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By Kathleen Mardenwww.kathleen-marden.com7-21-11 Many states might shy away from immortalizing its UFO history. But the State of New Hampshire is known for its fiercely independent people and its "live free or die" motto. On July 20, 2011, it erected a historical marker to commemorate the September 19-20, 1961 close encounter and "lost" time of Portsmouth residents Betty and Barney Hill. The marker is located next to the highway in front of Cabin # 20 at the Indian Head Resort in North Lincoln and across the street from the granite stone face called Indian Head.Several years ago, Mike Stevens, a Farmington, NH, man circulated a petition to request a marker to commemorate Betty and Barney Hills' UFO experience. The State of NH Division of Historical Resources, Department of Cultural Resources advised him that a formal request would be required. I, as the Hills' niece and trustee of Betty's estate, then worked with the state over the next 3-4 years to complete the process. Employees at the Department of Cultural Resources called upon me to suggest appropriate text for the marker-a challenge in and of itself. Every statement had to be footnoted and supported by ample evidence that it was true and accurate. In all, the wording for the 12 line plaque had 20 footnotes and 28 sources listed in its bibliography.The final wording approved by the state agency reads as follows: On the night of September 19-20, 1961, Portsmouth, NH couple Betty and Barney Hill experienced a close encounter with an unidentified flying object and two hours of "lost" time while driving south on Rte 3 near Lincoln. They filed an official Air Force Project Blue Book report of a brightly-lit cigar-shaped craft the next day, but were not public with their story until it was leaked in the Boston Traveler in 1965. This was the first widely-reported UFO abduction report in the United States.They didn't accept my first draft. I had stated that the Hills were prominent members of the community and supported it with evidence that Betty and Barney were active in community affairs. They helped organize the Rockingham County Community Action Program and Barney was chairman of the Board of Directors. In 1965, Barney was appointed to the NH State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Barney was legal redress officer for the local chapter of the NAACP and served on the regional board. They promoted literacy throughout the state and worked on Lyndon Johnson's presidential campaign. I accompanied Betty and Barney to his inauguration in January 1965. We were invited guests.I had also added that the Hills' experience generated interest in the scientific community because J. Allen Hynek, James McDonald, Carl Sagan, David Saunders, Leo Sprinkle, Stanton Friedman and others looked into the case. But that text didn't make the final cut either. I am, however, very pleased with the text that the D.O.C.R. eventually approved. The marker is beautiful.Read more >>
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