Years ago the newspapers reported a suspected UFO crash on November 24th in South Haven Park located in Suffolk county New York. You can find reports on this event with an easy Google search.
I remember the event as I lived in Suffolk county New York at the time and recall all the talk and newspaper reports. It seemed to be the main topic of conversation for a short time but soon lost its interest as the holidays were just starting and the UFO story seemed to lose its headlines to Santa and the Malls.
A few days ago this event was brought up in conversation. I always had an interest in this case but for reasons that I have kept my own, until now.
During that period of time I was involved with a weekly group of women who would walk together in the malls early in the mornings for exercise. It was a trend at the time and very popular during the long cold winter months.
One of the women I walked with I knew from High School and as we circled the interior of the mall again and again we would talk. We renewed our old friendship and started to meet for lunch as well as our exercise sessions at the mall. During our friendship I learned that she had never married (we were in 40’s) but did have a serious relationship with a man who lived out near Shirley, near the South Haven Park.
She talked lovingly about this man but secretly I was a bit concerned at some of things she told me about her new found love.
This man lived in an old fixed up cabin on a very rustic rural area of land. He made very little money and was fixed on remaining that way. His theory of living was to survive off the land and not to get caught up with the rat race of society.
I found her stories about this man a bit disturbing but could see she was very taken with him so just listened and smiled and was happy she was happy.
I meet him a few times and frankly was shocked at this mans appearance and life style. He was a tall man who had long dark hair to his waist worn in a ponytail, old worn jeans and a torn washed out flannel shirt. He wore worn out boots and drove a beaten up orange pick up truck that always seemed to contain some kind of firewood over flowing from its bed.
Once I took a ride out to his cabin with my friend to see where he lived. My friend dropped off some old clothes of her brothers as his new winter wardrobe. My friend and this man where going to host a dinner party the next day and she wanted him to have his pick of her brothers old shirts for the event.
I do not know what I expected but I know I was not ready for the degree of rural rustic lifestyle this man was living.
The cabin was a very old very dilapidated three-room building that he was holding together with duck tape and hope! Two large wood burning stoves heated it with his water supply borrowed by way of hoses from his neighbor’s barn. I do not recall if he had electric or not but I do know he heated water on his stoves to take a bath every few days.
He lived off the land, which meant he helped himself to the local farmers crops taking his vegetables and fruits from their farms at night by way of flashlight and climbing fences. He also hunted in restricted areas, fished often and always killed the ducks in the area for his seasonal dinner parties. He would brag openly at how little he actually purchased to live or entertain. I found him to be a cheap thief and tried to avoid him as much as possible.
Years passed and so did the distance between me my lady friend and her hippie boyfriend.
About 1999 I ran into this couple at a party being held out on the Island by a mutual friend who lived near South Haven Park. At the end of the evening we were sipping coffee and sharing the desserts we had all brought when the subject came up about the UFO crash in the nearby park years before in 92.
As the man who lived in the cabin and lived off the land devoured the homemade peach pie, he made from the peaches he had stolen the night before from his neighbors 
fruit trees- he grunted out something about seeing it.
Another guest heard him first and stopped the conversation and asked what the pie eating old hippie had seen? “I saw that crash” he said as if it were a off handed comment about the weather.
At once the people around the table became silent and turned towards him. “What do you mean? You saw the UFO crash in South Haven?” He kept chewing while his girlfriend picked up the subject for him. “Oh I guess we never mentioned it before. He was out gathering wood that night in the park and saw the whole thing.”
As you can imagine every set of eyes in the room were now focused squarely on the pie-eating hippie. He finally looked up from his peach pie plate at a room full of people waiting for him to explain more.
He looked from one to the other around the table knowing he had to confess now as all ears were waiting for his words as the room fell silent. “ Ok, I will tell you but you cannot talk about this as I will deny it. You know your not allowed to take wood out of the park but there were tons of it just laying there rotting. I live right near there and would wait till nightfall. I can get in there from a few back roads I know and go in and gather up what’s laying around.”
Knowing this guys way of life no one was at all surprised that he did this. In fact we knew that he would hunt there at night also. It was a favorite area to collect meat for his winter house parties!
