2009), born Modersohn. She became interested in UFOs when employed as a ground observer for the U.S. Air Force in 1952, during which time she observed UFOs several times. Later she met George Adamski and around 1964 became his secretary, replacing Alice Wells. When Adamski died in 1965 Blob continued on her own but keeping a close contact with Adamski co-workers. In a letter to Ernst Linder,, chairman of the Swedish Ifological Society, December 29, 1966 she wrote: ”I am not affilliated with any groups, clubs, organizations, or so on, but prefer to stay separate from any so called group thereby not limiting myself.”
In 1963 Danish IGAP representative and Air Force Major H. C. Petersen was oppointed by George Adamski to build a center for cosmic studies 35 miles north of Guadalajara, Mexico. When Fred Steckling became active in the GA Foundation he continued this plan in 1968, working together with a.o. Charlotte Blob. She also wrote the Introduction to his book Why Are They Here, published in 1969.
Charlotte Blob in Vista, June 1964
Both Fred Steckling and Charlotte Blob told of personal meetings with space people living among us on earth. In the Daily Times Advocate, December 23, 1973 Charlotte told of one such contact: ”… she was lecturing on UFOs once in a home in a remote section of Wisconsin and only the scientists and teachers invited were given the address. As it got under way there was a knock on the door, and two young men, with golden suntans that you just don´t get in a Wisconsin Winter, she said, asked to come in. Believing that they were students told about the meeting by one of the professors, she let hem in and only after considerable conversation which they carried on in an unusual accent and a singsong tone, and after the intensity with which they followed each speaker and the information he contributed, did she even begin to believe they might be visitors from a ship.”
Around 1970 Charlotte Blob started lecturing on UFOs, space people and the cosmic philosophy together with Mr. Thomas Heiman. In September 1970 they visited the UFO society FUFOS in Denmark, Charlotte lecturing and Thomas playing guitar and singing songs like Silverships From Heaven. She became quite well known as a lecturer and even made a short appearance, talking about the space people, in the 1971 movie Rainbow Bridge, filmed at the island of Maui, Hawaii. It is a sort of documentary of the life and discussions of various New Age people and hippies. Included are scenes from an outdoor concert with Jimmy Hendrix July 30, 1970. The idea of the film was to shoot an antidote to Easy Rider, showing the positive side of the youth movement.
The Mexico Project was abandoned in 1971 and around 1970-71 there was a growing dissension among the former Adamski co-workers. Alice Pomeroy, who had given three years of voluteer service to Alice Wells in Vista, wrote in a letter to co-workers September 8, 1970: ”The confusion seems to be centering around the group in Mexico (Fred) the group in Valley Center (Charlotte) the group in Europé (Hans Petersen and Dora Bauer) and Vista (the two Alice´s). All of these groups, Except Vista, seem to differ in their loyalties and each one has certain others he wishes to support, pushing the rest aside… This confusion… grows increasingly wider and broader. First Steve and Alice B., as individuals. Then Fred and Charlotte as part of a group. Then Fred´s group against Charlotte´s group, and now Europé against the USA.”
Alice Pomeroy left Vista och in 1970 founded a small magazine the Roundletter and later the International Cosmic Council (ICC): ”A new organization is emerging, borne out of George Adamski´s experiences with our noble Brothers from other planets, and their teachings of Universal Law. Through the study and practice of these teachings, The International Cosmic council will be able to bring new Life to all mankind.” ICC was a shorlived effort and the Roundletter was folded in 1974.
In the beginning of the 1970s Charlotte Blob, joined by Thomas Heiman, founded a new organization UFO Education Center, based at Valley Center, California with a Midwest Headquarters in Appleton, Wisconsin, headed by Miss Catherine Reid, and a branch in Guadalajara, Mexico. I wrote a letter to Charlotte Blob in 1973 and received some of the Cosmic Newsletter, which she edited. On January 31, 1974 I received a letter from Thomas Heiman, testifying that Charlotte had met the space people and describing their work together.
Thomas Heiman obviously succeeded in influencing Jimmy Carter, before his election as president of the United States 1977. In an article, Jimmy Carter, The UFO President, by Ian T. Cruz, Barcelona, Spain some interesting facts are revealed:
”Carter, however, did say something very similar during a campaign stop in Appleton, Wisconsin on the morning of March 31, 1976. During a news conference at the airport, Thomas Heiman, Associate Director of the UFO Education Center in Appleton Wisconsin, asked Carter a question.
Heiman: As President, would you air what’s "behind-closed-doors" today in regards to UFOs?
Carter: I don’t know what to make of it. However, some of the sightings have been witnessed by 20 to 25 people, law enforcement officers, and everyone in the cockpit of a major airplane, and so forth. But I can’t tell you what to make of it. If I knew, I’d be the only one in the world who does. But, yes, I would make these kinds of data available to the public, as President, to help resolve the mystery about it.
Heiman: On a public basis?
