There were plenty of strange lights and objects seen in the sky in the early 1900s. Sometimes they were left a mystery, but other times they were dismissed as balloons or even flares being dropped by parachute.
That Mysterious Light – 1917
A couple of weeks ago The Tribune referred to the people of Hershey seeing an airship pass over their village and later told of night workers in the railroad yards seeing an ariel vehicle of some sort. In both instances the general public scoffed at the idea of an airship and insisted that these people had been drinking booze imported from Cheyenne and were seeing things. It now develops that these men were not mistaken; that they actually saw a moving object in the sky and that object was a balloon from Ft. Russell. At that fort there is a balloon squad and for a month past maneuvering has been carried on at night, and some times it gets 250 miles from home. Going or coming the balloon shows but one light, which has the appearance of a large star, but when turned sidewise three or four lights appear.
Source: The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.), 18 Dec. 1917.
Aviator Drops Flare Signals – 1919
Strange objects in the sky that fluttered the city yesterday afternoon, to the wonderment of many Washingtonians, were flare-bomb signals released from a hydroplane belonging to the Naval Air Station at Anacostia and piloted by Ensign George Ott, U.S.N.
These flares were experimental ones, equipped with parachute attachments with a view to making a signal flare that would stay in the air for several minutes. Several officers who have been experimenting towards perfecting these bomb flares during the last few months were interested observers at the Naval Air Station yesterday. They reported that results were highly successful.
Source: The Washington herald. (Washington, D.C.), 26 Jan. 1919.