He put down his fork, looked at us all, and as nonchalantly as he could told us his story. “ I was out for a wood haul in the park. It was early around 7 at night I think. I parked my truck on a back road like I always do and was getting out my ax and basket to carry the wood back to my truck. I first heard it, like a huge rushing air sound with a high-pitched whine to it. I looked around and didn’t see anything at first. It was getting louder. My senses just made me look towards the noise and I saw it coming in out of the night sky down towards the woods. At first it looked like a big fireball. As it got closer it changed direction and dipped lower coming in over the park. It was a huge dark colored UFO craft looking thing coming in on its side. It was partly on fire across the one side of it. It was really moving fast. Within seconds I heard it hit the ground. It sounded like a big splat rather than an explosion. I just stood there a minute kind of shocked and kind of frozen in fear. I thought I heard some kind of movement coming from the park from the direction of where this thing hit. I was really terrified as I didn’t have any hunting gear and no one knew where I was. I threw my gear in the truck and tried to start my truck. The damn thing wouldn’t turn over at first. I was thinking about making a run for it back to the main road and my cabin. I tried one last time to turn over my truck and she kicked in. I backed down that dirt road in record speed and got the hell out of there. I think I was just crazy scared and cant swear to it, but I thought I heard yelling or screaming coming from the crash area. I knew I was going to be in trouble if I was caught in there at night so I took off. When I hit the main road I saw all the red lights coming towards the park. I knew I had to get home and lock my self in and that’s what I did. I drove home and locked up that old cabin of mine. I stayed awake all night with my shotgun, just incase what ever was hollering in that woods found its way to my place.”
We all looked at this man in stunned silence. The host of the party began to question him. Did you ever tell the police what you saw; does anyone from the government know you saw the thing crash? Were you able to get back into the woods to see what was going on?
The answer to all of those questions was no. It seems this old hippie was so afraid of being caught over all his sticky finger habits and out right illegal behaviors that he never reported his sighting to anyone other than my lady friend and now us.
He told us that he watched the next few hours as trucks, jeeps and helicopters flooded the area he lived, which was backed up to this area that includes the South Haven Park. He told us that flat bed trucks that looked to be military would drive in empty and come back down the same back road with a load on it that was covered in green canvas.
He said he tried to walk his old hound down the road close to where all this activity was going on only to be told to go home and stay there until further notice by men in what appeared to be orange hazard suits. He did not know if the phones were knocked out as he did not have one at the time but did say his truck would not start easily for days after the incident.
Finally after about a week passed the people, trucks and helicopters were gone and the park seemed to stand barren and silent.
“I can’t explain it but the park seemed dusted of even dirt after that happened. It was like they came in and took every twig and log and leaf that was lying around in the woods. It was as if the whole place had been swept and a false fake wooded area was left behind.
I was still frightened of the place and since they took all the wood out there was no reason to go back. Funny I haven’t been back there since”
The conversation then turned towards others who lived in the area who remembered losing phone service, electric service and having car problems that week. Everyone recalled seeing the trucks and helicopters around. Thanksgiving weekend was a day or so after this event followed by the holidays. Interest in this event seemed to simply get lost due to the time of year it occurred.
I think about this strange man living out in his cabin unwilling to share his watching this craft crash right in front of him. I wonder how many other people have similar reasons that also prevent them from reporting incredible encounters for rather simple human reasons?
Over the years I have spoken to many people who live or lived in that area near that park who also witnessed that craft fly over the town and bank a turn into the park where it then crashed. Many watched as the clean up took place and the craft removed yet for some reason this amazing event passed by us all rather easily.
I guess we are creatures of our own habits traditions and needs. A UFO crashing over the holiday season when people are caught up in hectic preparation for the holiday Christmas traditions is a perfect time for something like this to be kicked under the carpet.
I will never forget the fact that this mans need for a frugal life style and his fear of being caught doing rather shady things was stronger than the fact he witnessed an incredible event. He simply did not want to get involved. I wonder what he will do if one summer night while stealing peaches from his neighbors peach trees he comes face to face with whomever or whatever was flying one of those crafts. Makes me wonder if he may one day end up being the one taken! No one would know, as he never tells anyone when he slips off to fill his basket with stolen fruit!
I haven’t thought about this event in a very long time. I wonder how many others clearly watched as that craft crashed that November night in 92?
♥ Copyright © 2008, 2009 Chris Holly, Endless Journey and the Knight Zone @ http://endlessjrny.blogspot.com/
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