Carter: Yes, on a public basis.
Following the news conference, Jimmy Carter spoke with the questioner Thomas H. Heiman, Associate Director of the UFO Education Center in Appleton. Heiman told Carter of the extensive films and evidence held by the Center. In reply, Carter thanked Heiman for the offer to review the evidence. Further he told Heiman that " a meeting could be arranged sometime after the election" when he could meet with the group and review the material they had.
Following Carter’s election, the White House staff moved to distance themselves from the UFO Education Center. One meeting, with the members of the UFO Education Center, was held in the Executive Office Building with Richard Reiman, from the Office of Public Liaison. Phone calls and letters were exchanged, but despite the fact that Carter had promised to meet with the group, in the end Fran Voorde, the Director of Scheduling for the President gave the group the kiss-off.”
In the 1970s the midwest bransch of UFO Education Center became involved in a complicated cult affair. A young couple, Thomas and Susan Colb observed, in Janury 1973, an orange flashing light in Kiel, Wisconsin. They contacted the UFO Education Center in Wisconsin. Thomas Colb wasn´t very impressed by the group by Susan became very enthusiastic and eventually moved into the Wisconsin headquarters. Susan´s father and the husband Thomas was not happy with this situation. They arranged a rescue party that broke down the front door and carried Susan off. She escaped from them and signed complaints of false imprisonment.
In 1977 Thomas Kolb and Susan´s father contacted the famous deprogrammer Ted Patrick, specializing in rescuing cultists. In October 1977 Ted Patrick ”kidnapped” Susan from the UFO Education Center and in four days succeeded in changing her mind, at a cost of several thousand dollars. Following her release Susan joined Patrick on the lecture circuit where she told that ”It got to the point where we weren´t interested in UFOs anymore. We were completely obsessed with the philosophy of Orthon and with spreading that philosophy.” (James Oberg, UFO Update, Omni, October 1980, p.32.). I have not been able to find out more about what happened in this case and how it affected UFO Education Center.
As Charlotte Blob and the UFO Education Center announced and sold a lot of George Adamski writings and material the copyright issue finally emerged as a controversy among the various Adamski groups. It ended in a long lawsuit between the George Adamski Foundation and UFO Education Center. It was settled on February 9, 1981 where the GA Foundation ”shall have the sole, exclusive, and enequivocal rights and ownership to all publications and copyrights of the late George Adamski.” (Cosmic Bulletin, June 1981).
Not much information is aviable of what happened to UFO Education Center after this lawsuit. Charlotte became involved with the case of the Mexican Dr. Leopoldo Diaz, who claimed to have examined an intriguing alien visitor on November 28, 1976. She eventually married Dr. Diaz and they settled in Mexico. The UFO Education Center archive seems to be lost forever unless the goddesses of fate intervene.
While discussing the UFO Education Center archive with Glenn Steckling a few days ago I received a most unwelcome surprise. In his email to me September 21 Glenn wrote that upon his death the archive of the George Adamski Foundation will be destroyed: ”Upon my death, my attorneys and remaining family have been instructed to destroy by fire that which I have indicated. Archives such as articles and historical newspaper clippings may either go in the library and telescope facility I hope to one day to earn enough money to build upon Mt. Palomar.” This means that Adamski´s unpublished 4th manuscript, Alice Wells memoirs, photos, correspondence and the archive of Carol Honey will end up in flames. To me this is an incomprehensible and tragic decision.
I must admit that this was chocking news and I wrote an email to Glenn asking him to reconsider this unhappy decision. I quote from this email:
”Thank you for your detailed email, which I must confess leaves me both somewhat sad and upset. As you know I am a professional librarian and AFU archivist, a co-founder of Archives for the Unexplained, which is today the worlds largest UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena archive and library. I have spent my entire life trying to preserve valuable research material and documents from all over the globe, relating to our common interests. Academic scholars, authors, researchers, ufologists and various organizations worldwide are continually donating unique archives and collections to AFU.
”Thank you for your detailed email, which I must confess leaves me both somewhat sad and upset. As you know I am a professional librarian and AFU archivist, a co-founder of Archives for the Unexplained, which is today the worlds largest UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena archive and library. I have spent my entire life trying to preserve valuable research material and documents from all over the globe, relating to our common interests. Academic scholars, authors, researchers, ufologists and various organizations worldwide are continually donating unique archives and collections to AFU.
When you now tell me that upon your death the GA Foundation archive will be destroyed by fire I simply think you are planning a great mistake and a disservice to humanity. Why destroy the legacy of the man you have worked for all your life? You are of course right that the masses on this planet only want sensationalism and entertainment but there are also thousands, if not millions, who are serious researchers and spiritual seekers and who would greatly benefit by the material and ideas you have preserved at the GA Foundation…The GA Foundation archive is unique in world history and should be preserved for the benefit of coming generations ”
With Glenn Steckling at the annual UFO Sweden field investigator seminar October 20, 2018